There are myriad ways to access information and stay informed in today’s mobile-first world–snaps, tweets, texts, posts, emails, and online and offline media. With all this competing information, how do civic and media organizations break through and engage their audiences? That’s what two studies released today by Knight Foundation aimed to better understand.

The first, authored by the Engaging News Project at the University of Texas at Austin, examines the benefits of mobile push notifications to both drive traffic to journalistic content, and to inform the public. The second study, conducted by 270 Strategies, emanates from work in our Knight communities and sought to understand how civic organizations can more effectively communicate their work and get people involved. Both studies used experimental designs, with participants assigned at random. Given all the experimentation with messaging via apps, web or texts among providers of all kinds it was important to understand the value mobile messaging can provide these organizations, and the extent to which these mediums help to better inform and engage the public. Here are a few highlights from the two studies:

Notifications can help providers break through to their audiences. The Engaging News Project data showed that push notifications did help to drive traffic to sites and apps: 27 percent of those asked to install the app used it daily compared to 12 percent for those who didn’t enable notifications. Moreover, people sought out more information; 59 percent of those who received a notification visited the content provider’s website or app after receiving one. Yet, notifications may be more useful in attracting and engaging a specific audience; participants older than 30 were more satisfied with notifications then those 18 to 29 years old.

Notifications can sometimes facilitate learning. Given that most of the information provided in push notifications can be found elsewhere, does receiving a notification increase the chances that you will learn it? The Engaging News Project study found that it does—sometimes. In the experiment, only one provider’s notifications increased knowledge about the content. Future research should help illuminate why there is increased learning for one and not others by examining factors, such as when they were sent, how they were crafted, and what else is going on in the information environment. Some of the participant feedback on likes and dislikes of the notifications already began to point towards audience preferences for more tailored and relevant content.

People are more likely to respond to and engage with personalized content. The 270 Strategies study took this question of mobile messaging preferences to a community level. Participants in the experiment were invited to an event being held by SPUR, a San Francisco-based community organization (participants were SPUR members), via email or text message. The study revealed that people are more likely to respond to personalized text messages: Those who received text messages from a real person (“Noah”) were more than 3 percent more likely to respond, even if they could not attend the event. Community organizations that find it challenging to maintain engagement levels with their constituents need to meet them where they are (on their smartphones!) and pay attention to details such as preferred mode of contact and the way the message is crafted.

This is exciting new terrain for continued experimentation and learning. The themes of these studies builds on work we’ve done at Knight Foundation to understand changing behaviors in a mobile-first environment. Several of our partners, including the Guardian Mobile Lab, are experimenting with web notifications to engage audiences around specific content areas. All of these show the potential of mobile messaging strategies to break through the constant barrage of information to both inform and engage communities.

Luz Gomez is director for learning and impact at Knight Foundation. Email her via [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @luzigomez.