Being in the public engagement and consultation business, I pay attention to the timing of invitations to attend open houses or notices directing people to public engagement information.

What I observe, more often than not, is the lack of lead-time given between the issuing of the notice and the date of the meeting. Often invitations are distributed (whether through traditional media, websites or social media) so close to the meeting date that many folks can’t fit it into their calendar. Or they don’t hear about the meeting at all.

Why does this happen? Here are a few theories:

  • The proponent hoped to promote the engagement sooner but wasn’t confident in the readiness of information.
  • The proponent believes that earlier notification will just get lost in the “media noise”.
  • The proponent only uses paid advertising to spread the word and needs to keep costs down, so limits messaging until as late as possible.
  • And the most popular public assumption … that the proponent is hoping to avoid a large turnout at the meeting, so purposefully limits the notification timeframe.

It’s a bit like the tree falling in the forest … if you host a public engagement session but no one is there to experience it, is it still engagement?

But here’s the thing. If we want to change the pervasive public perception about public engagement, then we need to LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT. The first tool in good public engagement is creating awareness about the engagement. So promote engagement and consultation opportunities early and often.

Here are some ways to get the word out earlier and create broader awareness:

  1. Social media: use social media (It’s free!) to distribute “save the date” notices as early as possible about upcoming engagement sessions. You don’t need to have all the details at this point, just the date, time, location and purpose of meeting.
  2. Spread the word: use social media reach (it’s social, after all) by asking people to spread the word — through re-tweets, sharing posts and real, live word-of-mouth
  3. Keep feeding the message: when you have new information to add such as the agenda, names of presenters, a call for questions, etc., then use those opportunities to keep the message fresh and current, creating increased awareness.
  4. Advertise: when you’re ready for traditional media, make it an ad that will get noticed and avoid the teeny, legal looking notice of meeting. Design your meeting ad as something that people would want to attend.
  5. Why just advertise when you could jazzercise?: Don’t just rely on your paid advertising placements. Increase awareness by posting meeting notice poster where people gather: fitness class, community centre, post office, health clinic, schools, grocery stores, community board at the mall, etc. Use the meeting poster to ask people to help spread the word.

These simple actions will not only increase participation but also increase your reputation for hosting good public engagement. Public engagement must be a proactive process where the public feels well informed ahead of time and welcomed throughout the process. The more we communicate with our audience, the more we grow their trust in meaningful engagement.

So let’s make the extra effort — early and often.

~ Maureen Douglas, CPF-IAF. Mo writes, consults and speaks about values-based teams and leadership; and public and community engagement. Click here for Mo’s FREE e-Guide to Better Public Engagement. Follow her on Twitter.