Effective communications for city governments and small municipalities require improving public access to timely and helpful information. Yet, this has been an obstacle for many communities because many channels of communication are cost-prohibitive and don’t get the engagement they need. Fortunately, city governments can tap into the same cost-effective digital marketing tools that businesses use every day. These provide a variety of ways to send information that develops meaningful connections and improves community engagement.
Effective Public Communications
For public communications to work, people should feel empowered, and more importantly, engagement needs to be easy. They won’t even consider signing up to receive communications if filling out a form has too many steps. It’s called form abandonment, and there are several reasons for it:
1. Motivation
To motivate people to sign up for something, there needs to be a reward for their effort. What’s in it for them? Receiving regular communications about events and city programs should be valuable enough. But, finding the value proposition to entice more people to sign up or join requires some research.
2. Form Design
Filling out forms looks like hard work. We all know it’s not, but that’s how it feels. Most of our frustration with forms comes from minor mistakes when typing, especially on the phone. Longer forms require more information and take more time. These have a higher rate of abandonment than shorter ones. So, it’s best to avoid unnecessary questions and gather the most important personal information in a short form.
3. No Help
People will often have questions when filling out a form. Some prefer direct assistance, such as instant messaging or a phone number to call, while others will research online FAQs and reviews. A brief, yet comprehensive message accompanying any form can avoid people stepping away from the process. Some of their questions are answered, and they stay on task.
Avoid Abandonment and Your Community Engagement Marketing
Mobile marketing holds the answer to building engagement through a range of tools. Each one has a distinct format and function for the audience it’s trying to reach. Each of these is automated, which makes the process of creating and sending communications nearly pain-free.
1. Keywords
A keyword texted to a shortcode is one of the fastest and easiest ways to invite people to sign up and receive communications. Plus, it’s all automated, so anyone that signs up is added to the list. They can also get a reward sent directly to their phone, just for signing up.
Keywords are also a great promotional tool to connect with a target audience and to reconnect with them later. Plus, keywords can thematically match the promotion to increase awareness and make it easier for people to remember.
2. Text Messages
Direct mail is slow and often seen as junk mail. Text campaigns are the most effective way to reach and inform a specific audience. People want to be able to interact with the city services and programs from their phones or tablets, wherever and whenever they want.
3. Email
People access their email more on a smartphone or tablet than on a computer. It’s a great channel to send longer communications about current topics, events, and other community happenings. Plus, drag-and-drop technology and an assortment of templates make it easier than ever before to create and send.
4. Surveys
One of the most challenging things to get from a wide range of people is their feedback. Most of them don’t want to take the time to fill one out. Digital surveys allow them to check the boxes and type a few comments. It’s everything that’s needed to find out what people like and what needs to be changed.
Community Engagement
An engaged community is one that knows about the services, events, and programs that are available. Mobile marketing has the tools to create more engagement. Offering a variety of meaningful channels of communication encourages broader participation and community engagement. This solves a significant challenge for any city that’s trying to foster good-will and quality of life.