Target Group Survey with the CrowdNewsroom
If you want to build a community-centered newsroom, the first step is to start a conversation with your target audience and really get to know them. At this early stage, you can already use beabee and the CrowdNewsroom.
A target group survey in the CrowdNewsroom is particularly well suited to learning more about your (potential) users, activating them, and showing them from the very beginning that their opinions matter. Ideally, you identify an initial relevant topic early on that allows you to move straight into reporting. At the same time, you can start collecting email addresses early and inform interested people about the launch of your newsletter or invite them to a kick-off event.
If you are already one step further and have an existing community, a join survey helps you better understand the interests and needs of your members when they join the community. Find more information here.
Sample questionnaire for your traget group survey
Before getting in touch with your target audience, you should think about what you want to ask them. To do this, develop a short, well-thought-out questionnaire. For example, ask how people get their information, which topics are particularly important to them, and what they feel is missing in local coverage.
We have created a sample questionnaire that you can use as-is or adapt to your needs:
How do you usually find out about what is happening in your neighborhood? (Select the three most common sources) (Multiple choice) ( ) Radio, ( ) Television, ( ) Local newspaper (print), ( ) Local newspaper (website), ( ) Social media or messenger services, ( ) Friends and family, ( ) Local organizations/initiatives/associations, ( ) Local multipliers/community leaders, ( ) Church or religious community, ( ) Official channels (e.g., city administration), ( ) Other, namely:
Can you specify your answers in more detail? (Free text field)
Which of these topics are most important to you personally here in our community? (Select three) (Multiple choice) ( ) Health, ( ) Housing, ( ) Education, ( ) Work/jobs, ( ) Environment/climate, ( ) Safety, ( ) Cultural diversity & language, ( ) Culture & events, ( ) Support for children & young people, ( ) Migration & integration, ( ) Other:
Is there a specific topic that you feel is not covered enough or is poorly covered in the local media? (Free text field)
We would like to establish a new local media outlet for XXX. Therefore, we would like to stay in touch with you and keep you informed about the progress of our project. May we contact you by email? ( ) Yes, please keep me informed by email. ( ) No, I do not wish to receive emails.
My email address: (Free text field)
Here you can find a guide on how to easily set up the questionnaire in the CrowdNewsroom.
Using the questionnaire
In the next step, you need to think about how you want to start a conversation. For example, you could put up a sign that says, “Which issues in our city matter to you? Tell me!” and offer free or low-cost coffee and croissants.
If you decide to set up a small booth, it’s nice to fill out the questionnaire together while you are talking to the people. Simply ask your conversation partners the questions from the questionnaire and enter their answers on your laptop or tablet. To reach more people at the same time, you can also print a QR code linking to the questionnaire and display it at your booth. The Listening Post Collective in the US recommends printing postcards or small slips of paper with the questionnaire. If your booth is at an event, you can distribute these on tables or chairs beforehand and place a box at your booth or near the exit for the completed postcards.
We believe that being physically present on site is essential to the success of this whole approach. That said, it doesn’t mean you can’t also share your questionnaire online. For example, you can ask local organizations and initiatives to share the questionnaire within their networks or on social media. At the same time, you can use your existing channels—such as social media or WhatsApp/Signal groups—to encourage your community to spread the word and pass the questionnaire on to others.
Join survey when joining your community
A join survey is not only useful for getting to know potential community members, but also for learning more about new members when they join your community. In this case, you can phrase the questions in a more targeted and specific way, for example:
What do you expect from joining this community?
Which offerings would you like to see?
What challenges are you currently facing?
What expertise do you bring with you?
In beabee, you can integrate the CrowdNewsroom directly into the sign-up process. The responses from the join survey are then displayed in the profile of each contact. You can find out how to set up the join survey here.
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