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City unveils 15-month communications master plan, emphasizes optimization and community ambassadors
Summary
Consultant-led research and focus groups found Garland's channels were fragmented; staff proposed a three-part master plan (optimization, content strategy, partnerships) with early steps including a social-media strategist, a planned webmaster hire, SEO improvements and a community-ambassador program.
City communications staff and consultant Magid presented the final communications master plan to the Garland City Council on Aug. 4, summarizing 15 months of research, focus groups and a 1,606-respondent survey.
Magid's research found Garland's strengths included diversity and a wide variety of dining and entertainment options, but it also identified friction: residents said it was "easy to find what I don't care about and hard to find what I do care about." The consultant recommended three broad priorities: channel optimization to reduce fragmentation, a content strategy that includes a brand message map and audience profiles, and partnerships that extend the city's reach through community ambassadors and translated materials.
Staff outlined near-term steps: a newly hired social-media strategist is already increasing engagement; the city plans to recruit a webmaster to lead website restructuring and search-engine optimization; staff will draft message maps with Magid in September and launch monthly meetings among departmental communicators. The plan also directs staff to research multilingual resources and pilot an ambassador program to amplify messages through trusted community voices.
Council members asked about leveraging existing neighborhood newsletters, Nextdoor reach and print materials like City Press as complementary channels. Staff said the plan calls for a mix of digital and traditional channels and for content tailored to where residents actually look.
