Stations frequently approach digital and social initiatives as nothing more than a list of tools -- rewards programs, Twitter, Facebook, blogs -- to build relationships. A more strategic approach is to start with your audience and determine what kind of relationship you want to build with them, based on what they are ready for.

Building on the work and research they did for the semina book, Groundswell, Forrester Research created this simply, yet insightful Profiling tool. Forrester's Social Technographics® classifies consumers into six overlapping levels of participation. For an explanation of each classification, see these slides.