How can you use the media richness theory to select communication channels in community organizing?

2 How to apply media richness theory to community organizing?

To apply media richness theory to community organizing, you need to consider two aspects: the purpose of your message and the characteristics of your audience. The purpose of your message can be to inform, persuade, or mobilize people. The characteristics of your audience can include their size, diversity, familiarity, and preference. Based on these aspects, you can choose a communication channel that matches the richness of your message and the needs of your audience.

3 Examples of communication channels and their richness

When it comes to communication channels and their richness, face-to-face meetings are the most effective. They provide immediate feedback, multiple cues such as body language and tone, language variety including stories and metaphors, and personal focus like eye contact and gestures. This makes them ideal for persuading and mobilizing small groups of people who are familiar and engaged with your cause. Video calls are also a rich channel, but lack some personal focus. They are suitable for informing, persuading, and mobilizing small to medium groups of people who are diverse and interested in your cause. Phone calls are moderately rich channels, allowing for feedback and language variety but lacking multiple cues and personal focus. They are appropriate for informing and persuading small to medium groups of people who are somewhat familiar and receptive to your cause. Emails, text messages, and social media posts are all lean channels that allow for minimal feedback and language variety, but lack multiple cues and personal focus. Emails are useful for informing and persuading large groups of people who are diverse and curious about your cause, while text messages can effectively inform and mobilize large groups of people who are familiar and committed to your cause. Social media posts can be used to inform and mobilize large groups of people who are diverse and supportive of your cause.

4 How to combine communication channels for optimal results?

One way to enhance your communication strategy is to combine different communication channels for optimal results. For example, you can use a lean channel to inform people about your cause and invite them to a richer channel to persuade and mobilize them. Or you can use a rich channel to persuade and mobilize people and follow up with a lean channel to remind and reinforce them. The key is to align your communication channel with your communication goal and your audience's characteristics.

5 How to evaluate and adjust your communication channel choices?

Another way to improve your communication strategy is to evaluate and adjust your communication channel choices based on the feedback and results you receive. For example, you can measure the response rate, the engagement level, the conversion rate, and the satisfaction level of your audience. You can also ask for feedback from your audience and your team members. Based on the data and feedback, you can adjust your communication channel choices to better suit your message and audience.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?