Singing the Praises of Online Surveys

The Illinois Great Rivers Conference of the United Methodist Church is the regional organization composed of 900 United Methodist congregations in the southern two-thirds of Illinois. Although the current regional organization is only 13 years old, there have regional predecessor bodies that date back to the early 1800s, when Illinois became a state. The United Methodist Church, meanwhile, traces its roots back to England in the 1700's where its founder John Wesley ignited a renewal movement within the Church of England.

Yet despite the Conference's historic roots, it recently encountered some modern problems when it was looking to cut its printing costs and engage its members in two-way communications.

Challenge: Newsletters that were too costly

When Paul Black became director of communications for the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of the United Methodist Church in August 2006, he inherited a communications system that was heavy on printed matter. For example, the Conference's newspaper, The Current, which reached around 12,000 pastors and church leaders, was published every two weeks and delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.

"The budget for the newspaper was nearly half of the total communications budget," Paul says. In order to save money, reach more people, and diversify its media mix the Conference had to look into less costly alternatives that were more engaging and interactive.

Solution: More targeted communications at different frequencies

To save money, the Conference decided to only publish The Current monthly, and in the interim it began using Constant Contact to publish The Current Week In Review, an email newsletter. But when it made that decision, the Conference didn't realize it would also be improving the rest of its communications plan. For example, it now uses Constant Contact to send 20 different targeted electronic publications to a mailing list of more than 4,100 people.

In addition, in November 2008, the Conference began using the Online Survey tool from Constant Contact to get valuable feedback on its events. The report feature makes printing out results easy and copying of narrative responses have been easier than manual tabulation. "With the ability to publish a survey in advance, we have been able to develop the survey tool and have it ready to be mailed just as the event is concluding," Paul says.

In addition, the Conference also began using the Online Survey tool to launch a "Question of the Week" poll, which helps its newsgathering operations generate stories on issues of interest. "We see this as another way to invite people to register their opinions," Paul says. "We also include a link to our Facebook group so that people can post longer explanations of their views and invite conversation from fellow United Methodists."

Results: Increased web traffic and member engagement

"One of the benefits of email newsletters is that we have seen a 300-fold increase in traffic to our website," Paul reports. In the first 14 months since the redesign of its website, which coincided with the introduction of the Constant Contact email newsletters, the Conference received 4 million hits, far more than ever before. "We have been very pleased with Constant Contact for its flexibility and user-friendliness, and its robustness," he adds.

The feedback on the November 2008 event — which saw 300 attendees — garnered a 40 percent response rate within the first 24 hours. Three major events in March 2009 with similar-sized crowds, recorded equally swift rates of return.

For the organization's 2009 annual conference in June 2009, which had nearly 2,000 attendees, the conference employed the same process for follow-up evaluations. "The report feature makes printing out results easy and copying of narrative responses have been easier than manual tabulation," Paul says.

As a result of the savings the Conference has realized, it has been able to add another staffer for video production — an area previously manned by part-time volunteers on a seasonal basis. This alone is enough to make Paul's job easier, but still he sings Constant Contact's praises: "We have been able to do more with less staff time expended with great results!"