How to create a positive audience engagement module without bias
At 6AM City, leveraging engagement to achieve synergy is one of our company’s values. In our newsletter, one of the ways we aim to achieve this is through engagement modules — an interactive portion of the product that gives readers the opportunity to respond + react to the content they’re reading.
Engagement modules are an intentional part of what our editorial teams produce on a daily basis, designed to be positive, engaging, and unbiased. Here’s how we do it.
Let’s talk logistics.
Our engagement modules are Quizzes, Polls + Questions. They’re formatted in Taxi (the platform we use to build our newsletter) and then linked out to an interactive Google Form where readers can submit a guess, vote, answer, or feedback. In addition to being a feature in the newsletter, we also embed engagement modules into the articles posted on our markets’ websites — giving readers the opportunity to consume + engage with the content all in one place.
All access.
One of the reasons we use Google Forms is accessibility. There are few barriers to access + it’s comprehensive for readers to use. Unlike questions we pose on social media, readers don’t have to have an account to respond. Because nothing kills engagement like, well, the inability to engage.
That said, we do regularly incorporate engagement modules across our social platforms in addition to sharing them within the newsletter. We may take a prompt and format it as a quiz on Instagram stories. We’ll pose a question and ask readers to respond in the comments on Facebook. We may share a poll on Twitter. The engagement module concept is weaved throughout all of our platforms in a variety of ways because wherever audiences are consuming our content, we want to present them with the opportunity to share their feedback.
A, B, C, or D.
When it comes to writing engagement modules, particularly Polls and Questions, we work to format answer options in a way that encourages responses from all viewpoints. Even when we ask an open-ended question, we’re careful not to present bias in the wording that might dissuade participation.
Survey says…
Just as important as asking the right questions is how we handle the responses. Sometimes in the newsletter, we run #Asked and #Answered conversations. The #Answered is the followup to the #Asked, and features a sample of reader responses on a particular topic. In these instances, we’ll work to feature diverse feedback. Occasionally, we’ll go so far as to feature all feedback. Whatever the engagement module may be, we work to share reader feedback in a way that is transparent + unbiased.
Be intentional.
When we incorporate engagement modules, we do so with a purpose. If our readers take the time to respond and engage — their feedback is valuable and something we intend to incorporate back into the conversation in some way. Our teams have shared feedback with community leaders to help inform decision making. We’ve used reader suggestions to determine content strategies. We’ll share the results of a Poll at the bottom of the next day’s newsletter so readers can gauge community sentiment on a topic. The decision to utilize engagement modules is intentional, and we actively listen to + reincorporate the feedback we receive.
Activate. Educate. Entertain.
Aside from being an invaluable platform for feedback, engagement modules add positive value to the newsletter because of their ability to activate, educate, and entertain our readers. They’re a tool our editorial team can use to flex their creativity and our brand style and tone. It’s a space where we introduce content readers are excited to interact with. It’s the “last takeaway” we add to a piece of content to keep readers talking.
Local conversations are at the heart of everything we do at 6AM City, and engagement modules are one of the ways we aim to facilitate productive dialogue about the cities we live in.
