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diff --git a/docs/running/promotion.md b/docs/running/promotion.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..d20c19695 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/running/promotion.md @@ -0,0 +1,512 @@ +--- +layout: page +title: Promoting your FixMyStreet +author: myf +--- + +# How to promote your FixMyStreet site + +So your site is up and running, emails are going off to the right places and +everything looks good. There’s just one more thing you need: some users. + +When people think of the phrase ‘publicity campaign’, they may imagine +expensive TV advertisements, billboard posters and magazine spreads. + +But there are plenty of ways to promote your site that cost nothing, or only a +little. In this guide, we will be looking at some of the most effective ways +you can publicise your site on a low budget. + +Anyone can manage the actions we’re about to run through, and we promise they +will bring you more users. + +## Things to do before you launch + +### Four weeks before launch: make plans + +Will you have a launch party or other event? Who will you invite? Do you need +printed materials? Now is the time to get everything in place. + +*Launch parties are not vital, but if you have contacts in the media or local +government, they’re a good way to make a bit of a splash. They don’t have to be +expensive: all you need is a few snacks and a good presentation.* + +### Three weeks before launch: start filling your site with content + +When people start to visit your site, ideally it will already look like a +successful project that is getting problems fixed. + +Consider asking your friends and family to start using it before your official +launch, so that there is plenty of activity on display. + +Or invite your supporters to be ‘beta testers’, with early access to the site. +If you have a mailing list or newsletter, you can invite your subscribers. If +you prefer to keep your site protected until your launch, you can always share +the password with this small group of early users. + +If all else fails, post some reports yourself! + +### Two weeks before launch: gather media contact details + +You’ll be sending announcements to the media, so you’ll need to gather the relevant email addresses before your launch date. + +There are often useful lists of these online - search for things like ‘press contact lists’ or ‘media contacts’. + +Otherwise, most publications provide a contact page. Put together a spreadsheet of addresses that you can use to send out your press releases when the time comes. Here’s what your spreadsheet might look like at this stage: + +<table class="table promo-spreadsheet"> + <tr class="sheet-header"> + <th colspan="6">National press</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th>Name</th> + <th>Contact</th> + <th>Email address</th> + <th>Did they write about us?</th> + <th>Link to story</th> + <th>Journalist’s name</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The National News</td> + <td>James Bloggs</td> + <td>newsdesk@nationalnews.com</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Daily Blah</td> + <td>Diana Penfold</td> + <td>diana.penfold@thedailyblah.org</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><em>add more here...</em></td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr class="sheet-header"> + <th colspan="6">Regional press</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th>Name</th> + <th>Contact</th> + <th>Email address</th> + <th>Did they write about us?</th> + <th>Link to story</th> + <th>Journalist’s name</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Smallton Times</td> + <td>William Whistler</td> + <td>will@smalltontimes.co.uk</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Realville Mercury</td> + <td>Editor</td> + <td>editor@themercury.co.uk</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><em>add more here...</em></td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> +</table> + +You can fill in the last three columns after launch. + +### One week before launch: notify councils and local authorities (perhaps) + +Consider speaking to the authorities who will be receiving your reports — +especially those who do not already have a fault-reporting system online. + +You will know best how your site is likely to be received by these authorities. +In the UK, we’ve had a variety of experiences, from a small number of councils +who don’t see the point, or dislike our service, to those who think it’s +wonderful. + +Approach councils in the right way, and they may be glad to help you advertise +your site to their residents. In any case, it’s always good to build up +relationships with these bodies, because they can keep you updated about +changes of email addresses or the different departments reports should be sent +to. + +## At launch + +Your launch day has arrived! Time to get busy. + +Hopefully, your period of beta-testing (or while your friends and family have +been using the site) will have helped you detect and solve any technical +issues, so when launch comes, you can dedicate yourself at least a couple of +days to promotion. + +### 1. Tell the media + +Newspapers and magazines, TV and radio shows — every time there’s a mention of +your new site, it will bring you users. + +FixMyStreet has a great advantage when it comes to press coverage: the overall +concept is interesting to national media, while the local aspects of the site +appeal to regional media, too. + +#### Press releases + +Send details of your launch to any outlet you think will cover it. Be clear and +concise: explain what the site is for and how it benefits users. + +Not sure how to write a press release? +[We’ve provided a template here]({{ "/running/example_press_releases" | relative_url }}). + +You may wish to send out two types of press release: + +* A release for the national media, explaining that the site covers the whole + country (if that’s the case) and that the great benefit for users is that + they don’t need to know which council is responsible for which type of + problem in which jurisdiction. + +* A release for local press, pointing out that residents in their area can now + make reports quickly and easily. You can copy and paste the name of the + region into each one, so it seems especially relevant to them. + +But be careful: when the team behind [FiksGataMi](http://fiksgatami.no), the +Norwegian FixMyStreet, sent press releases to every media outlet in the +country, it attracted so many users that their server was overwhelmed with +traffic! + +You can avoid this with load testing, which makes sure that your servers can +cope with increased amounts of traffic, or simply by sending out your press +releases at intervals, over a period of time. + +> **Pere**: We gathered the email address of every media outlet +> in Norway, and used this list to send press releases +> about the service. All local media, all national press, +> all tv stations, radio stations, technical magazine, +> everything. +> +> This overloaded the service after a few hours. +> FiksGataMi went down after 2-3 hours. +> I believe we sent the press release around 8:00 in the +> morning, it went down before 11:00, and came back online +> around 14:00. +> +> Quite a lot of local papers wrote about FiksGataMi, and +> suggested their readers used it to report problems. For +> example Adressavisa, the largest paper in the middle of +> Norway (Trondheim), published several stories over many +> days. This caused Trondheim municipality to get more +> requests than they could handle... + +### 2. Local outreach + +One of the most direct ways to publicise FixMyStreet is to take it out to the +people who will use it. + +You can do this in your own local town — and if you have friends and supporters in other towns, you can ask them to put up posters or leave leaflets in public places for people to take. + +> In the Maldives, the [MakeMyIsland](http://www.makemyisland.mv) ‘roadshow’ +> handed out leaflets on the street, and explained the service to passers-by. + +<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="et" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MakeMyIsland?src=hash">#MakeMyIsland</a> roadshow <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hapsnau?src=hash">#hapsnau</a> in Hulhumale' <a href="https://twitter.com/UNDPMaldives">@UNDPMaldives</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/InnovateAP">@InnovateAP</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/UNDPasiapac">@UNDPasiapac</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/mysociety">@mysociety</a> <a href="https://t.co/hqh6busDZr">pic.twitter.com/hqh6busDZr</a></p>— Nathu Wafir (@nathuwafir) <a href="https://twitter.com/nathuwafir/status/684358147914387456">January 5, 2016</a></blockquote> +<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> + +You could do the same: is there an area that is particularly notorious for +problems such as potholes or rubbish tipping, perhaps? That would be a good +place to chat to people. + +Print up or photocopy a few leaflets. These can be very simple and direct, so +long as they explain the concept and include the URL. Here’s a postcard that +the UK FixMyStreet has used: + +<a href="https://www.fixmystreet.com/about/posters"><img src="/assets/img/promote-90x130.png" alt="FixMyStreet postcard"></a> + +The nice thing about postcards is that they can get your message out twice: +once to the person who picks it up, and once to the person they send it to. + +Put up posters, anywhere people are likely to see them: on universities’ notice +boards, in shops and cafes, libraries... anywhere it’s allowed. + +When you design your leaflets and posters, don’t include any content that will +date (eg mentioning that the site is new and has just launched), and you will +be able to use them at other events in the future. + +## After launch + +So, you told lots of people about your FixMyStreet site, and it got lots of +interest. That’s great. + +But people have short memories, so it’s important to keep dedicating some time +to promoting your site. + +You might not have the time or resources to do everything that’s suggested +below. Why not try a couple, and see how effective they are, then try another +couple later on, and compare? That way you can find out what works best, and +where to dedicate your time. + +### Social media + +Set up accounts on whichever social media is most used in your country: in the +UK, we have FixMyStreet accounts on Twitter and Facebook. You have the option +to set up links to your social media accounts in the site’s footer, report +pages, etc: you can +[read more about customising your FixMyStreet site here]({{ "/customising/" | relative_url }}) +— or [contact us]({{ "/community/" | relative_url }}) if you need more help. + +You’ll need to monitor your accounts daily, in case people ask you questions +that need a prompt reply. The easiest way is to set up your accounts so that +you automatically receive an email every time someone mentions you. + +For Twitter, go to +[https://twitter.com/settings/notifications](https://twitter.com/settings/notifications) +to set your preferences for email alerts. + +<a href="https://twitter.com/settings/notifications"><img src="/assets/img/promo-twitter-screenshot.png" alt="Twitter settings screenshot" /></a> + +And for Facebook, go to +[https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=notifications](https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=notifications) +to set your preferences for alerts. Click on ‘pages you manage’ to find the +settings for your FixMyStreet page. + +<a href="https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=notifications"><img src="/assets/img/promo-facebook-screenshot.png" alt="Facebook notifications screenshot" /></a> + +Use your social media accounts to send out regular messages to your followers. +You might: + +* Link to your most interesting (or infuriating, or puzzling, or funny) + reports. If they’re interesting enough, people will share them, helping you + publicise your site even further. +* Answer your users’ questions about how the site works. +* Find people who are complaining about their local community, and tell them + about your site. +* Generally promote your site with timely messages. In the UK, we talk about + potholes in the colder months because that is when they tend to appear; and + we remind people to report broken street lights when the clocks go back and + people are walking home in the dark. +* Things tend to get fixed more just before the elections - a cynical view, but + one that’s true. So this may be a great time to encourage people to make + reports, and highlight those that have got things fixed. + +#### Keep a blog +Let users know what enhancements you’ve made, events you’ll be at, or just what you’ve been doing lately, with regular blog posts. + +### Regular press releases + +Don’t lose that spreadsheet of media contact addresses - you’re going to need +it again. In fact, make a note on it of which outlets wrote stories about your +site, and the details of the journalists who wrote the stories, so you can +contact them directly next time. + +> **Pere**: To remind the press about our existence we’ve +> sent press releases about FiksGataMi on and off since the +> release. + +Of course, you don’t want to irritate your press contacts with over-frequent press releases, but if you make sure that you have a good story to share, many will welcome your emails. + +What makes a good story after launch? + +* **Statistics**. Use the FixMyStreet dashboard or + your Analytics programme to find out things like: + * how many reports have been made? (Check `/stats` in + your site’s admin dashboard for the overall count, or + count for specific councils/within specific timeframes) + + * what are the most frequent types of report? + (Difficult to be precise, but + `/summary?show_categories=1#category-fix-rate` + will give you a general idea) + + * which area is filing the most reports? + (Check `/reports` on your live site, but do remember + that if council areas are of different sizes or + population densities, that also affects numbers) + + * which reports are the most people viewing? + (Use your analytics programme, and filter to see URLs + containing `report/`) + +* **Unusual or funny reports**. You can use your Analytics programme to see + which reports have been most-viewed: often they are the ones with the most + human interest. + +In the UK, one of our most-viewed reports was about a rare bird which had been +spotted after it escaped from its owner. + +<a href="https://www.fixmystreet.com/report/242529"><img src="/assets/img/fms-unusual-bird-screenshot.jpg" alt="FixMyStreet screenshot: report 242529"></a> + +The UK FixMyStreet site includes [this page](https://www.fixmystreet.com/about/fun). +You might like to include something similar: it’s great to point press towards, +so long as you keep it up to date. + + +* **Success stories** Check the reports that have been marked as fixed, to see + if any of them has made a really big difference to a local community. +* **The local angle** Send local media summaries of the most common types of + report in their own area, or the numbers of reports made. +* **Local radio** In the UK, we are often invited to speak on local radio when + they are doing a feature about issues such as potholes or rubbish clearance. + Normally, we just talk for five minutes, telling people about the site and + what it does. If you have a radio network that covers all regions, contact + them to let them know that you are available as a speaker, and you may be + added to their list of people to include in such features. + +#### Tell journalists to subscribe + +You can tell local journalists about the alerts service on FixMyStreet. There +are links to instructions on setting up alerts on all map pages on the site, or +on `/alert`. + +This functionality allows anyone to subscribe to their local area, so that they +get an email every time anyone makes a report within that neighbourhood. It’s +an effort-free way of staying up to date with the issues that concern their +readers, and also means the journalists can be the first to see any potential +stories. + +> **Myf**: In the UK, we also spent a bit of time contacting very local +> publications, including parish newsletters and community magazines. Although +> each publication may only be read by a couple of hundred to a few thousand +> readers, they are really focused on their own neighbourhood, so the FixMyStreet +> message works well for them. +> +> Because such publications tend to have few staff and not much time, we provided +> them with a ready-written news story and also some graphics, so all they had to +> do was drop them into their templates. + +### Events + +Get involved with events in your area — it’s a good way to meet potential +users. Or, for most of the types of event listed below, if you can’t attend, +you could send some leaflets and posters along and ask for them to be +distributed. + +#### Community fairs, festivals, conferences and meetings + +Ask if you can have a table. Take leaflets, and a smartphone, tablet or laptop +if you have internet access. + +One very direct way to explain what FixMyStreet does is to invite people to +search the site and see the problems reported around their own home. Everyone +is interested to see what has been reported in their own community. + +Then you can guide them through the process of making a report themselves. + +Optionally, ask people for their email addresses so that you can sign them up +to a newsletter. + +#### Set up your own events + +Your local library, hall or co-working space may be glad to let you have a +room and internet access so that you can show residents how to use FixMyStreet. +Put up some posters and invite people to drop by for a fifteen-minute demo. + +#### Clubs and societies + +Certain types of societies’ members will be particularly interested in +FixMyStreet. + +Are there any associations in your country who volunteer to keep the streets +clean, or do gardening in the local parks? Local history organisations tend to +be full of people who also have an interest in keeping the community to a good +standard! Consider women’s groups, local co-operatives, church societies… and +any other groups with a stake in their community. + +> In the UK, we provided special downloadable ‘packs’ for clubs and societies: +> see the Community Group pack on <a href="https://www.fixmystreet.com/about/posters">this page</a>. + +<a href="https://www.fixmystreet.com/about/posters"><img src="/assets/img/promo-community-pack-screenshot.png" alt="FixMyStreet posters screenshot"></a> + +#### Internet-related conferences and hackdays + +FixMyStreet is for everyone to use, not just those with technical skills — but +you may find that some of your strongest supporters come from the coder +community. Because the code is open source, developers can use it to develop +their own tools, too. Perhaps they will contribute some improvements to the +main codebase. + +### Newsletter + +You might have a newsletter that goes out to all supporters of your +organisation, or one that’s specific to your FixMyStreet site. Either way, send +regular messages. If you are doing some or all of the activities listed above - +events, blog posts, news stories - you will already have content for your +newsletter; you’ll just need to link to it. + +Make sure you invite users to sign up to your newsletter. Check our +[documentation on customising your site]({{ "/customising/" | relative_url }}), +or mySociety can help you include a message about the newsletter at various +key points, like: + +* in your email alerts +* at the point when people have completed making a report +* in the footer of your site + + +### Word of mouth + +Word of mouth is an effective way of getting your site known — and it’s free. +But generally, people won’t talk about your site unless you explicitly ask them +to. + +In the UK, we created [this page](https://www.fixmystreet.com/about/posters), +with downloads of resources that help people spread the word about FixMyStreet. +They can print out posters and flyers, and there are templates for news stories +they can send to local magazines or newsletters. There are even activities for +school children and Girl Guides, Scouts, Cubs and Brownies. Feel free to copy +anything from that page and adapt it for your own site/culture/language. + +You may also wish to send this same message - “Please tell your friends about +this site” - via your email alerts, your newsletter, social media, and when you +meet users face to face. You can never ask enough! + +> **Myf**: In the UK, we took this idea one step further. We +> identified some of our site’s most prolific report-makers, +> and emailed them to congratulate them for being +> “FixMyStreet SuperUsers”. +> +> We offered to send them a tote bag and stickers which we’d +> printed up with the FixMyStreet logo, as a way of saying +> thank you — and we also sent them a large stack of +> promotional postcards, asking them to leave these in spots +> around their local town. +> +> These people were obviously already predisposed to feel +> positive about FixMyStreet, so they gladly performed what +> was, however you look at it, a task that benefited us more +> than them. + +<img src="/assets/img/promo-superuser-screenshot.png" alt="FixMyStreet superuser notice screenshot"/> + +Of course, the nice thing about a bright bag is that it also helps promote the +site as its owner carries it around. Some recipients even photographed their +bag and put them on Twitter and Instagram! + +### Online advertising + +If your organisation is a registered charity, and if you operate in one of the +eligible countries, you can apply for free Google Adwords advertising worth up +to US $40,000 per year. [Find out more here](https://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/grants/). + +mySociety can help you with setting up your account, if required, once you have +got the grant. + +### Share your experiences + +If you’ve tried any of these ideas, let us know how it went. What did you +learn? Any tips for others who are about to launch their own FixMyStreet sites? + +Maybe you have some more ideas, or can tell us how you promoted your own site. +Please share your thoughts and stories on the +[FixMyStreet mailing list](https://groups.google.com/a/mysociety.org/forum/#!forum/fixmystreet), +so that everyone can benefit from your knowledge. + |