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15 Ways - and counting! - to use GroundSource
Just because newsrooms go to GroundSource to help them engage their most valued communities doesn’t mean we know everything about engagement. In fact, it’s often our customers and peers leading us – not the other way around.
This list of 15 ways to use GroundSource is made up of project templates we’ve seen pioneered by our customers and partners. Some include in-depth case studies. They can be run simultaneously or one-at-a-time depending on your goals and resources. And we’ll be adding more to this list as we see trends emerge.
Plus GroundSource is standing by with the two things you need to put these templates to work: purpose-built, dynamic technology and a values-driven process. So find a framework that stands out, then schedule a call with us here to discuss how to put it into action.
1. Bellwether
Recruit a representative sample of a community (likely voters, parents, subscribers, etc.) and connect with them to understand their changing attitudes in real time. Share news and context with your cohort and publish their thoughts to center your community in your work. Read how the Peoria Journal Star and Toledo Blade did it here.
Cadence: Weekly
Resources: 1-4 hours per week
Difficulty: Expert
2. Pulse
Recruit community members to document their information needs so you can serve them better. Engage them throughout the day for several days to understand their needs and adjust your organization’s strategy accordingly. Read about how it’s done here.
Cadence: Daily for 3-5 days
Resources: 4-6 hours daily
Difficulty: Expert
3. Beat
Connect with the sources on your beat more effectively. Reach out for tips with one-to-many messaging and follow up with one-on-one exchanges. Check out how the Poughkeepsie Journal did it here.
Cadence: Bi-weekly
Resources: 2-4 hours per week
Difficulty: Beginner
4. Amplify
Create more opportunities for interaction with your podcast. Use callouts in your content to give your audience more opportunities to learn about you and the stories you’re telling. Read about how Reveal is doing it here.
Cadence: By episode
Resources: 2-10 hours per episode
Difficulty: Beginner
5. Orca
Include community members in your journey to learn more about an ongoing event. Send occasional updates from the field to share context and content to connect your community to you and the talk of the town. Read the stories The Seattle Times is using to build community here.
Cadence: Every 1-2 weeks
Resources: 1-4 hours per week
Difficulty: Intermediate
6. Cephalopod
Launch an educational experience to take a deep dive on a particular topic with your community. Reach out every day with information and context and ask your contacts to learn more by replying to you. Read about how Science Friday did it here.
Cadence: Daily for 1-3 weeks
Resources: 2-4 hours per day
Difficulty: Beginner
7. Club
Open up your editorial process by letting your community lead the conversation. Reach out once or twice per week to ask your community what their take is on the topic at hand. Share what you hear back to them and your larger audience. Find out how 1A is doing it here.
Cadence: Bi-weekly
Resources: 3-6 hours per week
Difficulty: Expert
8. Help
Be your audience’s hub for information about life in your community. Take any and all questions on the topics you choose and respond one-on-one or publish your answers to popular questions. Check out how KPCC is doing it here.
Cadence: Daily as needed
Resources: 1-4 hours per day
Difficulty: Beginner
9. News
Activate the experts in your community to give them an opportunity to contribute to your mission. Callout with your given question and respond to your community to get permission to share their stories and thank them for their contribution. See what WLRN is producing here.
Cadence: Weekly
Resources: 1-4 hours per week
Difficulty: Beginner
10. Harvey
Help your community in a time of acute need by relaying critical information during a crisis. Create conversational experiences informed by official data that people can activate to find information and support in their moment of need.
Cadence: Daily as needed
Resources: 1-4 hours per day
Difficulty: Expert
11. Info
Serve your community’s information needs by making public information more accessible and personalized. Build a database of information that you broadcast to your community or that they can activate at any time. Follow up to see what else your community might need. Read about how Outlier Media did it here.
Cadence: Daily as needed
Resources: 1-4 hours per day
Difficulty: Expert
12. Study
Embed in your community to understand their lived experiences. Ask your community to stay in touch with you while you learn about them so that you don’t miss the context of the data you collect about them. Read about how 100 Days in Appalachia did it here.
Cadence: Daily as needed
Resources: 1-4 hours per day
Difficulty: Expert
13. Festival
Build on the momentum of your in-person engagement by launching long term relationships with the people in the room. Ask attendees to sign up for your event updates in advance, ask questions live, or offer feedback afterward. Then ask them how they’d like to stay keep the conversation going. Read about how KPCC does it here.
Cadence: By event
Resources: 2-6 hours per event
Difficulty: Beginner
14. Demos
Put your members in charge by collecting their ideas for upcoming projects or for your member meetings. Show them that you’re listening by incorporating their proposals in your work or bringing them up for a vote. See how The Ferret is engaging their members here.
Cadence: Daily for 2-4 days
Resources: 1-4 hours per day
Difficulty: Expert
15. Cast
Use TV or radio broadcasts, a bulk phone number purchase, or direct mail to cast a net to reach your target community. Your callout should engage the right people instead of all of them in order to spark conversations that meet your goals and your community’s needs. Read about how Chalkbeat did it here.
Cadence: Daily as needed
Resources: 1-4 hours per day
Difficulty: Beginner+