However, when a flash flood affects a specific village or a power outage impacts a single neighbourhood, a council-wide social post is not merely inefficient but counterproductive. In this scenario, it’s likely that residents in unaffected areas will disengage from communication, while those requiring critical assistance might struggle to locate specific guidance amid the overwhelming volume of information.
Effective crisis communication is not about amplifying volume — it is about communicating strategically.
As the City of Doncaster Council has demonstrated, transforming a crisis into an opportunity for meaningful connection requires one essential tool: audience segmentation. By sending tailored alerts by location and need, they ensured critical information reached those most at risk, ultimately building trust and engagement across their community.
Turning the tide: Segmentation lessons from the storm
Storm Babet put Doncaster’s system to the test, but on this occasion, segmented, locality-specific updates built trust, boosted engagement, and reduced confusion.
The City of Doncaster Council developed a crisis strategy that offered:
- Precision: Residents in flooded villages received specific advice regarding sandbag locations, road closures, and shelter information relevant exclusively to their circumstances.
- Clarity: By directing critical information through email, the council avoided the confusion often associated with messaging via social media.
- Trust: Residents recognised that council emails contained verified, actionable information.
As Nick Fromont, the council’s digital communications business partner observed, the transformation was fundamentally about building trust:
"It's to the point now where I think the emails are more trusted than social media because it's just you and that message. There's no one else clouding opinion ... it's just coming straight to you as a resident."
The results: Building trust through targeted coms
Doncaster’s experience shows that targeted, relevant updates make crisis communications more effective. By moving from broad social posts to segmented messaging, the council built trust, improved engagement, and saw higher open rates and better public sentiment. Other local authorities recognised their approach as a model for resident communication.
There’s much to be gained by following Doncaster’s example and here are the measurable outcomes you can achieve by implementing its strategy of segmentation:
- Higher open rates: Targeted emails to specific villages achieved nearly 60% open rates, significantly exceeding the 40% average for borough-wide messages.
- Enhanced digital traffic: The campaigns generated more than 7,000 visits to the council’s storm-related web pages, ensuring residents accessed the detailed assistance they required.
- Improved public sentiment: The City of Doncaster Council was lauded by other public sector organisations on social media as the gold standard for resident communication.
How your authority can apply these lessons
Consider the impact if, instead of broad updates, your residents in affected areas received actionable guidance and reassurance delivered directly to their inbox. Or — even better — if you could circumvent social media noise for urgent messages requiring recipients’ immediate attention. Building segmented lists — whether by location, interest, or vulnerability — enables this targeted approach.
By integrating these practices, your council can not only inform but also build trust, reduce confusion, and strengthen community resilience — regardless of the type or kind of emergency.
You don’t need to wait for a crisis to get started. Here are the essential steps any local authority can take to put segmentation into action:
1. Build your audience before the crisis
Segmentation requires data collection; initiate proactive campaigns now to encourage newsletter registrations. Use every touchpoint — council tax bills, bin collection calendars, and website footers — to gather subscriber information.
2. Ask strategic questions
Collect more than email addresses. Request postcodes or town names. Enquire about interests (e.g., “Emergency Alerts,” “Housing Support,” etc.). This approach transforms a generic mailing list into a powerful engagement tool.
3. Create content for a “single source of truth”
Social media algorithms often suppress posts containing external links. Use email to direct residents to a dedicated, continuously updated webpage. This ensures everyone accesses the most current information, not outdated social media screenshots.
4. Measure and refine results
Doncaster validated the effectiveness of its strategy through data tracking, so monitor open rates and click-through rates. If a specific subject line proves effective for emergency alerts, template it for future use.
Ready to transform your crisis response?
The City of Doncaster Council’s success shows what’s possible with just the right approach. For practical strategies, proven templates, and everything you need to elevate your crisis communications, download our revised Crisis Communications Workbook for UK Public Services.
This resource includes:
- Actionable strategies for both local councils and housing associations.
- Ready-to-use templates for emergency alerts, media briefings, and internal checklists.
- Best practices for managing everything from flash floods to the cost-of-living crisis.
Do not wait for the next emergency to test your strategy. Equip your team with the tools they need to communicate with confidence, authority, and clarity.
