County public information officer pitches Beaufort County Connects, video and bilingual outreach to boost transportation messaging

Hannah Nichols, Beaufort County public information officer, told the transportation committee the county is using a mix of traditional and digital channels to share roadwork updates and recommended new outreach steps to reach residents who do not currently receive notices.

Nichols said Beaufort County can send a single message to up to "70,000 subscribers at 1 time" through its email platform and that the committee's most recent transportation update was delivered to 10,596 subscribers with a 39% open rate. She urged a program-specific page on the county's engagement portal (Beaufort County Connects) to host FAQs, timelines and surveys and recommended enlisting Beaufort County Television to produce short explainers and Q&A videos.

"We have an engagement portal called Beaufort County Connects," Nichols said, and recommended creating pages for programs such as the rejuvenator and pavement program so residents can sign up for direct updates. She also suggested experimenting with paid targeted outreach and producing Spanish-language materials for areas with significant Hispanic business communities, notably Bluffton.

Committee members supported more frequent, visible updates and recommended using Nextdoor for neighborhood-targeted alerts and periodic posts; they asked Nichols to coordinate with the county administrator and return with implementation suggestions.

Next steps: Nichols will coordinate follow-up with the administrator and the committee, and staff will explore options to surface CTC projects more prominently on county web pages.