3 strategies to turn community comms into an engagement engine

Whether you're reaching residents across a city of 100,000 or families across five schools, the challenge is the same — cutting through the noise to drive engagement and make people feel genuinely informed.

• Why it matters: The right communication sparks participation, builds connection, and keeps the audience coming back.

On May 6 at 12:30pm ET, Danielle Schwartz, Communications Director for Ramsey School District, and Cori Wallace, Director of Communications for the City of Lawrence will join Axios HQ for a conversation on how to build community comms that actually connect.

They’ll cover how to:

• Balance data and storytelling so readers feel informed
• Scale community engagement without losing the human touch
• Turn complex or emotional topics into clear, accessible updates communities can act on
• Establish a consistent format and cadence that your audience can trust

Yes, and: The City of Lawrence and Ramsey School District use Smart Brevity and Axios HQ to help build engaging community comms — and are part of the 2026 Best-in-Class Communications cohort.