PREPARED BY: Communications Department
DATE: March 17, 2025
SUBJECT: February 15 – March 14, 2025 Communications Update
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE:
Provide regular marketing and communication updates to the Board of Health.
| SOURCE | February 15 – March 14 | January 15 - February 14 | DIFFERENCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| News Releases, Media Advisories and Statements, or Notices Issued | 21 | 7 | 14 |
| Media Requests Received | 24 | 6 | 18 |
| Wechu.org pageviews | 144,228 | 109,666 | 34,562 |
| YouTube Channel Subscribers | 1,821 | 1,820 | 1 |
| Email Subscribers | 6,881 | 6,915 | 34 |
| Emails Distributed | 20 | 15 | 5 |
| Facebook Fans | 19,713 | 19,545 | 168 |
| Facebook Posts | 74 | 74 | 0 |
| Twitter Followers | 8.373 | 8,422 | -49 |
| Twitter Posts | 75 | 74 | 1 |
| Instagram Followers | 1,988 | 1,923 | 65 |
| Instagram Posts | 33 | 26 | 7 |
| LinkedIn Followers | 1,872 | 1,857 | 15 |
| LinkedIn Posts | 29 | 6 | 13 |
| Media Exposure | 189 | 96 | 93 |
Data Notes can be provided upon request.
Media Exposure Overview Graph
Notes: From February 15 – March 14, we experienced three main peaks in media exposure:
Feb. 21 – Twelve stories were published following a news release written in partnership with our local hospitals, notifying the public about the increase in flu cases and options to seek medical attention to alleviate strain on the emergency departments.
March 3 – 7 – Over these days, the WECHU received a lot of media coverage following a statement regarding the elementary student enforcement of the Immunization of School Pupils Act and a news release about the first confirmed measles case in the region along with possible public exposure locations.
March 10 – 14 – Media coverage over these days was focused on measles as more cases were confirmed and possible public exposure locations were released. Additionally, there were 10 stories regarding an emergency exercise taking place at municipalities in the region, which included the WECHU for KI Pill distribution.
Website Overview Graph
Notes: From February 15 – March 14, we saw very similar website traffic patterns until the first case of measles was announced. Following that, we saw an increase in web traffic with peaks that coincide with news releases.
Social Media Overview Graph
Lighter blue line represents the current month, darker blue line represents the previous month. Notes: We saw an increase in followers across all platforms with the exception of Twitter.
Discussion – Avian Flu Communication Planning
To be prepared for the potential of human avian influenza cases locally, the Communications Department worked with the Infectious Disease Prevention Department on a variety of communication items to raise awareness among the public. This included the creation of social media posts, a fact sheet with FAQs, and website content.
All content was shared with our community partners, along with a planned schedule for social media posts to promote the sharing of information across platforms. With the goal of having cohesive messages for our community across partner agencies, the content was packaged and sent to communication leads at the organizations to allow them to post organically or follow our schedule to share.