Congruity Works

In the latest from our Exponential Narratives newsletter we interview Kathryn Schotthoefer and she shares this case study in growth through effective community engagement: "GirlTREK' growth wasn’t due to a complex content strategy; it was a simple, community-driven effort encouraging Black women to walk for health” says Kat. “The model worked because it tapped into the community’s values, motivations, and identity.” https://lnkd.in/gC5txXiJ

Mariano Avila writes: "To identify and nurture a community of purpose, you’ll first need to develop what we call a data-driven mindset. That means leveraging data you already have from the platforms you own—your app, your newsletters, your website or events—to offer increasingly tailored experiences for folks with a narrow subset of interests. Here’s what that looks like: Make a list of what links people click on most consistently in your newsletter, and who is clicking. See what you can distill from comparing that data to your social post engagement and your linear or app viewing/listening numbers. What kind of people engage with each of your events? You’ll start to see patterns emerging. You can take this further to track trends throughout your station’s ecosystem as you view data to see which engaged viewers or event attendees are also giving to fundraising drives or becoming members." https://lnkd.in/gTZgekHw

"It’s very hard to meet customers’ expectations if you don’t have the data in one place where you can serve it synchronously to many systems,” says Bennett Fox-Glassman, senior vice president of customer journey for Macy’s Inc." https://lnkd.in/gjEkJQGK

Mariano Avila lays out the strategy we've been developing at Congruity Works for building deeper engagement with supporters: “Put bluntly, the game has changed from capturing more eyes and ears, to fostering relational depth and sustained engagement with very specific groups.” He describes “Communities of Purpose”: groups of highly engaged individuals driven by shared interests and sustained by intentional, data-informed touch points." https://lnkd.in/g2ta4Yxm

The classic consumer funnel was built for the old world - and Gen Z doesn't live there anymore. Consumption today is an infinite loop of inspiration, exploration, community and loyalty. For Danuta Bregu?a & Liesbeth Nizet, experts in engaging younger audiences, we're shifting from a linear model to a more dynamic, engaging approach that reflects the ways Gen Z and Gen Alpha interact with content and more important, that?starts from a belonging perspective. Which is why they've reshaped the classic funnel into a youth-friendly version, one adapted to these younger generations. One to check out in their article on The Audiencers: https://lnkd.in/e4whcrKg

Check out this piece on one of our clients approach to marketing and engagement: "We are piloting a member-only texting service as a new way to consistently engage with our members and increase awareness of our member program and benefits. Knowing how annoying texts are, especially from brands (or political parties), we treat it differently. First, no asking for money. Second, be yourself. In our case, Nick, our member engagement manager, needs to be himself. He has the member hookups. Free tickets to an upcoming concert. An exclusive track from a KCRW music performance just for members. First-to-know invites to a member-only party that would reach capacity within minutes. No need to be sales-y when you can be the most exciting text message they receive that day. We currently have over 2,000 members who receive texts from Nick (and other friendly individuals from his team). We have a 99.94% retention rate for those who receive texts. Conclusion: if you text with us, you stay with us."

"This agreement represents a major breakthrough in ensuring the survival of newsrooms and bolstering local journalism across California – leveraging substantial tech industry resources without imposing new taxes on Californians,” Gavin Newsom, the governor, said in a statement. “The deal not only provides funding to support hundreds of new journalists but helps rebuild a robust and dynamic California press corps for years to come, reinforcing the vital role of journalism in our democracy.” https://lnkd.in/gUE_HDG3

Our latest newsletter article: "You can’t expect people to go right from watching a show to becoming a member. Some might, but not enough for you to build a strategy around them. You need to get to know them based on how they interact with our communications–the more targeted and specific, the better. The information you collect is called ‘first party data,” but getting it is a process.? You first need to build a relationship with your fans through whatever form of communication they use to find you–social media, live events, broadcast content, your website, etc. On those platforms, provide easy steps for them to climb up your engagement pyramid (or ladder).? Wherever they find you, use the specific show or topic to engage them. Once you’ve guided them into regular communication (ideally through email or SMS) you can start to lay the groundwork that inspires them to become a member." https://lnkd.in/gM_N5Ftd

The latest issue of our Exponential Narratives newsletter is up today. Mariano Avila writes: "What happened on Saturday is a terrifying turn in American history and a sad day for our democracy. Regardless of what party we support or which candidate wins, the impact of this attempt on Donald Trump’s life will be felt for years to come. And while the news cycle has moved onto JV Vance as Trump’s pick for VP, it will be increasingly important to use those instincts that made us journalists and to remember the many, hard-won lessons from our industry’s failures and triumphs going as far back as the attempt on Reagan and as currently as the aftermath on the attempt this past weekend. Here’s my call to action as we strive to be factual, fair, and first. Let’s do just that—but let’s do it better each time." https://lnkd.in/gqpPaTk5

The second issue of our newsletter is out! Adriana Loya writes about her experience with hyperlocal journalism via TikTok: "I was researching that story for my day shift when people started tagging me on a different video that was rapidly gaining views on TikTok, showing a construction worker getting physically and verbally assaulted by the general contractor managing the site.?In between getting my interview with police, b-roll, and looking for a tarot card reader who offered “limpias” to interview and add to my story, I was also working to verifying the legitimacy of the construction video and getting in contact with the alleged victim. I reached out to the person who posted the video, the people who tagged me, and those in the comments who said they knew the victim. A couple of hours later I had the victim’s name and phone number, and she was willing to speak with me. By around 2 p.m. I was done getting all the elements for my “spiritual cleanse” scam story that was set to air during our five o’clock newscast when I saw that my producers had become aware of the now-viral video of the construction worker assault. On our “pitches” channel on Microsoft Teams our producers posted that they wanted someone to reach out. I immediately called them and informed them I had that connection ready to go." Full article: https://lnkd.in/gva4WVth