If you are new to the online community engagement space or have some tenure but need to revamp your communication strategy, you may wonder how to drive traffic to your new online consultations.
There are numerous ways to do online and offline promotion, but there are three crucial things to remember:
Know your community and understand your target audience when choosing online or offline promotion strategies.
Create or use consistent branding for all consultations across online and offline promotion activities, if possible.
Choose memorable, dynamic, and relatable project names and URLs to make recalling and visiting the project easier. Avoid the jargon, acronyms, or long titles that deter people from consulting.
We’ve put together a few ideas for both online and offline promotion. Each consultation is different, so you don’t need to use all of these, but do keep them in mind when planning your strategy.
Offline Promotion Options
Offline activities include:
Call out the online consultation space at public gatherings
Mainstream media coverage – editorials in the local paper, interviews, and advertisements on local radio
Flyers or postcards through direct mail, council correspondence, or handed out at key transport hubs or social meeting points (parks, libraries, public kiosks in malls, etc.)
Pop-up stands at local festivals, significant events, or markets
Make information available at libraries – branded project bookmarks, for example
Creative marketing material – magnets, wristbands, drink holders, toys, coasters
Include QR codes on promotional material that link to the project
Advertisements at public transport hubs on routes affected by the projects
Online Promotion Options
Online activities include:
A banner or link on the corporate website
Links in staff signatures
Internal email to organization staff
Cross-promotion on socials – Facebook, X, whichever social media platforms are frequented by groups you want to target
Facebook advertisements – direct or through contacting group administrators
Google advertisements
Direct email marketing through your database and newsletters