Skip to main content

Our Digital Scripture Access & Engagement Strategy

I recently asked the Scripture Engagement team which of the above (see graphic) we do well and which not so well. Their answer? We do production well, publishing and distribution fairly well, promotion not so well, and engagement hardly at all. The fact is that if we are going to produce digital Scriptures, we need not only to publish and distribute them, but to promote them and see the intended audience engage well with them. Often, even those of us producing a lot of digital Scriptures, find ourselves on a kind of treadmill where we produce a product, then go straight onto the next, without thinking about these other steps. Make sure the products are being promoted on Social media (vk.ru, ok.ru, Instagram, Facebook... ) and that someone is following up on those who take a regular interest in them. If we get likes, re-shares and comments that's great! If people are commenting again and again that's even better! Testing is another good way of getting feedback, so make sure someone is doing a good job of that crucial stage.

Notice too that the graphic shows a cycle. It's not a one way process with steps 1-4. The engagement leads back into production. We have now got feedback as to what people like, what they want, what they want to see improved. Perhaps we have encountered some opposition, and need to think about how to either counter that or modify our future products so they are less confrontational. This is the difference between 'push' and 'pull' strategies mentioned in the report. If we 'push' we are just producing products and hoping people like them. With a 'pull' strategy we're finding out what people like beforehand, or using feedback from the audience to modify what we produce. Having said that, don't be afraid to use not only bridges, but door-openers, things that people find attractive, despite the fact they are not found in the teaching they have encountered in their youth. E.g. the miracles of Jesus can really fascinate people (Muslims, for instance, often only know one miracle of Jesus, and that is from the false Gospel of Thomas - the miracle where Jesus is supposed to have breathed life into a clay bird and it flies away - so they often love hearing about other miracles).

And don't forget that you might, in fact, have several audiences. There are people who live in villages. Those who lives in urban areas, who are both multilingual and au fait with technology. Then there are the diaspora, some of whom are desperate to keep in contact with their home culture. So it's good to get feedback from all three audiences.

Lastly, don't forget that the DBL is a great place to put your products, along with websites like Scripture Earth. This ensures that our partners (other agencies working with the same audience) can access the materials we produce. It's also likely that the diaspora are searching for materials, and might find them on your website, but they also might find them on Scripture Earth.

We're often so busy in production we forget about most of the other stages, but if our goal is to see transformed lives as folk engage with the Scriptures, then we need to readjust the time we spend, and focus more on promotion and engagement.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 Reasons to Make Scripture Impact a Priority

This is a response to some recent posts about the importance of Bible translation in fulfilling the Great Commission. Yes, there is much truth in that, but more is needed. It really helps to have Scripture impact (or 'engagement') the top priority, the 'car' as it were, with translation the engine that sits beneath the bonnet. Not all drivers need to know all the details of the engine, but they need to be able to control the vehicle. The most important thing is to be able to get from A to B (see point 2), rather than knowing how the engine works. These are the ten reasons to make Scripture impact a priority: To help people flourish in their communities. There are all kinds of needs that need to be met for people to flourish. One is clean water. Another is good sanitation. Peace (lack of war), and freedom of religion. Access to education etc. etc. For a community to truly flourish they also need access to the Scriptures in a language (or languages) that they understand a...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Flow Chart for Bible Translation (a Relevance Theory Approach)

One of the current theories behind modern translation work is Relevance Theory. [1] Here is a flow chart that explains the process often used to produce a draft when using such an approach: *Make sure your translation committee makes the decision as to what kind of translation they want. A domesticated translation is one that submits to dominant values in the target language [2] whereas a foreignized translation is one that is happy to import foreign terms and ideas from Hebrew, Greek, or the language of wider communication such as the Greek term baptizo . The chart looks something like this: Text                                   Communicated Ideas                  Context A sower went out to sow  A farmer went out to sow grain   People scattered/threw seed etc. The text has very little information, but behind i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Asking the Right Questions in Bible Translation and Scripture Engagement Planning

If you want to get useful answers you have to ask the right questions. Do you agree? Yes, of course you do. In the Bible translation world we often ask a very narrow question when planning for the next stage of work: 'What would you like to see translated next?' Now, if you simply want to translate, and that's it, that question is fine, but what if you want to see some kind of result from your translation work? What if, for instance, you want to see transformation occur? Then a more powerful question to ask the community and positive stakeholders in the project would be: 'What kingdom goals would you like to see reached?' These kingdom goals should meet felt needs of the community - they should solve problems that are apparent to most or all in the community. See below on how those can be met. If that's too abstract, then try, 'What kinds of things, in your extended family, do you tend to worry about?' This will help establish some felt needs, from which...
7 comments
Read more