Communications Strategy

How do you define sustained engagement?

[1] [2] [3]

Group 1

• user-generated content as a campaign, instead of just sending out a press release
• feedback cycle for software: supporters able to report bugs in user-friendly way, the iterate on software
• hosting regular events that are driven by participants
• helpfulness of having physical space where people can feel co-ownership
• inter-network solidarity and amplification (don't just talk about your own work, feature other similar orgs.) builds trust

Group 2

Online engagement:

• consistent material creation and dissemination
• intentional content creation: culturally-relevant, informative, accessible, language-appropriate, etc.
• thinking about what the expectations are
• impact -> engagement leading to action? or not?
• user-friendly

Offline engagement:

• ensuring that engagement and each connection leads to steps up the ladder of engagement (relationship growth)
• loyalty -> volunteering, donating, advertising
• internal giving back to your community (volunteers, donors) -> incentive (e.g. potluck, free food) -> events
• ensuring an open feedback loop -> giving a voice to those engaging

Email engagement:

• consistency
• transparency
• clarity
• honesty (about success or failure of campaign)
• have an ask or actionable item, not just donation pitch

Group 3

• having a visible space for a project online where the dialogue is transparent and participatory
• be clear about organizational goals and how the website supports those goals
• online space mirroring offline spaces -- hosting in-person events and then providing an online space for continued engagement/discussion

How to change the culture of top-down communications

• One example:
  • Seth Godin, "Flipping the Funnel: Give Your Fans the Power to Speak Up"
  • http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/files/flippingfunnelPRO.pdf
  • A little dated, but has a good justification for switching from "billboard mode" to "engagement mode."

• Working across departments in your organization. Shared space where projects are posted -- whiteboard in a hallway or regular standup meetings. Consider Agile-style daily but BRIEF standup meetings where everyone checks in about what they worked on, what they're working on, and what's blocking them.

• Stop pushing the entire website/comms project onto one person, but see it as a collaborative process that all departments have a stake in.