Covered topics
Setting realistic expectations
Early signs of success
Experienced signs of success
Setting realistic expectations
We've seen the Hearken platform and process generate unique, high-performing stories at all our partner newsrooms, as well as broader, more engaged audiences. We’ve likely told you about those successes, too. So we can understand if you have high expectations for Hearken — and you should. But we want to make sure you also have realistic expectations for the first few months of using it.
Hearken fundamentally shifts the relationship between audience and journalist. And getting into this kind of deep relationship takes time, both for your newsroom and the audience. Just like anything else, there’ll be some early adopters: folks who just “get it” and immediately participate. And then there’ll be everyone else.
We now have dozens of newsrooms of various sizes using Hearken around the world, so we also have the fortune of witnessing some patterns that we’d like to share with you below.
Early signs of success
The first few months using Hearken should be about running a pilot with some key goals and success metrics. Below are our benchmarks for success in launching the Hearken process and how to tell if it’s working. It goes without saying: the bigger your audience, the bigger your chances at engagement. Still, we’ve seen tiny 3-person newsrooms in small towns get the same kind of quality engagement for their size.
Benchmarks for building audience engagement
Can you find a point person in your newsroom to oversee a pilot and be responsible for managing the Hearken platform and process?
After you inform your audiences how to participate and where, do you get a handful of good questions? (More questions will come in time.)
If you decide to run a voting round and inform your audience where to vote, do you get any votes? (More votes will come in time.)
Can you select a good question and get it into your production schedule to answer? We suggest reporting 1-4 stories in this way during the first 2 months.
Are any of the email addresses you collected new leads for your organization? (E.g., for newsletters, subscriptions, etc).
There is no magic number of how many questions or votes you should get when you first launch. The number of questions or votes you receive are affected by a number of factors, such as interest from the audience on the topic, promotional efforts, etc. These metrics grow over time as you publish more stories that emphasize your audience's collaboration and explain how others can be involved in the Hearken process. Learn more about outreach and promotion.
Benchmarks for the published story
How do the stories you produce via Hearken perform compared to your organization’s average, comparable-length stories? (On your site, social media, etc.) In our experience, Hearken-powered stories outperform average stories and often make it into the top stories for the week, month or year.
The goal for this launch period is to publish at least a few stories using Hearken and witness the difference it makes in:
The variety of stories you’re able to tell
The performance of the stories you publish
The excitement of your participating newsroom staff
The excitement of your participating audience
The actionable insight your newsroom gains into what content directly serves your audience
Experienced signs of success
After the first few months of Hearken, the goal of the process remains the same: giving the public a seat at your editorial table and publishing stories they're invested in. The following are metrics you should track and improve upon as you continue to use Hearken.
Success metrics to look for over time
Are you receiving more questions, votes (and email addresses) with each new story you publish?
Are you creating stories that wouldn't otherwise make it into the news cycle without the public's questions?
Are the folks participating sharing with their networks?
Are the folks participating palpably excited about the opportunity?
Are there repeat visitors to the Hearken-powered content on your site?
Does Hearken-powered content bring new visitors to your site?
Are you generating new leads for subscriptions or members in your CRM?
If your site is directly funded by the audience, have any of your new leads led to conversions?
Are you able to find underwriters / advertisers / sponsors for Hearken content? (We've found newsrooms with branded series have good luck with this.)
Are the stories you're making with the public popular?
Are your board members / shareholders excited?
Have you created a space where your audience is valued, listened to, empowered, and helpful? (Hearken's ultimate reason for existence.)
We realize that achieving our ultimate reason for existence sometimes entails helping you sell Hearken to your bosses. If you need a hand in deciding what metrics to track (or even how to track them) to prove success and continue using Hearken, reach out to your engagement consultant or support@wearehearken.com