As pools open and summer camps begin, your neighbors are beginning to think about how they can get out of the house this summer and engage with the community in fun and enriching ways. As a park district, you are also thinking about how you can reach your community and position yourself as a go-to resource for family fun, connecting neighbors and creating summer memories.

It’s the perfect time to revisit your communications plan and ensure you are optimizing your outreach across all channels, reaching your neighbors and engaging with the community. During our recent webinar, we shared best practices and tips for park districts to maximize integrated communications and connect with your community to drive engagement.

Let Your Staff and Community Help Tell Your Story

Your dedicated staff interacts with your neighbors daily and have their own stories and experiences to share. Show your community the people behind the brand by sharing behind-the-scenes videos, staff profiles and fun content featuring your park district family. Not only does personal content help put a face to your brand, but it will also help your residents feel closer to you and create a sense of community. Talk to your staff about how they can become part of your online reputation strategy.

You can (and should!) share the benefits of using your facilities and programs, but don’t let them take your word for it. Interact with your residents and get personal stories and photos to share on your digital channels or collect reviews from those who have had positive experiences with your park district.

Press Play: Incorporate Video Content

Give your residents a window into the park district with video content, allowing residents to get up close and personal with you. Not only does video help to share out information in a more engaging way, but it immerses them in your world, creating a firsthand introduction to your community programs and facilities.

Not only do video posts generate higher engagement rates, but it’s easier than ever to record high-quality video on newer smartphone models (avoiding the cost of a videographer).

Check out some examples of video storytelling here.

Create Your Users’ Journey: What Do You Want Them to See?

Have you recently audited your website, SEO content and social media channels? Knowing how your audience is currently finding and interacting with your content helps to shape your strategy and create a roadmap for how you want them to engage with you. Take key outcomes from your audit and optimize them throughout your channels, staying consistent in your brand look and feel and messaging themes of your content.

Break Through the Noise with Paid Digital

Do you want your content to stand out to residents? Paid digital strategies can pay off. Create and maintain a content calendar to mark key events, milestones and seasonal programs. Once you have a plan, you’ll want to spread it far and wide.

Expand your reach to the right people with targeted ad campaigns to increase awareness of your programs, news and events. You may already be using social media boosting, but consider Google search and display ads which can give you the ability find residents who are using search engines or scouring sites for “things to do” in your area, or are looking for the events and programs that you offer.

Want more? Send us an email at lets_talk@pcipr.com to let us know how we can help you optimize your communications strategy!