{"id":22826,"date":"2018-12-05T21:15:46","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T21:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/temp.publicinput.com\/2018\/12\/05\/get-the-word-out-first-step-of-public-engagement\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T08:09:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T00:09:41","slug":"get-the-word-out-first-step-of-public-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/2018\/12\/05\/get-the-word-out-first-step-of-public-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do I Get the Word Out? The First Step of Public Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"22826\" class=\"elementor elementor-22826\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-138e545a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"138e545a\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-199a5fd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"199a5fd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>While every community is different, government organizations often run into the same initial hurdle: how to get the word out about an upcoming project.<br \/><br \/><\/p><p>Keep reading to see best practices for initial outreach and how public engagement software helps government organizations:<\/p><ul><li>Reach underrepresented groups<\/li><li>Increase public awareness<\/li><li>Lower the barrier to participation<\/li><li>Keep resident input organized and manageable<\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"vc_custom_heading\">How can I spread the word if there is no audience?<\/h2><p>Government agencies can use a variety of methods for community engagement: email, text, paper collateral, public meetings, and social media \u2013 just to name a few. For agencies who have an existing database of residents, it is important to utilize a Community Relationship Management (CRM) software to re-engage residents who have participated before.\u00a0 The right\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/public-crm\">CRM for government<\/a>\u00a0should be connected with communication channels like email, text, and social media. By capturing resident contact information, government organizations can\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/what-are-the-benefits-of-closing-the-feedback-loop\/\">close the feedback loop<\/a>\u00a0with project updates and additional rounds of input while building a resident database for future projects.<br \/><br \/><\/p><p>However, this database of resident contact information may not be a luxury that all local governments have. Previously collected information may have been lost due to replacing software, human error, or internal systems not complying with one another.<br \/><br \/><\/p><p>Whether you are rethinking your community engagement plan or just looking for best practices for your next project, here are four tips for getting the word out.<\/p><h2 class=\"vc_custom_heading\"><strong>1. Target underserved populations with social media advertising &amp; mapping<\/strong><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8380ea8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"8380ea8\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-04a6814 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"04a6814\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c6014f2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c6014f2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>One challenge in increasing community engagement is reaching beyond the usual voices to underrepresented groups. One solution is targeted social media posts, which can focus on a desired location or demographic and translate into the native language of a resident.<br \/><br \/><\/p><p>As we\u2019ve written about in a previous case study,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GoTriangle-Unified-public-engagement-builds-trust-wins-grant-funding.pdf\">GoTriangle in Raleigh leveraged Facebook targeting to instantly increase reach and participation in the Hispanic community<\/a>. Government organizations also now instantly identify Environmental Justice groups with EPA tract-level data using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/public-equity-mapping\">Equity Mapping<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-16a5a72 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"16a5a72\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6a6a29d elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"6a6a29d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"940\" height=\"788\" src=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TargetUnderservedPopulations-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-230316\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TargetUnderservedPopulations-1.jpg 940w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TargetUnderservedPopulations-1-300x251.jpg 300w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TargetUnderservedPopulations-1-768x644.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c47dfa4 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"c47dfa4\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9bd33fe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9bd33fe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"et_pb_module et_pb_text et_pb_text_2  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><h2><strong>2. Partner up with local community groups<\/strong><\/h2><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-08f315a elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"08f315a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<iframe width=\"864\" height=\"486\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gxD_e4kXsPA\" title=\"Collaborative &amp; Consistent Engagement: Getting the word out to all stakeholders\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fa98fb9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fa98fb9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Community groups provide an instantaneous path to reaching and engaging underserved, Linguistically Isolated, and Environmental Justice communities, or specific interests. By building relationships with leaders of these community groups that already have social capital, public involvement coordinators and planners can quickly spread the word.<br \/><br \/><\/p><p>When working with community groups, you may want to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.publicinput.com\/news\/blog\/product-update-custom-links-for-segmenting-participants-and-tracking-what-works\">track specific public outreach efforts<\/a>\u00a0and provide multi-lingual surveys that aggregate responses and comments automatically.<\/p><h2><strong>3. Provide multiple ways to have the same public engagement experience<\/strong><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc672ed e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cc672ed\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6528c3e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6528c3e\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f97b22a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f97b22a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Mobility is more important than ever: The Pew Research Center recently found that\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pewinternet.org\/fact-sheet\/mobile\">95% of Americans own a cell phone<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Forbes<\/em>\u00a0reported that cell phones are the most ubiquitous technology to engage\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/amitchowdhry\/2017\/03\/13\/lower-income-americans-are-becoming-increasingly-dependent-on-smartphones-says-study\/#7357fb971083\">both low-income populations and Millennials<\/a>.<br \/><br \/><\/p><p>Sharing a link to a project page should mean that when someone arrives, it is mobile friendly and easy to participate. Likewise, providing multiple, redundant ways to engage like a phone line, email address, and\/or text message allows residents to participate in the format they are most comfortable with and\/or have access to.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-216faf7 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"216faf7\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-09dacce elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"09dacce\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"413\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/NCDOT-Ferry-poster.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-230318\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/NCDOT-Ferry-poster.png 413w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/NCDOT-Ferry-poster-244x300.png 244w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 413px) 100vw, 413px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f654382 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f654382\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ff0f9fd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ff0f9fd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><strong>4. Capture contact data and keep it organized to grow your reach<\/strong><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ac6a2f5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ac6a2f5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"542\" src=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SunGraphic2-3-1-1024x542.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-230319\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SunGraphic2-3-1-1024x542.png 1024w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SunGraphic2-3-1-300x159.png 300w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SunGraphic2-3-1-768x407.png 768w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SunGraphic2-3-1-1536x813.png 1536w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SunGraphic2-3-1-2048x1084.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6169569 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6169569\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>When using multiple outreach methods, it\u2019s critical to harness contact information and public input in one place. Remember all those ways that we mentioned for reaching the public: email, text, paper collateral, public meetings, social media, etc? Don\u2019t let that outreach go to waste by siloing in a number of different platforms.<br \/><br \/><\/p><p>The right public engagement software will bring data (e.g. survey responses, comments, communications) together in an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.publicinput.com\/community-engagement-tools\/\">all-in-one community engagement platform<\/a>\u00a0to be aggregated, organized, and analyzed. In addition, a CRM to hold contact information is essential in re-engaging with the public as that resident database continues to grow.<\/p><h2><strong>Bringing more voices to the table is the first step in a better community engagement process.<\/strong><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b3f337b elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"b3f337b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"477\" src=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PublicEngagementProcess-1.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-230320\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PublicEngagementProcess-1.jpeg 750w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PublicEngagementProcess-1-300x191.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1948ed4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1948ed4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<blockquote><p><em>At PublicInput, we believe that building public trust starts with reaching beyond the usual voices.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><h2 class=\"vc_custom_heading\"><strong>Learn more about community engagement software that reaches beyond the usual voices:<\/strong><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9db13c2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"9db13c2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/learn.publicinput.com\/request-a-demo\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Request a Demo<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">While every community is different, local government agencies often run into the same initial hurdle: how to get the word out about an upcoming project. Keep reading to see best practices for initial outreach and how public engagement software helps government agencies reach underrepresented groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":22998,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommunityEngagementSoftware-ReachResidents.jpg","rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommunityEngagementSoftware-ReachResidents.jpg",2500,1040,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommunityEngagementSoftware-ReachResidents.jpg",2500,1040,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommunityEngagementSoftware-ReachResidents.jpg",2500,1040,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommunityEngagementSoftware-ReachResidents-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommunityEngagementSoftware-ReachResidents-300x125.jpg",300,125,true],"large":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommunityEngagementSoftware-ReachResidents-1024x426.jpg",1024,426,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommunityEngagementSoftware-ReachResidents-1536x639.jpg",1536,639,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommunityEngagementSoftware-ReachResidents-2048x852.jpg",2048,852,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Jay Dawkins","author_link":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/author\/jaydawkins\/"},"rttpg_comment":1,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"While every community is different, local government agencies often run into the same initial hurdle: how to get the word out about an upcoming project. Keep reading to see best practices for initial outreach and how public engagement software helps government agencies reach underrepresented groups.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22826"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":230324,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22826\/revisions\/230324"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}