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Keeping people engaged

Communicating with your people and sharing relevant, interesting information and opportunities is a great way to keep them engaged, even outside of sessions and volunteering time.

Your communications (comms) are often a key way to achieve your organisation's marketing objectives and can help keep your existing people engaged and attract new ones. Communicating regularly and effectively has a number of benefits, including:

  • Ensuring people feel informed on the latest developments at your organisation. This can help them feel valued and 'part of something'. 

  • Helping to bring people together in difficult periods and reminding them of why they love their chosen sport and enjoy being part of your organisation. 

  • Supporting the needs of individuals or specific groups. Some people may feel more comfortable about attending sessions if they know more, and parents and carers might be more comfortable if they receive regular communications about safety and welfare. 

  • Improving the overall experience for your participants and volunteers, which can support sustainability and even improve the likelihood that people will recommend you to others. 

  • Creating open dialogue with your people and providing opportunities for them to communicate with you will make sure they feel valued and listened to, whilst also helping your organisation to act on the needs of your members and volunteers.

Communicating with different groups

Your comms can be aimed at different people, can take different forms and cover a range of topics, for example:

Participants or members
It is beneficial to communicate with your participants or members regularly so they stay up to date on things like session times or formats, social or volunteering opportunities and any changes that might impact them.
Volunteers
Keeping your volunteers updated and informed will support them to fulfil their role effectively. You may also need to share information, or enable discussion and input from your volunteers.
Coaches
Like other volunteers, informed coaches will be better positioned to fulfil their role and support participants during activities.
Parents, families and carers
Parents, families and carers of children and vulnerable adults can benefit from being kept informed directly about what’s happening at your organisation.
Community partners
There are different reasons you might communicate with other organisations in your community, such as to develop new working relationships, recruit new participants and volunteers, encourage attendance at events or hire out your facilities.

These organisations might include sources of new people like schools or special interest groups, or ones that can help you further your reach such as your Active Partnership or local volunteering services.
Other organisations
You might find it useful to send regular communications to some other organisations, such as existing or prospective suppliers, funders or sponsors, to establish and protect successful relationships.
Prospective participants or volunteers
Some of your communications might have a specific recruitment focus. Developing a marketing strategy ahead of time can be really useful for guiding how these might sit separately to other communications.

Further reading

Marketing strategy