Media Advertising
- Advertising can be very costly
- Be sure you are using the right media for your target market
- Rural community advantage: residents often get their news from a single source
The Printed Bulletin
Pros
Cons
Media Coverage
Pros
Cons
- More likely to be read
- Commonly shared between community members
- People like personalized mail
- Great for distribution at offices, meetings, gatherings, display booths, etc
- Can be expensive
- Cumbersome to add people to the distribution list
- Not easily archived
- People move
- Rural residents mostly use PO Boxes
- makes it difficult to find an address
- Literacy barriers
Social Media
- Reaches a large audience
- Good press bring partners and members
- Good integration with social media
- No guarantee your story will be used
- You don't control the message
- You will need a contact person experienced with media enquiries
The Website
Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
- Can be expensive
- Requires skill to manage
- Can become easily outdated
- Literacy barriers
- Not reaching people with limited internet access
- time, tech capacity required
- Technology...enough said
- Crowded platforms
- your message can get lost
- Multiple platforms
- JIT communications
- difficult to catch up on missed posts
- Not reaching people with limited internet access
- time, tech capacity required
- Voyeurs vs. participants
- Allows members to participate at their own pace
- Often serves as a central information hub
- Can perform many different functions
- It's what the majority of people look to for answers
- Great for archiving
- Engaging
- Allows for feedback and discussion
- Usually provides more frequent updates
- Easy to share amongst members
- User friendly
- Highly visual
- Multifunctional
- event management, photo albums etc
The Toolbox
The Fundamentals
The E-Bulletin
Pros
Cons
- Easily archived
- Allows people to read at their own pace
- Email marketing services provide better functionality
- MailChimp, Constant Contact
- Social media platforms help
- Use your social media activity to assemble content
- Privacy is paramount
- Understand CASL
- Open and click-through rates can be low
- Not reaching people with limited internet access
- time, tech capacity required
- Often hidden in Gmail and other email services
- Not commonly shared with others
- Literacy barriers
Steering Committees
Pros
Cons
Brand Exercise
Adapt or Die!
Informed participation
- Highly invested participants
- Provides the most opportunity to engage
- Fosters diversified leadership
- Builds on existing personal brands
- Provides a personal touch
- Participation is limited by time and travel barriers
- Breakdown likely to occur if committee members don't follow through on commitments
- Members can have their own agenda
1) What do you want to be known for?
(Hint: think of how this compares to other organizations)
2) What do you deliver?
(Hint: think of what your target market wants but lacks)
3) What is the desired experience you want people to have
(Hint: think of the emotional connection people will have with your organization)
Information Sessions
Example 1
Pros
Cons
There are five questions that all community members should know the answer to:
- What is our objective?
- What steps do we need to take?
- What time and resources are required?
- What does success look like?
- What is our progress?
Disney is known as the best children's entertainment company
They deliver 'magic'
The experience is 'fun'
The difference between engagement and traditional marketing is your ability and willingness to adapt
Let's do a group exercise!
Market Research: who is your target market?
Example 2
- Participation is limited by time and travel barriers
- Requires a lot of effort to organize
- Can be expensive
Meals on Wheels is the most enjoyable way to provide meals to people in need
They deliver 'smiles' and 'a difference'
The experience is 'nourishing'
- Engaging
- Can allow for feedback and discussion
- Learning can be oral, written and visual
- great for all types of learners
- Public and visible
- great for recruiting more members
- Fosters conversation with other members
- Provides a personal touch
A common understanding is fundamental
- Are there people out there who need/want the project or service you are offering
- Do these participants have the 'ability to pay'?
- Have you established trust with your participants?
- Do you have the right resources to make meaningful connections?
Language and authenticity are important
Example 1
Do You Need a Brand?
Geal real: who are your participants?
Anthony runs a successful after school care program in the city and has received funds to expand to the program to outlying rural areas. The funds can only be spent supplies and salaries. What are some potential problems of this expansion?
Example
Example 2
Laura wants to run a workshop to help seniors learn basic social media skills. Because she's volunteering her time and the library has volunteered the use of their computers, she's able to offer the workshop for free! She's created a Facebook event and has emailed the local seniors' centre to encourage people to register online. How likely is she to get good participation?
Shannon attends a public open house to learn more about an industrial project proposed for her town, but she leaves disappointed. What could have been done to improve this?
The Community Developer Toolbox
A successful brand builds consistency, and consistency builds loyalty and trust
A brand is more than just a logo - a brand is intangible. It derived from the experience people have when they interact of:
- You
- Your organization
- Your cause
- Your product
Market Research: what is the environment you are operating in?
Tours & Open Houses
What do you want to be known for?
Share the history
Pros
Cons
- Does the community really need this project?
- Are your partners invested in the project?
- Are you complementing or competing with your partners?
- Are you making the system more difficult to navigate?
Your brand will develop without or without you!
- Participation is limited by time and travel barriers
- Requires a lot of effort to organize
- Can be expensive
- Can be disruptive to facilities, clients, etc
Example 1
- Engaging
- Allows for feedback and discussion
- Boots on the ground
- Make it real
- Public and visible
- great for recruiting more members
- Fosters conversation with other members
- Provides a personal touch
John wants to create an online directory of local gyms and sports facilities. One of his colleagues points out that the town's recreation department already publishes a paper directory. Should he proceed with a separate online project?
Use only in desperate circumstances
Example 2
Understanding the reason for your community's existence will foster greater commitment to your objectives.
Unfortunately, history has a way of getting lost so this step may require a lot of effort and reconnecting with members who have left the community
Susan's board is really keen on the idea of developing a community greenhouse, but no one on the board has any experience or interest in gardening. Mostly, they are interested in the opportunity it will provide for the community. Is this a feasible project for them?
Why does it matter?
Your community members matter!
Each community will need the following for success:
1. Informed participation
2. Connection to the cause
3. Connection to other members
4. Opportunities to explore
5. Opportunities to contribute
History provides a sense of shared identity
Every member has their own priorities and trade-offs. It's important that you clearly communicate the goals of your project so that can determine the costs and benefits of their participation.
Every community will require a different set up tools
Example
Everyone is unique
Objectives: what's the end goal?
Celebrate successes!
A new group in town is hosting an action planning meeting to deal with litter in the community. Gordon attends because he interested is helping out with clean-up. When he arrives he is asked to use stickers to mark problem litter areas on a big map. The problem is, he doesn't know where the litter is, he just wants to help clean it up. The group doesn't yet have a plan for how the will organize the clean up. How can Gordon feel like a valued member of the community?
Is Gordon really engaged?
Connect to the cause
Celebrating success helps the community develop a tangible understanding of what they've achieved:
- Client profiles - put a face to name
- Ribbon cutting - put boots on the ground
- Timeline celebrations - mark your progress
- Rewarding members - recognizing contributions
- Others?
Is this focus on process or outcomes? People or projects?
Give each member of your community the time, space, and tools they need engage in their own way.
- Don't rely on a single communication channel.
- Put a face to a name: be present in the community.
- Always plan for a much longer engagement timeline than you think you need.
- Wherever possible, get personal.
The Basics
Celebration creates forward momentum
Education - Extension - Service
Participation - Engagement - Projects
In order for members to invest in their community, they need to see their values and identities reflected in the whole.
They will also need to know that their investment will result in a return (positive change)
Accomodating diversity can be a challenge but often produces better results
It's important establish clear objectives early in the process.
- Better decision making by the organizer
- Informed consent by the participants
Example
Provide opportunity to influence
Many different aspects of the community will speak to its members
Chloe is responsible for organizing recycling education across a large geographic area. She's organized several information sessions in the outlying communities, but she's not getting a very good turnout. What could she do to improve this?
Why does it matter?
Trade offs!
Things all community engagement projects should plan for
When time is ticking and resources are tight, what gets prioritized?
Allow space for exploration
1. Understand your objectives
2. Do you research - understand your members and what they need
3. Build a brand
4. Adapt the process to change
5. Be present. Be available.
6. Provide continuity. Always follow up.
Example
Return on Investment
Community engagement is all about adapting to new realities, new information, and new members:
- Regular opportunities to evaluate and provide feedback
- Use it or lose it!
- Visioning sessions
- Steering committees
- Letter writing
- Marches, rallies, etc
- Votes and polls
- Discussion forums
What's the primary objective?
Improve community aesthetic or foster pride of place in at-risk youth?
Mary is organizing an anti-graffiti campaign to engage at-risk youth in cleaning up the city, but the event is only two days away and she doesn't have enough volunteers. What does she do?
Each member of your community can be a powerful force for change
Connection to Community Members
Shared experiences create common identity
Everyone has a different learning style and approach to their work and challenge. Time and place sensitive opportunities will limit participation.
Archive, disseminate and delegate to allow space for exploration!
If community members invest time or resources into a project, they will expect see some results
- Recognize and make use of the contributions of individuals and partners
- Provide regular updates on the progress of the project, even if things aren't going well. Expectations need to be reconciled with reality.
- When a project experiences a success, invite community members to celebrate!
- Follow through on our promised objectives
Succession Planning
Building relationships between members fosters sense of community.
New communities will have to focus resources on this strategy. Well-established communities may require less network building, but should take special care to support new members
Bringing people together is a lot of fun, but also requires careful planning. Always be clear what the purpose of the gathering is, so that members can choose whether it will be of value to them or not:
- Food - the universal community builder!
- Works bees - further your progress and foster relationships at the same time
- Planning sessions - create opportunity for members to influence the community
- Tours and open houses
- Team Building
- Client/Partner connections
- Volunteer profiles/recognition
LUNCH TIME!
Exploration fosters creativity
Show community members the impact of their contributions
- Document and archive your project as much as possible to facilitate a transfer of knowledge.
- If the need for a project continues, focus resources on its continuation.
- Engaged communities are required for longevity. If your community loses interest, maybe it's time to end the project.
- If the need for a project ends, provide the opportunity for evaluation and debrief. Prepare a summary report and share it broadly to provide closure.
Everyone has a place in the pack
Community Engagement 101
Jillian's Lessons Learned
Get real.
Be upfront about the limitations of your project. Demonstrate authenticity.
Get personal.
Time is often best spent face-to-face.
Use multiple information platforms.
Always use a mix of digital and analog.
Every community is different.
Seek out and explore community hubs.
Understand and embrace trade-offs.
You will face them everyday.
You are not an island. You are part of a community.
Grow together.
Pick up the phone.
Conversation is immediate, direct, personal, and provides equal opportunity to participate.
Avoid being a 'parachute' expert.
Spend time in the community. Engage key point people to act as local champions.
Get Smart.
Project management and business planning training have valuable principles to offer.
Avoid duplication.
Compliment rather than compete with coinciding communities.