September 2026 Board of Health Meeting - May 15 , 2026 to June 14, 2026 Communications Update Information Report
PREPARED BY: Communications
DATE: 2026-09-24
SUBJECT: Communications Report June 2026
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE:
Provide regular marketing and communication updates to the Board of Health.
| SOURCE | May 15 – June 14 | April 15 – May 14 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| News Releases, Media Advisories and Statements, or Notices Issued | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Media Requests Received | 10 | 13 | -3 |
| Wechu.org pageviews | 87,160 | 85,049 | 2,111 |
| YouTube Channel Subscribers | 1,866 | 1,867 | -1 |
| Email Subscribers | 6,541 | 6,549 | -8 |
| Emails Distributed | 11 | 6 | 5 |
| Facebook Fans | 26,622 | 26,566 | 56 |
| Facebook Posts | 72 | 73 | -1 |
| Twitter Followers | 8,243 | 8,262 | -19 |
| Twitter Posts | 63 | 60 | 3 |
| Instagram Followers | 2,327 | 2,324 | 3 |
| Instagram Posts | 59 | 49 | 10 |
| LinkedIn Followers | 2,170 | 2,160 | 10 |
| LinkedIn Posts | 36 | 40 | -4 |
| Media Exposure | 54 | 113 | -59 |
Media Exposure Overview Graph
Notes: From May 15 – June 14, we saw a number of spikes in media coverage over a variety of topics. Two main subjects of coverage included stories around the BYOB regulations for municipalities and the media event that took place to announce renovation funding for our Windsor office. Smaller spikes included stories on food insecurity, tick surveillance, and the heat alert.
Website Overview Graph
Notes: Darker blue line is current timeframe. From May 15 – June 14, we saw an overall increase in web traffic which can be correlated to a number of news releases that garnered high media attention (e.g., renovation funding announcement). Additionally, the beach water testing season started in this timeframe which always drives a high number of users to our site.
Social Media Overview Graph (followers)
Notes: Lighter blue lines are the current timeframe. From May 15 – June 14, we saw a moderate increase in followers on Meta platforms, and a decrease in followers on X.
Discussion – Tick Surveillance
The Communications Department supported Environmental Health with a media event focused on the start of tick surveillance for the season. A media advisory was released, and contacts from all the major media outlets attended the event. There was a total of nine stories published online and it was covered on the evening news by CTV.
In addition to the media event, the Communications team created a social media reel that included tick bite prevention tips. This was the first reel created and released by the WECHU that did not involve any staff members and relied on a video with text overlayed. It performed very well organically (it was not boosted with any budget). In total, it was viewed 10,977 times by 9,728 accounts with over 300 link clicks. It also had 55 interactions which broke down to be 25 reactions, 10 comments, and 20 shares. This data has encouraged the department to explore more content creation of a similar nature to integrate into our plans.