Organizations typically do an excellent job communicating with their registrants (also known as licence holders and sometimes members). It’s familiar territory—they’re easy to find, usually interested, and often required to engage. But fulfilling your regulatory mandate of protecting the public means reaching beyond registrants and building communication strategies that reflect the needs of the broader public.
Of course, “the public” isn’t one tidy group with a shared newsletter. Understanding who makes up your public is a bit like navigating a potluck dinner—everyone brings something different, and some people don’t even know they were invited.
So where do you begin?
Step 1: Define who your public is – it’s not everyone.
Find out:
- Who is most impacted by our work?
- Who might need to access our services but doesn’t know how?
- Who could be vulnerable if we didn’t do our job well?
The answers might include patients, clients, caregivers, employers, students, newcomers, rural residents, or other regulators. Knowing who matters most helps sharpen the focus.
Step 2: Learn how they want to be communicated with.
Today’s public expects more than formal reports or notices buried on a website. Social media, podcasts, short videos, text alerts, and translated materials can go a long way. In rural and remote communities, community radio or local bulletin boards might still be powerful tools. Accessibility is about more than compliance—it’s about connection.
Step 3: Recognize the diversity of your public.
The public isn’t a single voice. People bring different languages, cultures, histories, and experiences into their interactions with regulators. As we often say: if a regulatory body has the privilege to protect the public, then it should reflect the diversity of the public it is privileged to protect. That includes communication—how it looks, who delivers it, and where it lands.
Step 4: Understand why people need to hear from you.
Some need to know how to file a complaint. Others want reassurance, transparency, or accountability. And sometimes, they just want to understand what a regulator actually does. Purpose-driven communication is more likely to stick—and to support trust in regulation.
Engaging the public doesn’t mean marketing the profession or flooding every channel with updates. It means creating curated messaging for your specific audience in ways that are clear, relevant, and rooted in your public’s interest.
At MDR Strategy, we work with regulators across the country to help identify who their public is and how best to connect with them. If you’re looking to get a better read on that—or just want to talk shop—reach out to us. We’d be happy to help!
