Why Whatsapp?
The Indian American diaspora is the fastest-growing ethnic community in the U.S. We’re using WhatsApp as our primary tool to implement DesiConnect because WhatsApp is a hugely popular and favored messaging app among the Indian American diaspora.
It is a secure platform with end-to-end encryption, allowing the use of multiple Indian languages and mediums (e.g. voice notes, videos, etc.) It also allows users to create interest groups/sub-communities and provides a personal connection with the community.
We have used this media platform to create various initiatives, inviting and encouraging community members to connect with our newsroom. We’re building out our existing base of 50 WhatsApp influencers, which includes community leaders, heads of linguistic groups, radio jockeys, and leaders of community-based organizations, to reach hundreds of people around the Bay Area.
Thanks to funding from the Walton Family Foundation we are using this platform to gain insights into what matters most to them and tailor our initiatives accordingly.
Community Engagement via WhatsApp
We are using WhatsApp as a tool for community engagement in various ways. Seven months later we have formed a user base who receive information on key resources and have become an integral part of the content creation and verification process.
Here’s what our efforts on WhatsApp look like and what we’ve learned in the process.
1. Identifying a critical need for aging seniors
For the last two years, India Currents has been covering the challenges that the South Asian community encounters as it ages. Following the 2020 Census, the Public Policy Institute of California predicted that over one million older adults in the state would face difficulties with self-care by 2030. In Santa Clara County, where we are based, 18% of the state’s 1.9 million residents are older than 60, an age group predicted to triple to just over one million by 2030.
With the help of grants from Altavoz Labs and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, our reporters began researching and writing about existing and upcoming healthcare gaps for seniors in our community and how to address them. In Santa Clara County we discovered the county delivers home-based services to older, low-income residents, but it lacks adequate infrastructure, manpower, and funding to provide comprehensive care.
We realized it was important to send updates, and information to the community members directly and for this we created a broadcast list on WhatsApp.
Our next step to understand the needs of the older adult community was to create and disseminate a survey online and in person.
2. Our engagement editor showed up
Our engagement editor visited places like the Indian Community Center which hosts senior programs and senior living centers such as Priya Living in San Jose and Fremont, and organized events to speak to community members.
She spent time with older adults, asking questions, listening to first-hand experiences, and talking to community leaders.
The idea was to understand a) what aging in the Bay Area means to older adults, and b) identify information gaps we could address for them to have a better, healthy life.
3. A survey to understand needs
Our survey was designed to identify the information gaps and included questions like
- “What does growing old mean to you?”
- “What kind of resource do you wish should be available to make it easier for you to settle here in old age?”
- “On a scale of 1-5, rate how clear and accessible information about long-term health care, insurance, and support services is available?”
While the survey drew question-specific answers, the in-person conversations produced more nuanced responses, allowing us to go beyond the survey to understand the lived experiences of seniors.
Takeaways and Outcomes from the WhatsApp Survey
After several months of conducting this research, the key takeaways are:
- People are lonely: The key issue with growing old away from their home country is loneliness. People realized the importance of staying active to be healthy and to find community. Some respondents expressed helplessness at having to depend on others.
- There’s an information gap: Respondents need information on how to find caregivers, affordable retirement housing, accessible transportation, and how to build community in their local areas.
- Need for accessible transportation: Most of the respondents depend on family members to get around or are unaware of county-provided transportation for seniors.
In-language Outreach
Many seniors in our community are limited English speakers. So ensuring they had multilingual access to the survey was imperative. Our engagement editor translated the questions to Hindi, assisted with responses in other Indian languages like Gujarati and Marathi, and helped seniors fill out the questionnaire.
These interactions foster a sense of belonging between community members and in creating a supportive network. It strengthens our role and utility as a community-based organization.
Health Advocacy and Resource Fair with Lawmakers
As we identified the gaps in information through our WhatsApp survey, we reached out to our local California State Assemblymember to address those concerns.
In partnership with Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s office, we organized a unique community outreach advocacy program for the well-being of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANH/PI) seniors who face challenges finding essential support services, from health care to transportation, at a low cost.
The Resource Fair drew seniors from across the diverse community in Santa Clara County who benefited from learning how to sign up for the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) benefits, enroll in the Senior Nutrition Program, Meals on Wheels, get a free bus pass, and more.
4. So what is it exactly that we do on WhatsApp?
We use WhatsApp as a conduit for sharing resources and information and engaging with community members.
- We send a resource or a guide every week.
- We talk with the community one-on-one. We make sure they know the name of the person they’re speaking with. We want them to feel assured that we are here to listen, and they can reach out confidently in a safe and private space on WhatsApp.
- We ask people to share responses/experiences to current issues in the neighborhood, like a recent spate of thefts at the Indian-owned jewelry stores in the Bay Area. This raises awareness about safety issues and encourages the community to report concerns. Consequently, a community member reported a home invasion to us which we are now following up with law enforcement.
- We are developing events and content streams tailored to the responses received in the survey.
- We share wins, send greetings, and share and invite people to our events.
People can reach us on WhatsApp with this link or send a hi to (408)-422-1714.
5. Learning through trials
- We originally started without a dedicated phone and realized the logistical challenge of scaling a business platform using our office phone number.
- To achieve scalability and avoid privacy issues with groups, we created a broadcast list as initially planned. However as the initiative rolled out we realized that some of the community members didn’t save our contact details, so they wouldn’t receive future messages.
- The response to the survey was slow. Our community values its privacy and is apprehensive about sharing information about themselves. We understand the demands of this cultural norm and our engagement editor has worked diligently on her own to conduct outreach and connect with the community to obtain feedback.
- We ran a paid advertising campaign, highlighting our services on WhatsApp, on Facebook for the first time.
We’ve received positive feedback and appreciation for the articles shared.
7. Next steps
WhatsApp has significantly increased direct engagement with our readers. It has given us direct access to feedback on programs, services, and gaps. The community now regularly reaches out. Moving forward, we will:
- Establish a “Desi Connect Hub” to take advantage of WhatsApp’s “Community” feature that will allow us to structure groups around various interests.
- Create explanatory guides after analyzing survey responses and conversations. Eg. transportation resources in Bay Area counties, how-to guides for end-of-life decisions, and more.
- Run polls to find out the audience’s preferred format to receive information like infographics, videos, and weekly roundups.
- Distribute the guides in the preferred format.
- Forge a personal relationship with the community and generate trust.
- Track metrics such as active group members, message interactions, and response rates to determine the effectiveness of community engagement strategies.
- Market our efforts through social media and newsletters.
Conclusion
Conversations with community members and leaders are key to improving content creation. WhatsApp is a space where the community can ask us on issues that matter to them, share tips securely, and share sensitive information and stories, on immigration, health, abuse, or crime.