Brentwood staff report rising social media engagement, propose short‑form video series and trivia to boost consistency

Michelle (Staff member) told the Communications Committee on June 17 that the citys social media accounts saw a substantial uptick over the past 30 days tied to a major weather event and related public notifications. "Our monthly numbers grew considerably over the past 30 days," she said, adding that numbers "kinda level[ed] out" afterward but that she expects summer activity to continue growth.

The presentation included a 90-day website summary showing 48,000 active users, a 6.2% increase over the prior 90 days, and the most visited pages listed as Brentwood Park, the home page, skating sessions/ice rink, the search bar, parks and rec, and the volleyball page. Michelle said the top traffic source was organic search, followed by direct, referral and social links.

Committee members discussed tactics to raise baseline engagement so the city does not rely only on spikes during newsworthy events. Michelle outlined ideas she is testing: a 60‑second "60 seconds with city staff" video series, short seasonal safety tips from public safety departments, a "Brentwood Trivia Tuesday" series to encourage comment engagement and a shift from posting individual meeting notices to a weekly meeting calendar.

Alderman Plovka and other committee members suggested design and accessibility changes for the weekly-post blocks so empty days do not visually dominate the calendar. Committee members also pressed Michelle on audience goals: "Is the goal here to eventually get to the point where there's a more sustainable, consistent audience all the time?" one member asked. Michelle replied: "My goal especially with social media is consistent growth. You don't wanna remain stagnant." When asked to define engagement, Michelle said, "Engagement is defined as when someone clicks, when someone comments, when someone likes when someone comments, when someone shares your direct post." She distinguished impressions (page views) from engagement.

Committee members raised website front-door concerns (number of links and navigation) and said a broader communications audit and brand work should inform any major website redesign. Michelle and committee members said the communications plan recommends a streamlined web navigation and targeted approaches to reach new residents. The committee agreed to continue monitoring results and suggested additional usability and branding work before a full website overhaul.