To get the most accurate results from your nonprobability-based survey efforts, share your survey as widely as possible. Below is our suggested calendar for outreach, assuming a survey is active for four weeks. Adjust as needed to accommodate your timeline, available resources, communication channels, and community’s needs.

Let your community know about the upcoming survey! Share a quick link to your Polco profile to encourage residents to join Polco in advance, so you can easily notify subscribers when the survey goes live.

• Publish a blog post or e-newsletter announcement, share social media posts, and/or email existing community lists.
• Hand out pre-survey business cards at municipal building service or information desks, community events or meetings, libraries, community centers, neighborhood associations, festivals, farmer’s markets, and more.

After Survey Launch

While the survey is active, provide frequent reminders across multiple platforms (both digital and physical!) to meet residents where they are. Try out different messaging and call-to-actions to see what resonates with your community.

Week 1

Announce the launch of your survey, explain the importance of the effort and the goals/purpose of the survey, and invite all to participate. Engage all existing community channels early in the survey process to reach as many residents as possible.

• Send survey invitation email through Polco to existing subscribers
• Post on social media channels
• Share a press release with local media outlets
• Create a blog post or website page/banner/modal
• Email internal municipal departments to ask for help engaging their followers
• Prepare messaging for physical newsletter and utility bill inserts
• Post physical survey flyer in public spaces (e.g., library, community/rec centers, parks, municipal buildings, schools/universities, bus stops, public walkways and bulletin boards)

Week 2

Widen the reach of your survey communications with help from local organizations and community partners.

• Email community partners to ask for help reaching their visitors and networks
• Distribute survey business cards at municipal building service or information desks, community events or meetings, libraries, community centers, neighborhood associations, festivals, farmer’s markets, etc.

Week 3

Continue to engage the community! Begin to emphasize the upcoming survey close date.

• Re-engage community with additional social media posts, emails, blogs, and/or other digital platforms
• Release newsletter messaging and utility bill inserts (ideally, if schedule allows)
• Follow up with internal departments one last time
• Continue to share business cards, replace flyers as needed, and take advantage of any other existing in-person opportunities for additional outreach

Week 4

Publish one last, urgent call for participation. 

• Follow up with community partners one last time
• Emphasize the survey’s close date on social media

After Survey Close

Share results and anticipated next steps with your residents.

• Within a day or two of the survey closing, thank respondents for participating and let them know what to expect next (e.g., timeline for next steps, when results will be released).
• Discuss survey results with internal stakeholders and determine appropriate next steps (e.g., conduct additional surveys to dive deeper/get more information on specific areas of interest, explore new programs or changes to existing services, schedule a community-wide listening session on low-performing areas, etc.).
• Share a press release and/or other communications to highlight key survey results/takeaways, as well as upcoming plans based on the results.