With so many people jumping on the telephone town hall train, we’ve seen a lot of creative ways members of Congress are utilizing the platform to stay connected with their constituents during this time of social distancing. That being said, it’s easy to get stuck in a telephone town hall rut where you want to change things up but not sure what to do. Here are a few suggestions to keep these events fresh based on some great town halls we’ve seen lately!
Add a Guest
Inviting a guest speaker to your telephone town hall is a great way to show you are collaborating with the right leaders in the various levels of government. And participation couldn’t be easier, since all they need to do is dial a phone number and enter a pin, just like most conference calls, and they can participate from anywhere. Lately, we’ve seen lots of public health officials and local small business leaders joining our events.
Add a Poll
Did you know you can also conduct polls live during your telephone town hall? Just let our team know you want to run a poll before the event, and they will set up. Then easily ask constituents to participate by pressing a button for their choice.
For example, “We would love to hear from everyone on which issue is the most pressing for our country right now, please press 1 for the economy, press 2 for public health, press 3 for the environment…” etc.
Add a Moderator
If you don’t have anyone on your staff that can moderate the event, or your boss doesn’t feel comfortable doing the moderation, we can book you a professional moderator that can run the event and give your event a top notch professional feel. A moderator will take pressure off of the member and help fill in gaps where you often find awkward silences as you move from question to question.
Add Facebook Live
If you want to go beyond the telephone, streaming your event to Facebook Live is a free way to reach constituents that you don’t have email addresses or telephone numbers for. Just let our team know you want to use Facebook Live, and show up to the event 15 minutes early to sign into Facebook and link your account to Broadnet. This not only can help you reach more constituents but also can add a more personal aspect to your event.
Add Live Video
If you have a dynamic boss, video is a great way to communicate, and you can also record the event and post it to YouTube later and share with any constituents that couldn’t participate, getting more life out of each event you put on. With our multi-site video streaming platform, it’s easier than ever to add live streaming to an event; no additional equipment required.
These are a few tips to add some variety and new channels to your telephone town halls. We hope these tips help you get creative with your next telephone town hall and add some dynamic elements that will create more interaction during the event as well as expand the lifespan of each event to reach more people. Have a favorite tactic up your sleeve? We’d love to hear from you and learn what’s working best for your team. New to telephone town halls? Check out our comprehensive guide to learn more!