Opinion: Why audience engagement should be everyone’s job

Public media leaders have spent a great deal of time talking about revenue. And understandably so. The financial pressures facing mission-driven media organizations are real, and the need for sustainable funding has never been greater.

But I wonder if we sometimes focus on the financial challenge without looking deeply enough at what creates sustainable support in the first place.

Revenue is often the result of relevance.

The organizations that inspire long-term support usually begin by creating something people believe is valuable. They become part of people’s lives. They solve problems. They create connection. They reflect the identity and aspirations of the communities they serve. Fundraising does not happen separately from that relationship. A successful membership program or major-gift effort is rarely just about the effectiveness of the ask; it is about whether people understand an organization’s purpose and feel that their support has meaning.

Over my career in public media, I have seen this play out repeatedly. At KPLU, listeners did not just identify with a frequency on a radio dial. They identified with a service that reflected their community, their values and their daily lives. When that connection was threatened, listeners responded because they understood that they were not simply supporting a station — they were protecting something they valued.

At KUOW, the strongest examples of engagement came when the organization moved beyond simply delivering content and created opportunities for people to participate in the civic life of the region. Community conversations and events created spaces where listeners became participants, not just consumers.

At Northwest Public Broadcasting, serving a large and diverse geography reinforced another lesson: Connection does not look the same everywhere. A statewide network serving urban centers, rural communities and university communities has to continually understand the different ways people experience value and belonging.

This is especially important because the environment has changed dramatically. The habits that once connected audiences to radio and television have been transformed by streaming, podcasts, social platforms and an endless number of choices for people’s time and attention. The competition is no longer simply other media organizations. It is everything competing for a person’s focus.

That change creates challenges, but it also creates opportunities.

The need for trusted information has not disappeared. The desire for thoughtful storytelling has not disappeared. The importance of helping communities understand themselves and the world around them has not disappeared. What has changed is the responsibility to continually demonstrate why the work matters.

The organizations that thrive will be those that treat audience engagement as a mission, not simply a department.

Too often, audience connection is assigned to a small group of people — marketing, membership, digital or development. Those teams are essential, but engagement cannot be delegated entirely to them. Every employee contributes to the relationship an organization has with its community.

A reporter who listens carefully to a source is practicing audience engagement. A producer who understands what listeners need is practicing audience engagement. A fundraiser who takes time to understand a donor’s values is practicing audience engagement. A manager who builds a culture of service is practicing audience engagement.

In other words, audience engagement should be part of everyone’s job description.

Another lesson applies here: Fundraising is a contact sport.

Technology can make fundraising more efficient. Data can help identify prospects. Digital tools can improve communication. But relationships are still built person to person. The strongest fundraising organizations understand that a donor relationship is not created by a campaign calendar alone. It is created through conversations, listening, follow-up and a genuine understanding of what motivates someone to invest in a mission.

The same principle applies to audiences. Organizations cannot simply broadcast messages and expect connection to happen. They have to create opportunities for people to participate, respond and feel that their voices matter.

This is why audience engagement belongs at the heart of any strategic plan. Strategy is not only about budgets, technology, organizational structure or new initiatives. Those things matter, but the foundation of strategy should be understanding and strengthening the relationship with the communities an organization exists to serve.

When audience connection is central to decision-making, everything else becomes clearer. Programming decisions become clearer. Digital investments become clearer. Fundraising priorities become clearer. Partnerships become clearer.

Every mission-driven organization faces the same reality: People support what they understand, what they value and what they believe makes a difference.

Sustainable revenue is not created by fundraising alone.

It is created when an organization’s mission is so clearly connected to the lives of the people it serves that supporting it feels natural.

Revenue follows relevance.

Kerry Swanson is a public media and nonprofit executive with more than 40 years of leadership experience. He has led strategy, operations, audience growth and fundraising initiatives at KUOW, Northwest Public Broadcasting, WABE and KNKX (formerly KPLU). He has served two terms on the NPR Board of Directors, is president of the University Station Alliance board and has held leadership positions with Western States Public Radio and the Northwest News Network.