THE RISE OF ONLINE ENGAGEMENT
Karenna Wood , Engagement Hub
It ’ s no secret that online engagement is essential these days , but behind the buzz words and selfies , how do organisations seek meaningful engagement with their stakeholders and communities without sacrificing connection , interaction and open ideas ?
During the pandemic , the economy has been dealt a huge blow . The conversations about economic development are now more important than ever . In this ‘ new normal ’, how do we create the spaces and tools to enable these conversations to continue ?
In this article , we explore what you need to consider to make sure your engagement on your projects can thrive and grow online despite the pandemic . We identify examples of how grass-roots engagement can be done successfully on your own digital turf and what to look for in the tools and applications that can support you to achieve your goals .
ONLINE V TRADITIONAL ENGAGEMENT Online engagement is not a complete replacement for traditional engagement methods like public meetings , focus groups , citizens ’ juries etc . It ’ s a perfect adjunct to it and used correctly , can help you capture both your online and offline activity into one data set . They can work hand-in-hand , for example I-pad kiosks locked to your survey at a local shopping centre , combining both digital and faceto-face methods , can capture your data centrally and saves valuable resources .
Online engagement opens up new avenues and new audiences . Traditional methods often didn ’ t activate the silent majority but with quick , simple ( and sometimes incentivised ) engagement available in a couple of clicks , your possible audience just got a whole lot bigger .
Online engagement also opens up whole new methods of engaging e . g ., budget simulators , interactive maps / images and quick polls . These are all possible face-toface but without careful capturing of data and sentiment it can often be difficult to quantify and take forward into decision making .
DATA GALORE ! Within a project setting , consultation is vital to securing feedback on plans , facilitating discussions and raising awareness . A project can often succeed or fail due to the outcome of stakeholder engagement .
Working backwards , the goal of consultation is the data you need to proceed so knowing how and what you want to capture is critical .
Online engagement platforms are specifically created to assist you in capturing and assimilating data so making sure you have the right tools in your kit needs to be a primary objective . With the right digital software , you can transform how you seek , engage and collect your data .
VOL 14 NO 1 2020 24 www . edaustralia . com . au