Nextdoor social listening with Orlo

If you’re working in public sector comms, you know the drill. You’ve mastered the art of the quick update on X, navigated the world of Instagram, and probably had a fair few meetings about what your strategy on Threads should be. We bet you’ve even gone back and forth on whether you should jump on that TikTok trend or not.

But while you’re all looking at all these channels, there’s a massive, incredibly loud conversation happening exactly where your residents live: Nextdoor.

Since its launch in the UK in 2016, Nextdoor has transformed resident and community engagement for public sector organisations across the UK,  by facilitating a two-way conversation and encouraging feedback, which naturally builds trust.

And, with the rise of AI and multiple different social channels being used for multiple different things, the digital world is a bit messy. People are tired of noise. They want to know about the stuff that actually touches their lives- be it on their street, their local park, or their neighbourhood in general. For the public sector, Nextdoor isn’t just “another app”, it’s the digital version of chatting over the garden fence and finding out what’s really going on.

You might think Nextdoor is just for the occasional post, but the numbers tell a different story. 

As of early 2026, Nextdoor is a staple:

• More than 10M neighbours on the platform in the UK
• 1 in 4 households on Nextdoor
• In the UK, half a million businesses have set up their business page on Nextdoor.

Unlike other platforms where users follow celebrities or friends, Nextdoor users are there for their community. When people post here, they aren’t competing with a viral meme from halfway across the world, they’re appearing alongside a neighbour asking for advice. They’re part of the local fabric. And that’s not all…

Being able to listen to and understand the needs of your community, as well as what’s being said about your organisation and the things that matter to your audience, is a powerful tool. The data captured by Social Listening can help inform strategy and drive further community engagement. We’ve talked before about why staying on platforms like X is vital for keeping an eye on the bigger picture, but Nextdoor offers something no other platform can: geo-targeting.

Because Nextdoor requires users to use their real name and verify their home address, the “noise” of bots and trolls is almost non-existent. You’re hearing from real residents, living at real addresses, about real local issues.

We get it, you’re super busy and sometimes a complaint about a missed bin might get buried. On Nextdoor, if six people on the same cul-de-sac are talking about a specific “pothole from hell,” you can spot it before it becomes a front-page news story. It works in the same way for a traffic jam that might actually be due to an RTC, or if the queue at A&E is enormous.

During a flood, a local power cut, or a police incident, Nextdoor lets you “ring-fence” your updates. You can listen to exactly what that small community is saying and use that information to inform your next set of messages. You’ll then be able to address what your community is saying in a proactive post targeted to their entire area or geo-targeted to wards, boroughs and neighbourhoods. It also means that you’ll be more aware of the spread of mis/disinformation so you can address it before it snowballs.

Let’s be honest: social media can be a shouting match. But Nextdoor’s community vibe is generally more constructive. It’s a space to get honest feedback from people who would never dream of coming to a town hall meeting but care deeply about their local library, and social listening enables you to hear what they’re saying.

The stats really speak for themselves on this one: 

• Over 80,000 local groups have been created in the UK, from swapping DIY tips and supporting local businesses, to job searching or making new friends.
• Nextdoor is the go-to platform for the public sector to engage with residents; with nearly 50% of the UK’s councils, 40% of fire services and over 30% of police forces on the platform. National partners include the UK Government, including the Prime Minister’s Office and NHS England.
• 64% of Nextdoor Neighbours are parents. Source: GWI Core, UK 2024.
• 94% of Nextdoor Neighbours are the household decision maker. Source: GWI Core, UK 2024.
• 87% of Nextdoor Neighbours are not on Snapchat, 75% are not on Pinterest, 35% are not on Instagram Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Cross Visiting, Multi-Platform, Total Audience, December 2024, U.K

We know the last thing you need is another tab open or a manual task added to your plate.

That’s why we’re so excited to be evolving our long-standing Nextdoor integration to bring you Social Listening for Nextdoor.

As the only community engagement platform designed for the public sector in the UK to integrate this deeply with Nextdoor, we’ve made it so you can listen to the neighbourhood heartbeat without leaving Orlo. 

Here’s how it works:

1. Pick a keyword: (e.g., “ASB,”,  “Council Tax”, “noise” etc)
2. Drop a pin: Pick a point on a map you want to listen in on.
3. Set your radius: Choose how many kilometres you want to listen across.

Any public posts mentioning your keyword from a neighbour or local business in that radius will pop right into Orlo Insights. You can analyse the mood, track trends, and then work out how you want to respond. In short – you’ll be able to tell exactly what they’re saying and then engage with them in the best way possible as you’ll no longer be guessing.

Orlo doesn’t just let you look in; it helps you lead. Our integration is built to make your life easier:

• Schedule and post: Plan your updates in advance. Draft, get approval, and schedule posts to land when neighbours are most active.
• Target like a pro: Use your existing Nextdoor boundaries (wards or boroughs, for example) to make sure your message hits the right doorsteps.
• Sentiment and emotion analysis: Discover how people are feeling across your community, and then act accordingly.

If you aren’t on Nextdoor yet, getting started is pretty simple. Public sector organisations, including Fire, Police, NHS, local authorities and central government, can apply for a Public Service Account here, with a work email address and your organisation’s details. This gives you a trusty green tick badge so that your communities can tell you’re the real deal. All Public Service pages are also human-verified and created by Nextdoor, which means no fake pages and extra trust for your community. All you’ll need after that is the usual secure password, profile picture and bio/description and you can get posting! Just don’t forget to add alt text to images to improve accessibility (you can do this via Orlo).

• Emergency alerts: These send a push-through app notification and email to residents so Public Services can provide urgent, in-real-time, safety updates and information. They can be targeted in the same way as normal posts, pinned to the top of the newsfeed for 72 hours or until another Emergency Alert has been published. They also have more prominence in the feed with a red banner.

Alice Skeats, Head of Public Service Partnerships  at  Nextdoor has this to say about working with Orlo:

“We’re excited to give  Orlo customers a direct line to what their communities are actually saying.

For police, fire, NHS, councils and central government, that real-time hyperlocal insight helps them show up for the people they serve. And unlike other platforms, they know they’re hearing from real residents about real local issues – not bots or anonymous accounts – which builds the kind of trust that only comes from genuinely listening.”

In 2026, successful comms isn’t about “broadcasting” to a crowd; it’s about connecting with a community.

Nextdoor is the bridge between the town hall and the living room. Whether you’re squashing a rumour about a new road layout or just saying thanks to a local volunteer, being there shows you care, and if you can show you’re listening, that’s even better.

Want to see what your neighbourhoods are talking about?

Book a chat.