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Communications department outlines outreach, new city newsletter and website plans
Summary
City communications staff summarized work since 2020, including social media growth, a new monthly e‑newsletter, planned website redesign with mass‑notification and mobile‑friendly features, and expanded photo/video production; councilors asked about monitoring and responding to misinformation and outreach to residents off social media.
Communications staff provided an informational update during the Sept. 8 work session on current projects and planned upgrades to digital outreach, including a new monthly e‑newsletter, expanded photography and video, and a planned website redesign with optional mass‑notification and mobile‑friendly features.
What staff described: The communications group said it has grown to a multi‑person team since 2020 and has focused on higher‑quality photography and videography, social media engagement, public information during emergencies (for example a recent boil‑water advisory), and strategic messaging such as showing how a tax dollar is allocated. Staff launched a monthly email newsletter (the Wyoming Record) and recently started a TikTok account to reach younger audiences. The department said it intends to redesign the city website to include modules for notifications, newsletter distribution, live chat and better integration of existing payment and reservation systems.
Council questions and discussion: Councilmembers asked how staff monitors community platforms (including Nextdoor and local Facebook groups), how staff decides when to respond to misinformation and how to reach residents who are not active online. Staff said they use a mix of Google alerts, curated social feeds and manual monitoring of community groups, and that they prioritize responses when a post is gaining traction, involves media tagging or creates operational confusion. Staff noted they have used targeted mailings, bill inserts and in‑person outreach for some projects and plan similar outreach for major initiatives.
Ending: Staff requested feedback on outreach priorities and said a new website and notification tools should be ready to plan and budget; councilmembers recommended continued emphasis on in‑person outreach and making any new notification system easy for residents to opt into.
