Littleton communications staff and NextGen discuss newsletter, social strategy and text alerts to reach younger residents

David Gilbert, senior media strategist for the City of Littleton, outlined the city communications department’s tools and invited the NextGen Advisory Board to collaborate on formats and channels to reach younger residents.

“I'm in the process of getting a new director,” David Gilbert said, adding the new hire will help reshape communications strategy. He described existing municipal channels — the print Littleton Report, e-newsletters and Visit Littleton marketing accounts — and said the department is experimenting with Instagram Stories and reels on the Visit Littleton accounts as a lower-risk place to test new formats.

Gilbert told the board an NGAB-specific newsletter would have limited precedent and likely require review by the city manager’s office and the city attorney. “From what [the city clerk] told me, an NGAB specific newsletter would ... probably require you to be having some discussions with city manager's office and the city attorney's office,” he said, while adding the communications team can promote NGAB events and content through existing city channels.

Board members suggested short, single-topic pieces rather than long multi-topic mailings and recommended repeated, predictable formats (bullet points, one-topic mailers, quick polls) and more interactive placements such as small free-distribution newsstands or handouts in parks and high-foot-traffic areas. One board member proposed a physical single-topic flyer at high-traffic points to catch attention without producing a full citywide mailer.

On text alerts and opt-in messaging, Gilbert said the city is exploring options but does not yet have a broad text-notification system. Board members reported mixed preferences: some said they would opt into occasional, short texts about events or key deadlines; others said they avoid unsolicited texts and worry about spam. Several members recommended a tiered opt-in approach so residents can select categories of interest (events, council matters, restaurants).

Gilbert described recent changes in the department’s approach: more frequent, shorter e-mail items and targeted posts; “city council preview” posts sent before meetings that list bullet points, links to the packet and how to watch. He also said city officials have been revisiting mailers and postcards as a complement to social media, citing broader trends of mixed social-media usage across age groups.

Suggestions captured during the session included: posting single headlines from the Littleton Report to Instagram Stories and linking to articles; using polls and Instagram story interactions; keeping social posts concise and curated (avoid “fluff”); and providing clear calls to action with a short URL or a QR code that directs to a specific action (comment, sign-up, survey).

Gilbert invited continued engagement: the communications team will share the new director’s availability and will work with NGAB to route event copy and slides for social and print promotion. The board agreed to provide event text, logos and suggested questions for speaker presentations so the communications team could prepare timely promotion.