Best practice: Community outreach

Top Tip

1. Post news
Make sure to frequently post news updates on your website (we recommend every 1-2 weeks). News posts contain social media sharing buttons that allow website visitors to share Commonplace content on their social media pages and bring new visitors back to your website. Also your News subscribers will appreciate that you’re keeping them up to date and are also more likely to comment every time there is new content on your website.

2. Strengthen your communications strategy
Review your communications strategy and see if you have really reached out to everyone you could in the area. Consider contacting local businesses, schools or churches/mosques and ask them to promote your website on their pages. Are there any groups online that are relevant to your engagement? E.g. a local cyclists’ Facebook group may be interested in commenting on an active travel Commonplace. Ask Head teachers to include links to a local Commonplace in their weekly email to parents, and so on.

You can include more details such as the task owner, any comments, the status (whether the action was completed or not). This will be useful in tracking progress. 

3. Use your organisation's own social media channels
Promote your Commonplace ahead of its launch (people can leave their email address to be notified at launch). Use your channels after the launch. If you have little time, just use the social media sharing buttons to Tweet interesting comments or share then on other social media (Facebook, Instagram).

4. Consider a social media paid promotion
For large defined geographical areas it may be worthwhile budgeting in some social media promotion (i.e. Facebook/Instagram ads) - these can be very effective for drawing in traffic when the area you would like to engage with is quite large. You can either prepare a social media campaign with your communications team or purchase a social media package from Commonplace.

5. Consider print media
Paper forms, posters and QR code cards are particularly effective in smaller areas such as a village or an estate as it’s easy for locals to come across any print media and participate.

6. Identify any respondent gaps on the Dashboard
It’s good practice to frequently check your Commonplace’s Dashboard to make sure that you are reaching everyone in the area and identify any gaps in engagement. Once you have identified any groups you have not reached (e.g. younger people, ethnic minorities) update your communications strategy to make sure that you hear from everyone and ultimately to increase platform traffic.

Contact Support

If you find you still have some questions or you’re unsure about something, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our dedicated technical Customer Support Team.