www.ca-nv-awwa.org 43
recently had to close a busy intersection
over a holiday weekend, we coordinated
with Spotify to produce an informative
audio ad. Through Spotify’s service, we
were able to geo-target the range of the
signal for the ad, so it only appeared to
listeners within a specified geographical
footprint.
TIP #4: Virtual events do have legs.
Online events have replaced in-person
meetings for the time being, but don’t ex-pect
them to vanish when COVID-19 re-strictions
are lifted. We’ve seen community
participation increase through use of online
platforms, such as Zoom Webinar, Social
Pinpoint, SeekBeak, WebEx
and Public Input. These
platforms also pro-vide
you with more
control of the meet-ing
format and
attendee participa-tion.
TIP #5: Leverage
community
organizations.
Ideally, you have already built
partnerships with local community
organizations to help spread the word
about your project. If not, start reaching
out to those groups that can help
deliver project communications to their
members for you. Having a third party
include information about your project
increases public awareness and helps
build trust within the community. For
example, we partnered with a nearby
church for a construction project, where
the team provided project information in
the form of drafted eblasts, social media,
stage remarks and newsletter blurbs
that the church would then distribute to
their entire membership and followers
to inform them about the upcoming
impacts. Without their help, the project
team would not have been able to reach
the thousands of patrons that frequent
the church weekly. This method could
be used with large community groups,
religious organizations, schools or any
other stakeholder groups such as HOAs.
TIP #6: If you must go
door-to-door, suit up!
In the time of COVID, stakeholders might
have concerns seeing a doorhanger left
at their entrance without knowing who
placed it there or if they were wearing
a mask. Given these concerns, door-to-door
outreach should only be used when
absolutely necessary. If it is due to the
notification timeframe or impact severity,
ensure all team members are equipped
with the proper personal protective
equipment, which should include a mask
that covers the mouth and nose, gloves
and for extra precaution a face shield.
Derek Keeley is an account
executive at Katz & Associates,
a strategic communications
firm specializing in public
involvement and community
relations to advance essential projects.
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