Public entities obviously have a major duty to serve the public. When the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the entities from being able to hold in-person meetings to keep the public informed on key topics, they needed to find the right technology to reach their target audiences.

Two of our clients who serve the Indiana public—Indiana Department of Transportation and MDwise—came to us in pursuit of a good way to conduct their public meetings while keeping the public safe. Our first step was to research various technology options to uncover which would best meet the specific needs of our clients and the meeting participants.

We chose StreamYard to air INDOT’s live public meetings so they could get immediate feedback, garner information on those attending, and run polls on relevant topics. StreamYard also provides phone access to help those who don’t have reliable internet access. We were able to broadcast the meetings live on Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, we were able to record each of the virtual events so INDOT could repurpose the content for future posts. We created and placed digital ads to support a week-long paid media campaign on Facebook to boost the event and to boost the Facebook post to drive event registration and encourage attendance.

For MDwise, we found Zoom Webinar to be the best match because the simple functionality allowed them to bring in moderators and experts from all over Indiana to provide critical vaccination information. Zoom Webinar allowed us to broadcast the meetings live on Facebook, after which we were able to boost the videos. 

In the future, our clients may use these technologies to supplement in-person meetings and allow those with transportation and mobility issues the chance to participate.