In community journalism, continuous engagement with the community is at the core. This can take place through personal contact, joint projects, or events. In addition, surveys are a key tool for strengthening interaction and systematically involving people in the journalistic process – both those who are new to the community and those who already follow and support the editorial work.

Many newsrooms now use surveys strategically to engage their community. Four main types of surveys have emerged in this context:

• Developing editorial priorities
• Collecting stories
• Gathering opinions
• Encouraging non-journalistic engagement

On the following pages, we present these four types in detail and provide practical guidance on how surveys can be used effectively for successful community engagement. But first, the question arises:

What makes surveys an effective tool for engagement?

Low-threshold access

Many people want to participate but have limited time and often don’t know exactly how they can get involved. Especially when building a community or engaging readers for the first time, clear and simple participation options are essential. It must be transparent where and how people can contribute.

Surveys provide exactly this low-threshold access. They offer a concrete opportunity to participate, ask targeted questions, and allow engagement with just a few clicks. This way, passive consumers are quickly and easily encouraged to take an active role.

Resource-efficient participation

Compared to more resource-intensive participation formats such as events or joint projects, surveys allow you to reach many people at once and collect feedback in a structured way. With relatively little effort from the editorial team, a wide range of perspectives can be captured and analyzed.

Even though community newsrooms often prioritize qualitative depth over sheer quantity, surveys are an efficient tool to initially gain a broad sense of public sentiment or an overview of needs and interests. They involve the entire community with minimal barriers and provide a resource-friendly starting point for more in-depth participation formats or editorial investigations.

Building relationships through contact information

Depending on the goal, surveys can be conducted anonymously or with contact information provided. When it does not interfere with the survey’s purpose, collecting contact information is strategically essential for community-centered organizations. Contact details form the foundation for genuine and lasting relationships. While reach on platforms often remains anonymous and fleeting, having your own contact data – such as email addresses – enables a direct and independent line to the community.

Collecting contact information through surveys offers several advantages. On one hand, it allows the community to be intentionally expanded and new contacts to be gathered. On the other hand, the information obtained helps to better understand existing members. When survey results are linked to a contact database, it becomes possible to identify the interests or needs of a specific contact and use them for targeted engagement. In this way, surveys become a strategic tool for relationship building.

This article is part of our community journalism wiki. Here you can access the full wiki, where you will also find additional resources and further use cases.