City of Morgan Hill Communications Assessment

• The City does not currently have a formal “Website Governance Policy,” which typically outlines an organization's structure of staff and the technical systems, procedures and policies to maintain and manage its website. • The City website has Google Translate enabled, making it accessible to non-English speakers, which Tripepi Smith considers a best practice. Social Media • Certain Departments have demonstrated a willingness to adopt new communication platforms, though the City mostly focuses on Facebook with multiple Facebook Pages. • The City auto-posts the majority of its Constant Contact emails to the City Facebook Page and Twitter Profile, which is not an ideal practice. Facebook, in particular, will prioritize posts created on its own platform vs. third-party tools. • City social media posts are reaching a fraction of their potential audience. This is especially evident on Facebook, where the potential audience of just Morgan Hill residents on Facebook is approximately 24,000 individuals but the City’s main page only has 2,650 Likes/Fans. The largest City-owned Facebook Page (the Morgan Hill Police Department) has approximately 8,700 Likes/Fans. • There are multiple community Facebook Pages and Groups with large memberships. Maureen regularly reads the posts in these spaces and is the only one who officially responds as “the City of Morgan Hill.” Some City staff members and City Council members occasionally monitor these spaces, but there is no formal policy to determine who can post/respond in these spaces and when it would be appropriate to do so. Media/Press • The City has defined multiple “media lists” that receive all City Press Releases and ‘eBlasts’ (digital announcements of breaking/important news). • There is some evidence (outside of the Economic Development Department’s relationship they have built with the Silicon Valley Business Journal ) of a proactive media engagement strategy on larger City issues, including proactive planning to involve media in City projects. • Morgan Hill has two local newspapers that cover City and community news. Both newspapers are open to receiving and printing content from the City, including local events. Periodically, Maureen meets with editors from each paper to touch base and look for ways to work more effectively together. Regional media outlets mostly focus on weather and crime within the City. • Department heads have been empowered to answer media inquiries directly, but will often notify the City Manager/Communications & Engagement Manager that they have been contacted and/or ask for input. Direct Communications (Email & Nixle) • The City is making good use of a large Constant Contact email database. Email is a highly effective way to ensure Cities are directly reaching community members. There is room for improvement when it comes to actively collecting email information at City facilities, Council meetings and City events.

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