Morgan Hill Comms. Assessment-v3

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(Facebook), the Centennial Recreation Senior Center (Facebook), Skate/BMX Park
(Facebook), Sister Cities (Facebook), Economic Development (Facebook), and Youth Action
Council (Facebook). The City links to its main Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts in the
header o and links to its Facebook and Twitter accounts in the
footer.
The City employs a federated model when it comes to social media marketing: each
Department or Facility with a social media asset is responsible for keeping it updated and
responding to posts/comments/mentions. Maureen Tobin is the primary teammate responding
to comments on the City’s posts and its main Facebook Page (City of Morgan
Hill - Engage), and she frequently shares Posts from other City-related Facebook Pages, such
as the Economic Development Department and the Police Department. Maureen has at least
Editor-level (if not Admin-level) permissions on all official City Facebook Pages, except the
Police Department's Facebook Page.
Currently, there is no formal written policy that outlines how social media managers and other
staff should utilize social media, nor that outlines processes for providing and removing staff
access to social media accounts. Multiple people have the ability to post on the City’s main
accounts, which can occasionally result in short periods of inactivity followed by a flurry of
posts in a single day.
From June 1, 2016 to November 1, 2016, the City “Boosted Facebook Page Posts three times
(spending an average of $27.72 each time) with noticeable positive results in terms of increased
Reach and Engagement. The City uses funds from its Communications and Engagement
budget and its Community Services Marketing budget for Facebook advertising. As of this
writing, there is no set monthly or annual amount dedicated to social media advertising,
though.
While there is no “master” content calendar that lays out all the posts to be made across the
City’s various social media assets, the City’s multiple social media managers appear to have a
strong grasp on what content to post and when. Tripepi Smith noted that the large majority of
the City’s Constant Contact emails are ‘auto-posted’ to the City’s main Facebook Page and
Twitter Profile. This eases the burden on social media managers, but is generally advised
against for a couple reasons:
1. The formatting of an auto-post is usually either too short to provide context or too long
and gets cut off.
2. Facebook’s algorithm places higher value on Posts created from the Facebook desktop
platform or mobile app. These “native” Posts will have an advantage in terms of Reach.
Facebook
The City’s main Facebook Page has the fourth-largest audience of any City-owned social media
site with 2,650+ Page Likes. Posting activity on this Page is relatively high, sometimes multiple
times per day, due in part to its multiple Page Admins. The Page could take better advantage
14 “Boosting” a Facebook Page post means paying a relatively small amount for Facebook to show the post to an expanded
and/or targeted audience, similar to an ad. “Boosted” posts appear higher in users’ Facebook News Feeds, improving the
Reach of the post and, often, the Engagement Rate as well.