The document discusses the importance of understanding the audience when developing an engagement strategy. It emphasizes asking questions about who is already discussing the topic, whose voices are needed but missing, and how to measure if an effort accomplished its goals. These questions help ensure coverage represents and informs the actual community in a way that captures perspectives that may otherwise be overlooked. The key is determining who the audience is before settling on how to proceed.

1. The “why” of engagement
Asking the right questions
before settling on a strategy
Joy Mayer | @mayerjoy | mayerj@missouri.edu

2. The real question:
Who’s the audience?
The real goal: A continually expanding
strategic toolbox

4. ⋙ALMETA:
The death of a beloved
community figure.

5. ⋙PLASTIC:
A controversial proposed
ban on
plastic bags

6. Who’s already talking about what
you’re covering?
Who most wants or needs your
content?
Where and how are those
conversations taking place?

8. ⋙ALMETA:
We easily connected
with elite sources.
⋙Those sources alone
couldn’t get to the heart
of her powerful
connections.

9. ⋙Hundreds of copies
put in the hands of
readers and non-readers
⋙Particularly resonated
with homeless people
we encountered

11. PLASTIC: No shortage of online conversation and outrage.

12. Whose voices, perspectives
or expertise are needed?
How can you invite the community
to share?

13. ⋙SOLUTION: White
boards.

14. ⋙Dozens of messages
from her neighbors
and fans

15. ⋙Would Miss Matty’s
“quote” have been
reflected otherwise?

16. ⋙Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and Snapchat
⋙PLASTIC:
We asked online readers
and heard plenty back.

18. ⋙We knew that wasn’t
representative and
needed to find offline
perspectives.

22. What do you hope your “coverage”
or efforts will accomplish?
⋙PLASTIC: Find out
what people don’t know
and fill the information
gap
⋙ALMETA: Produce a
collective community
tribute
⋙Inform coverage with
actual community
questions or priorities
⋙Make money from
sponsorship of handouts
distributed around town
⋙Drive readership or
reach new audiences
⋙Capture voices that
would otherwise be
missing

23. How do you measure that?
⋙Web metrics (views,
time, depth of visit,
loyalty)
⋙Conversation
(number of comments,
or number of unique
commenters)
⋙Quality of invitation
(number of responses,
or percentage of
responses as compared
to views/reach)
⋙Efficiency of efforts
(better targeting of
messages and
platforms)
⋙Sources included
(especially those not
likely to have been
otherwise)
⋙Newsroom recruits
to engagement
philosophies

24. But remember, it comes down to:
Who’s the audience?
⋙Joy Mayer | @mayerjoy | mayerj@missouri.edu