Promotion and Recruitment
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Promotion and Recruitment

Promotion and recruitment is one of the key requirements for the development of a successful eEngagement (or any other consultative) project. One of the primary tests of eEngagement and online consultation activities is the extent to which the process has attracted participation. As the decline of civic participation (see Exhibit 1) is commonly the core motivation for government interest in eDemocracy activities, the success or otherwise of promotion and recruitment (and later retention, see Section 5.2, Closeout Processes) will often come to define the success of the activity in the mind of senior managers and Ministers.

The appropriate approach to promote the eEngagement process and recruit participants will depend on the nature of the process being undertaken, its objectives (particularly expectations of large or small numbers of participants) and the characteristics of the target audience.

Most government agencies use a combination of:

The tools enabled by ICTs can be useful in developing innovative and effective means of recruitment, particularly in difficult-to-access segments of the community.

Conventional Advertising and Promotional Approaches

Any eEngagement process, correctly configured to take account of issues associated with the digital divide, will incorporate a conventional promotional strategy (such as advertising, direct mail / marketing, etc.). Public sector managers will need to confirm their agency’s policy (or wider government policy) governing the use of advertising (e.g. preferred vendor lists, timing issues, branding strategies, etc.).

In addition, the management team will also consider:

  • the appropriate integration of ICT-based information with advertising (such as referral from advertisements to informative websites);
  • the lead-in times for purchasing advertising (which can take months to schedule);
  • careful project planning to ensure online materials are ready to go ‘live’ at the scheduled start time for the promotional campaign; and
  • leveraging the ‘novelty’ of the process to ensure media coverage of the event (a valuable public relations approach that can deliver cost-effective coverage of the issue).

The Power of Social Networking (and its Limitations)

‘Social networking’ or ‘referral’ (or even ‘multilevel’) marketing is the use of existing social networks (such as friendship groups) to spread promotional and recruitment messages. These approaches are already used in consultative approaches in government, either formally (‘bring a friend’) or organically, as information relevant to one person is spread by them to their friends and personal acquaintances.

Exhibit 26: Wellington Shire (Victoria, Australia) Council Webcasting

The Shire of Wellington introduced web-based video cameras into Council meetings to extend the reach of Council meetings to its large shire. As part of the implementation the Council included the capacity for viewers to post questions to the Mayor (following formal meeting practices for gallery observers), which made the process more engaging and interactive, as the Mayor responded live on camera to public concerns and questions. The webcasts have had strong viewer numbers, partially because of good promotion and marketing via existing media channels including television coverage on the regional news and positive endorsement by the local newspaper. In addition, some journalists who live at a distance to the Council chamber use the system to cover council debate, increasing the ‘knock on’ effect of information distribution and oversight of Council activities.

Social networking is particularly powerful in the ICT world, where messages can be spread quickly and easily in digital form (as when colleagues forward messages about issues they think may be of relevance to persons in their social or professional networks). In addition, many websites include ‘mail this page to a friend’ options to allow people to easily distribute information they think of interest to people they know.

The advantages of including a social networking recruitment element can include:

  • low/no cost;
  • ease of implementation;
  • the ‘networking effect’ can massively multiply the number of people who receive the message; and
  • the message is targeted to people who are likely to be responsive.

The limitations of social networking include:

  • uncertainty about the number of people who are likely to be recruited;
  • ‘sameness’ of friendship groups (may need to seed many different groups to get a diversity of participants);
  • risk of recruiting ‘wrong’ or ineligible participants (remember the global nature of the medium);
  • loss of control over the communication as it passes along personal networks;
  • loss of control over the timing of messages (particularly where social networks are infrequent communicators) – may lead to request for participation long after the eEngagement process has concluded; the difficultly in developing effective messages (e.g. that have intrinsic appeal and are, therefore, likely to be passed along); and
  • the need to ensure that recruitment is not undertaken in a way that would be seen as deceptive or in violation of relevant Privacy laws.
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