May 2026 Board of Health Meeting - February 15 , 2026 to March 14, 2026 Communications Update Information Report
PREPARED BY: Communications
DATE: 2026-05-14
SUBJECT: Communications Report March 2026
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 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| Media Requests Received | 17 | 8 | 9 |
| Wechu.org pageviews | 84,875 | 91,219 | -6,344 |
| YouTube Channel Subscribers | 1,866 | 1,864 | 2 |
| Email Subscribers | 6,584 | 6,600 | -16 |
| Emails Distributed | 9 | 11 | -2 |
| Facebook Fans | 26,489 | 26,394 | 95 |
| Facebook Posts | 75 | 70 | 5 |
| Twitter Followers | 8,278 | 8,275 | 3 |
| Twitter Posts | 64 | 67 | -3 |
| Instagram Followers | 2,275 | 2,236 | 39 |
| Instagram Posts | 43 | 32 | 11 |
| LinkedIn Followers | 2,099 | 2,082 | 17 |
| LinkedIn Posts | 22 | 18 | 4 |
| Media Exposure | 80 | 116 | -36 |
Media Exposure Overview Graph
Notes: From February 15 – March 14, we experienced one main peak in media exposure and 3 smaller peaks. The main peak can be attributed to stories on both an overdose alert issued for the region as well as the announcement of our student-focused PSA challenge, Connected, Not Controlled. The smaller peaks are related to the launch of Neighbourhood Safety Plans for Essex and Leamington, stories around the number of students meeting ISPA regulations, and current trends in respiratory illnesses.
Website Overview Graph
Notes: Darker blue line is current timeframe. From February 15 – March 14, we saw very steady web traffic at a slightly lower level compared to the previous month. We saw spikes in web traffic around news releases and corresponding news coverage related to the ISPA campaign and the Connected, Not Controlled challenge.
Social Media Overview Graph (followers)
Notes: Lighter blue lines are the current timeframe. From February 15 – March 14, we continued to see a strong increase in followers on Meta platforms, and stable audiences on X and LinkedIn.
Discussion – Strategic Plan for 2026 - 2030
The WECHU’s new Strategic Plan was approved by the Board of Health at the November 20, 2025 meeting to be officially launched as of January 1, 2026. The Communications Department assisted with the roll-out of the Strategic Plan through a variety of channels including the website, email campaigns, and social media posts.
The Strategic Plan was loaded onto the website and has recorded a total of 589 page views, to date. To help drive traffic to the site, a News Release was emailed to our Media list and the “news release” segment of our General Subscribers list. This resulted in a total of 1,247 opened emails and 189 link clicks. Additionally, two social media posts were issued which pointed to the website. These posts yielded a total of 6,707 views and 265 points of engagement (e.g., reactions, clicks).
For cohesive messaging, components of the Strategic Plan have been implemented into several day-to-day items across the WECHU. For example, the corporate meeting agenda template, internal email signature, and online meeting backgrounds for staff to use incorporate pieces of the Strategic Plan such as the Vision statement or the Strategic Priorities icons. The plan is also available to staff via the Intranet, where they can download a one-page PDF document for quick reference. Looking forward, the Communications Department will work collaboratively with Facilities to install in-office signage which incorporates messaging from the Strategic Plan.