PREPARED BY: Communications
DATE: 2026-05-14
SUBJECT: Communications Report April 2026
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE:
Provide regular marketing and communication updates to the Board of Health.
| SOURCE | March 15 – April 14 | February 15 – March 14 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| News Releases, Media Advisories and Statements, or Notices Issued | 2 | 8 | -6 |
| Media Requests Received | 8 | 17 | -9 |
| Wechu.org pageviews | 72,310 | 84,875 | -12,565 |
| YouTube Channel Subscribers | 1,867 | 1,866 | 1 |
| Email Subscribers | 6,565 | 6,584 | -19 |
| Emails Distributed | 6 | 9 | -3 |
| Facebook Fans | 26,504 | 26,489 | 15 |
| Facebook Posts | 67 | 75 | -8 |
| Twitter Followers | 8,269 | 8,278 | -9 |
| Twitter Posts | 60 | 64 | -4 |
| Instagram Followers | 2,302 | 2,275 | 27 |
| Instagram Posts | 36 | 43 | -7 |
| LinkedIn Followers | 2,137 | 2,099 | 38 |
| LinkedIn Posts | 27 | 22 | 5 |
| Media Exposure | 23 | 80 | -57 |
Media Exposure Overview Graph
Notes: From March 15 – April 14, we experienced three larger peaks in media exposure with smaller echo waves of coverage. The first main peak (March 16)was related to a provincial story around the defunding of safe consumption sites, the second peak (March 31) featured coverage of our secondary student Immunization for School Pupils Act update, and the third peak (April 11) focused on an update to Amherstburg’s business license process (for the public health inspection component).
Website Overview Graph
Notes: Darker blue line is current timeframe. From March 15 – April 14, we saw the usual pattern of website visits throughout the week and dropping on the weekends. However, traffic was at a lower level than the previous month, which can be explained by the decrease in news releases issued.
Social Media Overview Graph (followers)
Notes: Lighter blue lines are the current timeframe. From March 15 – April 14, we saw increases in followers on our Meta and LinkedIn platforms, and a small decrease on X.
Discussion – Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA)
The Communications Department supported the Immunization Department with a variety of communication items throughout the ISPA enforcement campaign. The campaign officially started at the end of January and ran through early April. During the campaign, three news releases were issued, two ads were run on Meta platforms, and four social posts were boosted.
Of the news releases, two were issued regarding the elementary student process and one focused on the secondary student phase. The three emails averaged an open rate of 30% with the general subscribers and 45% with the media. From these news releases, a total of 17 stories were published (original stories and echoes inclusive).
The two paid ads on Meta reached a total of 61,316 accounts and yielded 1,512 clicks on the hyperlink. The goal of the ads was to direct users to ICON where they could update immunization records. The four boosted social posts had the same goal of driving users to ICON. In total, the four posts reached 22,308 accounts across the month and yielded nearly 700 link clicks.