engaging the silent citizen

Engagement techniques for the

silent citizenPeter Buchwald, AICPCrystal WilsonJennifer Bartlett, AICP, LEED AP

Project Launch

The Charrette

Public Design Session

Public Design Session

Project Website

Public Workshop

Email Blast

Ads and Cards

We end up with this

And this

A pleasant turnout

Is that our turnout?

Where are the people?

Here they are protesting

Against a prison

Against a toll road

Against the first toll road

Refreshments

Fancy Refreshments

Raffles

The turnout

The silent citizen

Wherever there is a crowd

Opportunity for outreach

Crowd online

We threw out the handbook

Don’t be uncool

Be Cool & Blend In

Pop UpWhat’s your definition of a pop up?

How to be too eager

Avoid St. Patrick’s Day Festivals

Don’t tag along to other planning events

Farmer’s Market is a better choice

This is Florida

Give away something people will enjoy such as water or ice tea instead of food or cookies

Farmer’s Market Tea Blitz

Farmer’s Market Tea Blitz

• 14 free ice teas

• Project Votes

Maybe make a fun booth

• 535 Mapped Comments + 60 General Comments

• Facebook & Community Remarks

Make maps people can understand &

write on

Driving Traffic to Nowhere

Use a QR Code

Use an iPad & iPhone

How to hustle

First Facebook Ad• Feb 26 -March 3,

Facebook post boost linking to Community Remarks

• $20 budget

• 144 Clicks to Community Remarks, 8 Comments

• 24 likes of the ad

• 3 comments under the ad

• 2 shares

• Total reach: 3,700 people

• Over 50% were mobile users

Second Facebook Ad • April 6 -27, Facebook ad

linking to Community Remarks

• $105 budget

• 349 Clicks to Community Remarks, 90 comments

• 63 likes of the ad

• 64 comments under the ad

• 30 shares

• Total reach: 13, 472 people

• Over 50% were mobile users

Community RemarksPhase 1 online outreach

January 1 - June 24:

•574 unique visitors to Community Remarks

•258 location-specific comments

•31 General Comments

•26 replies to comments

•273 new Facebook fans

•Over 50% were mobile users

Phase 2: Overhaul

• Redesigned the look and functionality to accommodate project voting

• Enhanced the mobile version

Boost post for $20131: Post Clicks 33: Post Likes1: Post Comment6: Post Shares3: Page Likes2,900 People Reached (Paid)989 People Reached (Organic)Total spent: $20Ad ran for 6 days

Ad ran for 6 days

131: Post Clicks 33: Post Likes1: Post Comment6: Post Shares3: Page Likes2,900 People Reached (Paid)989 People Reached (Organic)Total spent: $20

Tracking Results11: Comments49: Bicycle Project Votes67: Sidewalk Project Votes25: Roadway Projects Votes4: Multi-Purpose Trail Votes10: Transit Project Votes6: Greenway Trails Votes

Total: 172 VotesTotal spent: $20

Website analytics

226: Unique visitors141: Mobile users48%: Bounce Rate2 minutes: Average time on mobile 7 minutes: Average time on desktop

What have we learned? Marketing

• Don’t set it and forget about it, we have to be proactive

• Good marketing and instructions enable all age groups to participate. Instructional video can be helpful

Facebook success•Post where you are going to be and

when with a picture•Tag cities (@CityName) in posts•Boost posts with a $20 budget to

residents in the area and surrounding areas

•Repost comments from Community Remarks, drive traffic directly to CR

Repost Comments

3 different ways to promote on Facebook

• Polk TPO using a combination of Facebook, Community Remarks, and Workshops

• No budget for boost or ads

• 193 Mapped Comments

• 10 General Comments

Polk TPO

Organic Promotion

Key Biscayne• Key Biscayne using a

combination of Facebook, Community Remarks, Village’s website, and instructional videos

• No budget for boost or ads

• 148 Mapped Comments

• 34 General Comments

Post about event

Community Remarks

•Build out to be innovative and capture more feedback on projects

•Results from CR as part of public engagement plan. Comments will be matched to cost feasible plan

•No kiosk. Suggestion is let libraries run CR on designated computer for citizens

Give something away

Email ListEmail addresses collected from online engagement should be notified of new opportunities to participate

Experiment & Share