City of Hercules / Communications Engagement
CREATIVE SERVICES • Communication • Web • Social Media • Photography • Video • Design 1
CITY OF HERCULES
Communications Report February 2022 – July 2022
City of Hercules / Communications Engagement
CREATIVE SERVICES • Communication • Web • Social Media • Photography • Video • Design 2 INTRODUCTION Tripepi Smith appreciates the opportunity to communicate to residents and the public on behalf of the City of Hercules and be able to further the City Council goal of increased transparency. Since February 2022, Tripepi Smith has been providing communication services for the City of Hercules, including social media support, press release writing, social media and news outlet media monitoring, graphic design support and hosting the roundtable Quarterly Communication Meetings to allow for department heads to think under a communication lens. Outside of the normal retainer work, the Tripepi Smith team has aided the City in creating its new bi-weekly newsletter on Constant Contact, a survey for its Diversity Equity & Inclusion town hall, mailers for both the Housing Element Update and Ballot Initiative, a website for the Ballot Initiative and executed a stock photoshoot. This document supplements the Dashboard Report to highlight the City’s communication successes with the Tripepi Smith partnership.
City of Hercules / Communications Engagement
CREATIVE SERVICES • Communication • Web • Social Media • Photography • Video • Design 3 FOLLOWERS & SUBSCRIBERS Since February 2022, the followers and subscribers across all City platforms (Facebook, Instagram and Nextdoor) has increased by 5.1%. The increase in followers can be attributed to the creation of the Instagram account and posting regular content. Tripepi Smith worked with the City to create the City’s Instagram account at the start of the engagement. By sharing content on Instagram, residents within the City have an additional avenue to communicate with the City and stay up-to-date on City initiatives and events. Instagram typically has a younger demographic that would not be on Facebook or Nextdoor. Being able to offer City resources through Instagram supports the City’s goals of transparency.
NUMBER OF POSTS The City was posting on social media an average of 2 times per month prior to contracting with Tripepi Smith. Sihce February, when the retainer agreement was initiated, the City has increased posting by an average of 57 posts per month. Tripepi Smith meets with staff quarterly to collect pertinent information from City leadership to share onto the City’s channels. Bi-weekly calls assist with fine tuning those messages and ensuring the Hercules citizens stay apprised of the City’s many achievements and activities. The current retainer allows for three social media posts to be posted on each platform every week. Tripepi Smith is a firm believer that Content x Distribution = Impact. The sheer number of posts combined with consistency demonstrates the City’s commitment to open lines of communication with its residents and businesses. Residents become accustomed to the steady stream of communication, which builds trust and transparency. The City will always have important and timely information that needs to be shared with the community, and this partnership allows staff the opportunity to share that information efficiently.
IMPRESSIONS AND ENGAGEMENT The impressions and engagement from February to July has yielded an increase of nearly 5500%. The increase in the City’s metrics is tied to how many posts the City has been posting, showing that the consistent posts are impacting residents. Tripepi Smith’s understanding how each platform operates has contributed to the record-breaking metrics.
City of Hercules / Communications Engagement
CREATIVE SERVICES • Communication • Web • Social Media • Photography • Video • Design 4 Facebook tends to be a “catch-all” on what performs well, but it is definitely a platform where people like to engage with the City. Generally, for Instagram, more light-hearted and visually appealing posts generated positive engagement, such as class instructor highlights. While Nextdoor does not generate as much regular discussion as Facebook, residents tend to pay attention to updates that can have a substantial and potentially long-term impact on the community. This can be reflected in the engagement that the Charter City message received since it reached its highest engagement on Nextdoor.
TOP POSTS AND SOCIAL MEDIA WINS The City of Hercules’ top social media posts and wins are reflective of what posts perform well on each platform. Boosted posts are also another significant social media win for the City. Tripepi Smith has boosted posts on behalf of the City for the Housing Element Update, the Ballot Initiative and the Waterfront Workshops. Boosted posts can be place on Facebook and Instagram and are a great way to make the City’s posts more effective. Boosting posts places them higher on community members' newsfeeds, which means the community has a much higher chance of seeing the City’s content. Other social media wins include the increased comments and messages the City has been receiving across all platforms. Residents have felt more comfortable to express their opinions with the City on the social channels since there have been an increase effort in communicating important City updates.
MEDIA MENTIONS AND WINS Tripepi Smith utilized a powerful and effective media monitoring tool called Meltwater. Under the Tripepi Smith engagement the City has been publishing an average of two press releases per month. With the consistent stream of information being sent out to the media, the City has seen an increase of media mentions by 33%. Leverage and enhancing media relations is a key aspect of being open and transparent with residents and the community since residents are typically receiving their news from local media outlets and not the City directly. By producing press releases and building relationships with reports, the City can ensure that their message is being amplified throughout the region.
City of Hercules / Communications Engagement
CREATIVE SERVICES • Communication • Web • Social Media • Photography • Video • Design 5 CLOSING REMARKS The City has done a phenomenal job engaging its citizens through various media channels and leveraging partners like Tripepi Smith to help execute that work. As the data shows, the City has received ample amount of attention from residents and the community at large. Keeping up with the number of communications (press release and social media posts) is key in being able to continue this upward trajectory. We are excited for the opportunity to continue our partnership and celebrate additional success with the City of Hercules.