How do I boost community engagement on my project?
Encourage community members to comment on your project page and follow your project by:
1. Directing meeting attendees to the project page
- Explain the site at meetings using the slides we provide. This will prime people to log on when they get home
- Hand out the short URL cards to community members when you meet. That way, they won't have to remember the web address.
- Make sure people understand that your coUrbanize page is the only place online to get the latest project news, comments, and personal responses straight from you. Collecting all comments in one place will also save you phone calls and emails in the long run.
- Mention the project page whenever you speak with members of the media. Articles linking to the page can generate tremendous traffic.
2. Responding to and supporting comments on the project
- Scan the comments section of your project page. Click the thumbs up icon underneath any comment to show you support it. This will send an email notification to anyone who participated in the comment thread and encourage them to come back to the page.
- Write a short response to each comment. This will also send an email notification to anyone who participated in the comment thread. Even a quick thank you will get community members to come back and see what you said.
- For controversial comments that might need a longer response, post a placeholder response first. Something like: “Thanks for your thoughts. We’ll get back to you with a more soon." You can post a longer answer later, but in the meantime, you'll get people to come back to the page and see how responsive you are.
3. Posting an Update!
- Any time you post an Update, a notification gets emailed to everyone who’s ever commented or signed up to follow the project. Your followers will want to click to the project page and read the news.
- Post an announcement a few days before any upcoming event.
- Post a thank you to attendees after an event and let people know what's next.
- Post a new image or two of the project or a photo of people at an event.
- Post a description of how community comments are changing the project for the better.
