Cheyenne City Council discusses existing and future communication tools, city rebranding

Yahoo

2 days ago

CHEYENNE – With Cheyenne's expanding population, city officials have been conducting surveys and researching their website and social media analytics to learn the best ways to reach the public.
Based on the outcomes of these surveys and analytics, Cheyenne City Council members discussed their existing communication tools, future plans for public outreach and the redesign of city branding during a work session Friday.
Existing methods of communication
Some existing tools city officials use to reach capital city residents are the city website, news releases, the Mayor's Minute column by Mayor Patrick Collins, social media and the newest form of communication, the Connect Cheyenne portal, which was launched in April at connect.cheyennecity.org and allows for interactive, project-based engagement.
'It can be a central location for engagement, which is what I think is one of the highlights,' said city Public Information Officer Matt Murphy. 'If somebody is going to Connect Cheyenne to look for a specific project they want to interact with, they can also see all the other projects that are going on that they might be interested in or wouldn't have known about otherwise.'
The city website analytics over the past 12 months show 198,000 active users. The most popular pages on the site are the job announcements, sanitation division and transfer station pages.
City officials also conducted a public online poll recently that showed residents use Facebook more than any other social media platform, and prefer to receive information through social media and email.
The city's Facebook page has 17,966 followers and 1.4 million views since Jan. 1. In the past 28 days, the page has reached 130,000 people. The audience is 65% female, with 35-44 being the largest age group, and 45-54 being the second-largest.
Future methods of communication
Murphy outlined a communication plan that would take effect in January. The plan outlines strategies and initiatives that align with city-wide and council goals.
'It will give us a road map and work plan for communications and engagement across the city with short-, medium- and long-term goals,' Murphy said. 'So, that should be coming just to help us get that more formal process in place.'
Murphy said he also wants to create a monthly email newsletter through Connect Cheyenne, because, according to the survey mentioned above, email is the public's second-most preferred method to receive information. It will also help in reaching those who aren't on social media, he said.
A challenge the city may be facing is less staffing in communications and engagement, Murphy said, than in other communities like Casper, Loveland, Greeley and Rapid City. If funding allows, Murphy suggested the city hire a digital communications specialist.
Because the city's top-used social media is Facebook, Councilman Jeff White asked Murphy if it was possible the city create its own TikTok account to reach a younger audience. But due to ongoing concerns with the TikTok security issue, Murphy said he isn't sure that idea is feasible.
City rebranding
Murphy outlined the plan for rebranding. This plan is projected to start in the third quarter of the year and released to the public in phases starting at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The rebranding entails a new city logo, icons, design files, brand style guide, templates and sub-logos for different departments and divisions. The city seal and emblem will both remain as-is, Murphy said.
While the city website is not technically part of the rebranding plan, Murphy said he does plan to update the website, and the new branding package will affect colors, logos and placement. But this update would have to be done in small pieces, he said.
'I think (updating the website is) definitely going to be a longer-term thing that is probably going to be, you know, biting it off into chunks,' Murphy said. 'There's a lot of different aspects to look at. … There's definitely pages we need to go through and remove that are outdated or have been duplicated over the years.'
Solve the daily Crossword