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Every ten years, the US Census Bureau counts every person in the United States, thus enabling government agencies to allocate resources effectively. The last time the census was conducted, the nation wasn’t facing an unprecedented global virus; how has this affected this year’s population? On April 18th, the country reached an important census milestone when half of all households in the U.S. self-responded to the Census. Whether you are a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty type of person doesn’t matter here – for the money to be distributed correctly, we still need to reach an accurate count, which means counting everyone.
The COVID-19 crisis intensified its grip on the U.S. just as Census 2020 was about to begin. Months (and even years) of communication and field-ops preparations by the federal, state, county, and local governments had to be adjusted as residents’ attention moved almost entirely to the pandemic and social-distancing measures began to prevent events and tallying.
If generating engagement with online census content had seemed difficult before, during the COVID-19 crisis, it became even harder. On the one hand, people are constantly online, tuning in to official sources more than ever. On the other, residents are currently experiencing an overload of information, which means that for non-COVID-related content to be seen, it needs to really stand out. This requires census messaging to be more creative, attention-grabbing, and relevant to the context of this new reality.
Last month, the bureau suspended all in-person census surveys until further notice. A handful of local census offices have begun to reopen based on public health guidance and the availability of protective equipment. However, the process is still slow-moving, and the bureau continuously updates the operations timeline as new guidelines take effect. These changes have and will undoubtedly negatively impact those who are the usual undercounted populations, including the homeless, immigrants, those without a stable address, and many more. Therefore, until all field operations commence and real innovation is needed to support them, the self-response options must be emphasized more than ever.
For census content to cut through the online noise, it must be relevant, digestible, engaging, and humorous. The following are a few tips, resources, and ideas on increasing awareness of your census content and increasing response rate during this time.
Make your coronavirus message relevant; use the right messenger
The large-scale impact of COVID-19 actually emphasizes the importance of having an accurate count. For example, Public health experts currently have to use aggregated Census data to respond to the pandemic. Moreover, Census data impacts funding for hospitals, health services, facilities, and various school and after-school programs.
Using these strong arguments in your posts and specific examples of health and educational facilities and programs that would have benefited from an accurate count could increase understanding of the impact of the Census.
By analyzing census-related interactions and discourse across the Zencity Network of 130+ cities and counties, data indicates that official city sources, particularly those of Mayors, generate the most engagement with census content. Government and health officials currently at the forefront of communicating with the public about the pandemic should use their channels to disseminate COVID-related census messages. Since most official communications about the crisis are already being translated into other languages, the reach of these messages to different populations would naturally increase.
Additionally, many residents seek opportunities to volunteer during the crisis and aid the first responders in battling the virus. Cities can acknowledge this need and drive census completion by communicating to residents that filling out the census is an easy, essential way to help first responders. Incorporating images of first responders' artwork with a direct call to action should increase engagement even further.
Example texts for a could be:
Messaging at this time also needs to take full advantage of the fact that most people aren’t leaving their homes. Many local authorities encourage people to self-respond to the census from home, online, or by phone, using infographics and hashtags such as #netflixandfill and #netflixandfillyourcensus.
Relaying simplified census processes to your community in the context of COVID-19 could help them understand the power of their participation.
Use creative and engaging content to stand out
Census memes and gifs are also a quick and easy way to stand out from heavier and more serious COVID-19 content. Following a contest for Census memes and gif creation initiated by the bureau, you can choose from plenty of options. Being witty and funny rather than simply informative and formal will help get people’s attention. These can be used by the city’s official channels and shared by community partners who can use a more relaxed and humorous tone. Be sure also to check out the creatives for the count website, which has over 500 census-related pieces.
Finally, now is the time to be more engaging and drive organic reach around your content. Sharing the current local response rate on a city or area/neighborhood level with your residents will expose them to the progress and might encourage some to complete it or convince their friends. Some cities use a ‘challenge’ methodology to get people to pledge they’ve filled out the census and tag their neighbors and friends. Again, going for a light and casual tone rather than a serious one can make the posts much more relatable at this time.
Example texts for a could be:
Ensuring a complete count is perhaps more critical and challenging than ever before, yet it also presents powerful new opportunities to reach your community. In addition, the Zencity platform allows cities to follow all the Census-related feedback from residents in real-time. By assessing this discourse, you can accurately adjust your content and messaging to address their needs and questions associated with the count. When trying out new and adapted messaging, you can also use Zencity to monitor community perception and adjust as necessary.
Are you a Zencity? Directly access your Census Project here.
Not a Zen-city/county? Learn how we can help you navigate this ‘New Normal’ with our unique Action Plan for cities and counties. Read more.
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