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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.
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