Strategic Communications Plan 2021 - 2022 - Amazon AWS
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Strategic
Communications Plan
2021 – 2022Introduction
The City of Shoreview is committed to being a connected and engaged
community. Communication is an essential part of government operations and the
democratic process. We recognize the value in citizen feedback and the wealth of
knowledge and ideas that exist within our community. Strong and effective
communication helps:
• Build pride and satisfaction within the community
• Increase participation
• Strengthen the quality of life for our residents, businesses, and visitors
Communications is an important and necessary investment of Shoreview’s
resources. It is also an essential component to the city’s primary functions. Much of
the city’s success is shaped by the quality of our communication efforts. Given this,
a proactive and comprehensive approach is needed to foster effective
communications. This plan is a key element to help our organization develop and
maintain strong communications and meet core objectives.
Guiding Principles
This plan is built on the below concepts. They are meant to guide staff when
developing communication vehicles and strategies. Additionally, they are designed
to:
• Share accurate information
• Listen to and engage our community members
• Promote the value of city services and activities
• Reach a wide audience with various tools and outreach methods
Clear & direct
We will strive to use direct and straightforward language to communicate the city’s
policies and programs. To ensure our communications are understandable and
accessible, we will:
• Explain technical terms
• Avoid jargon
• Provide background information
Proactive
We will tell our story first rather than rely on others to react and interpret the city's
actions, issues, and decisions. We will provide information on issues as it comes to
1light to ensure the most accurate and complete information is available as soon as
possible. This will allow citizens to make informed judgements.
Transparent
We will be open in communicating city business and making information available
to all. We will strive to include citizens during appropriate levels of decision-making.
This can include a wide range of strategies from asking for input to encouraging
service on commissions.
Inclusive
We recognize that communications is two-way, both providing information and
receiving feedback. Including everyone in the process builds a community and
feelings of belonging. The goal is to include everyone who wants to take part and to
motivate those who are not currently engaged. We recognize that not everyone
uses the same channels of communication, nor do they communicate the same
way across different demographics. When the city strives to listen to all residents, it
benefits in two ways. First, by building trust and credibility. Second, by ensuring
that the public’s voice is reflected in city policies and programs.
Cohesive
We will create a communication program built on strong themes and cohesive
messaging. Communication should support, reinforce, and reflect the key
messages, goals, and objectives of the city. This will present Shoreview as an
effective organization with a common purpose and direction.
Who is responsible for the city’s communication efforts?
The city’s communications department is responsible for sharing information. They
will use a variety of methods and tools including:
• Website and social media
• Print communications and publications
• Relations with the media and community
• Cable television programs and bulletins
• Electronic signs and digital billboards
Who speaks on behalf of the city?
Communications staff will work with other departments to distribute consistent
and professional information. Due to the number of communication tools used, the
2responsible staff member varies. Departments should notify the city manager and
communications department before releasing any information pertaining to
emergencies or sensitive topics. Below is a list of responsible staff members for the
top three communication tools.
Social media and website
Communications staff are responsible for the city’s website and social media
pages. Each department has designated employees that are responsible for
their respective webpages.
Press releases and printed material
Each department head is responsible for approving press releases and printed
materials that are distributed to local media outlets or the public.
Interviews
The mayor or city manager is responsible for conducting interviews with local
media outlets. The city manager may designate others to speak on the city’s
behalf, particularly if a subject matter expert is needed.
3Communications Strategy
In order to ensure effective communication, the city’s communication strategy
must:
Enhance collaboration and prioritization
Effective teams have a common purpose and intent with trust, respect, and
collaboration. The city will need organizational commitment and willingness to
foster a collaborative environment. This will be needed before standard processes
and procedures can be implemented.
Be responsive to changing communication trends
Communication trends are ever-changing. The city must continue to use new
techniques to provide information that is timely, relevant, and accessible. It will also
need to address the needs of a diverse population.
Gather and incorporate feedback
Regular data collection and review is imperative to evaluating and making
decisions. Data collection will be a mix of public feedback, engagement, and trends.
Provide education and training
Ongoing training in communication practices and techniques is a must for staff.
Staff must embrace learning new technology, and accept accountability for quality
assurance. Simply using new tools will not guarantee effectiveness.
Incorporate key messages
The city will communicate the following key messages to the public on a regular
basis.
1. The City of Shoreview is one of the premier communities in the metropolitan
area. It provides quality services, state of the art facilities and public
amenities, and a variety of housing choices.
2. Shoreview uses its tax dollars wisely to deliver high-quality services in an
effective and efficient manner. These services add value to the community
and have a positive impact on the quality of life.
3. Shoreview employees are committed to providing outstanding customer
service that exceeds expectations.
4. Shoreview is committed to sustainability and environmental efforts that
enhance our natural resources and community.
4Communications Plan
Mission statement
The following is the city’s communications plan mission statement:
In order to support the city council in achieving their strategic goals, this plan’s
mission is to:
• Develop and enhance communication between the city and its residents,
businesses, and employees
• Promote and foster positive relationships
• Encourage trust
• Ensure accurate and timely information is provided to the public
Target Audiences
Target audiences will vary by program or project. Staff will tailor communications to
meet the needs of each program’s target audiences. Audiences will include:
• Residents
• Businesses
• Visitors
• Employees
• Media
• Other government/organizations
Communication Goals, Objectives, & Action Items
Goals, objectives and items must align with the city’s guiding principles while
measuring success of communication efforts.
Goal #1: Reinforce the city’s identity and community pride to strengthen public
confidence, promote a positive city image, and enhance trust in our city government.
Goal #2: Effectively use established media and emerging trends in communications
to provide open and easy access of information to the community.
Goal #3: Communicate city news and information internally and externally in a
timely, accurate, and proactive manner, so that citizens, as well as employees, remain
knowledgeable on city information.
Goal #4: Support the city council in achieving their goals and specific community
programs. Additionally, facilitate citizen input and feedback concerning city policies
and programs to aid in the decision making process.
5Goal #1: Reinforce the city’s identity and community pride to strengthen public confidence, promote a positive
city image, and enhance trust in our city government
Responsible
Action Item Timeline Performance Measure
Parties
Objective #1: Reflect the city’s mission and values in the way we do business.
1. Communicate the city’s mission and values to staff, City council Ongoing # of ways the mission
residents, and visitors Employees and values are
communicated
2. Educate/train new employees to understand that the Supervisors Ongoing # of employees trained
city’s mission and values serve as the foundation for how Human
we treat our customers. resources
3. Incorporate the mission and values into: Employees Ongoing # of items the mission is
• Comprehensive plan incorporated into
• Environmental initiatives
• Community development
• Committees/commission charges
Objective #2: Establish positive, ongoing relationships with residents and businesses
1. Continue offering a citizen’s leadership academy every Admin dept. 2021 Completed academy
other year.
2. Encourage council to meet annually with City council Ongoing # of joint
committees/commissions Committees / committee/commission
commissions meetings with council
3. Continue/enhance business e-newsletters Community Ongoing # of newsletters issued
development annually & percent
opened
4. Continue/enhance the business outreach done through Community Ongoing # of outreach activities
the EDC/EDA development completed annually
EDA
EDC
5. Continue/enhance the Access Shoreview newsletter Communications Ongoing # of newsletters issued
annually & percent
opened
6Objective #3: Strengthen the use of the city logo as a brand and develop key messages that reflects the city’s
mission and values.
1. Communicate the city’s key messages to staff, residents, City council Ongoing # of ways the key
businesses, and visitors Employees messages are
communicated
2. Incorporate the city’s brand and writing guide into all Communications Ongoing # of items the brand
documents, plans, advertisements, and electronic and writing guide are
communications incorporated into
Goal #2: Effectively use established media and emerging trends in communications to provide open and easy
access of information to the community in the most accessible manner.
Responsible
Action Item Timeline Performance Measure
Parties
Objective #1: Develop communication tools based on data, feedback and priorities that align with the strategic
communications plan
1. Conduct an internal communications audit to identify Communications Dec 2021 Completed audit
process/lack of process, audiences, stakeholders, and # of surveys/interviews
gaps/opportunities in order to drive consistency in conducted
communications. # of documents
Subtasks: reviewed
• Survey and/or interviews with staff and council
• Document review
• Systems/process analysis
• Critical incident analysis
• Assessment of current resources, software,
technologies
2. Conduct an internal analysis of current city-wide and Communications Dec 2021 Completed analysis
cross-departmental communications efforts to
determine:
• Which methods work well, do not work or need to be
changed
• Opportunities to leverage or improve
• What may be hindering successful communications
73. Develop a report with recommendations to current Communications March Completed report
communications plan/structure based on data collected 2022
and analyzed.
4. Create an inventory of current and future tools that can Communications Ongoing Updated inventory
help efficiently reach audiences in the manner in which
they want to be reached.
Objective #2: Identify key information which community desires to receive and methods in which to receive
them.
1. Use data and trends to identify who is reached with Communications Ongoing Website and social
current communication tools. media analytics
2. Use analytics to measure success of digital Communications Ongoing Increased use of
communications. (Website, social media, etc.) website and social
media
3. Utilize community survey results to identify how residents Admin dept. 2022 Community survey
want to receive information and continue to ask relevant results
questions in upcoming community surveys.
4. Identify key metrics and methods as well as resources Communications June Key metrics and
needed to track communication effectiveness. 2021 methods identified
5. Create informative and engaging videos at least twice per Communications Ongoing # of videos created
year.
Goal #3: Communicate city news and information internally and externally in a timely, accurate, and proactive
manner, so that citizens, as well as employees, remain knowledgeable on city information.
Responsible
Action Item Timeline Performance Measure
Parties
Objective #1: Coordinate information across departments to ensure consistency and accuracy.
1. Develop a consistent and sustainable method for Mgmt. team Ongoing Communication
department heads/managers to share information method created
among themselves as well as with their respective staff.
2. Develop a staff academy that outlines the different roles Admin dept. 2021 Academy developed
of each department and how we work together. and implemented
3. Strengthen and enhance coordination between Communications Ongoing Completed calendars
community center and city hall and other departments Annual review of
for messaging, publication, marketing and promotional analytics
activities. # of meetings held
8Subtasks:
• Develop an annual calendar of events
• Create a shareable editorial calendar
• Share data/analytics regularly between departments
• Hold regular communication team and cross-
departmental meetings
4. Create an emergency communications plan to outlines Communications Sept 2021 Completed emergency
steps for departments to take during emergency communications plan
situations.
Objective #2: Enhance and manage websites to ensure content is relevant and engaging.
1. Conduct a website audit biennially to ensure all Communications June and Completed audit
information is still relevant. Dec each
year
2. Create a digital first plan that prioritizes online Communications Dec 2022 Completed digital first
information over print publications. This includes but is plan
not limited to: # of items converted to
• Forms and applications digital format
• Program descriptions
• Maps
• Budget information
3. Create a process for ensuring programs and events are Communications Dec 2021 Process created
consistent across the website, registration system, and Parks and rec
ShoreViews to meet customers on their preferred
platform.
Goal #4: Support the city council in achieving overall goals and specific community programs. Additionally,
facilitate citizen input and feedback concerning city policies and programs to aid in the decision making
process.
Responsible
Action Item Timeline Performance Measure
Parties
Objective #1: Encourage citizens to become more knowledgeable, informed, and involved in city and issues so
that every citizen feels connected and involved.
1. Educate citizens on how to become involved in the city Employees Ongoing # of ways citizens are
Staff liaisons educated
92. Identify barriers to participation in the community Admin dept. March Barriers identified
2021
3. Create informational guide on how to participate in the Admin dept. March Completed guide
municipal process. 2021
4. Create internal guide on how to engage citizens in the Admin dept. March Completed guide
municipal process. 2021
Objective #2: Use decision-making processes that are transparent, encourage input at appropriate times, and
include a variety of ways for community members to participate and influence decisions.
1. Identify opportunities to engage with citizens in a manner Mgmt. team Ongoing
that will enhance the decision-making process and
encourage participation.
10Communication tools – updated November 2020
External: The city uses the following external communication tools to reach its targeted audiences.
Communication Tool Audience Pros Cons
Website (Both city and economic Residents • Comprehensive and • Information does not
development) – Both the city and economic Businesses easy-to-update resource reach those who aren’t
development use websites to connect with our Visitors that allows visitors to online or regular users.
audiences and provide high quality customer Employees self-serve • Not currently utilizing
service. The websites provide information on all Media • 27% of residents stated digital first strategies
city functions such as city council, Other orgs they use the website as • May be difficult to
commissions, departments, activities, ‘Primary Source of navigate with a mobile
economic development, and services. Information’, which is a device, particularly
16% increase since 2015 PDFs and tables.
Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Nextdoor, Residents • Allows the city, • Information does not
Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube) – The city, Businesses community center, and reach those who aren’t
community center, and economic Visitors economic development online or regular users.
development use social media as another Employees to post new material
means of communicating information to our Media continuously and
audiences. The city is able to use data to Other orgs connect with audience
determine which posts resonate with our members
audience, which ones tend to be the most • Membership has
useful, and which ones users are seeking more increased significantly
information on. in last two years
• Allows for two-way
communication
• Increases in followers
and engagement will
continue to boost our
visibility across social
platforms
ShoreViews – The city’s newsletter and Residents • Can provide more in- • Decline of 9% since
recreation catalog includes information about depth information than 2015 survey as ‘Primary
city services, programs, news, events, resident on social media. Source of Information’
resources, and community organizations, along
11with community center recreation programs, • Highly read by the • Not timely source of
classes, events, and schedules. It is published residents. news/info
four times a year and is mailed free of charge • Costly to produce
to residents and community center members. • May not reach
residents in multi-unit
dwellings.
Access Shoreview – The city’s bi-monthly Residents • Can provide more in- • Sent to approximately
electronic newsletter and online summary of depth information than 1,200 subscribers –
council actions and up-to-date city news, on social media. 4.5% of residents
information and events. • Additional opportunity • Average 47% open
to provide residents rate is high for
with information. industry standard but
• Provides direct links to means approximately
detailed pages and 575 residents are
event information actually reading it
• Offers a wide variety of • May not offer the
content specific-interest level
content residents wish
to receive
Citizens’ leadership academy – This program Residents • Allows residents to • Limited spots
was created to promote a better better understand local • Requires significant
understanding of local government and to government time commitment
foster future community leaders. The program from staff and
consists of six meetings, which are a residents
combination of tours, speakers, interactive • Is not accessible to
sessions, and Q&A sessions, and is offered every residents who work a
other year. non-traditional
schedule, those with
family members to
care for during the
evening, etc.
Channel 16 – The city’s public access channel Residents • Can display information • Only 21% watch it on a
that provides information on events, services, that repeats monthly basis
meetings, etc. Additionally, the city broadcasts
12city council and planning commission according to 2018
meetings. survey
• Information does not
reach those who don’t
have cable
Digital signs – The city uses three digital signs Residents • Quick way to provide • Cannot provide more
along Hwy. 96 to communicate and promote Businesses information on city in-depth information
public events provided by the city and Visitors events
organizations that are financially sponsored by Employees
the city. Media
Other orgs
Various printed materials – The city uses Residents • Provides specific • May not always be
various printed materials to distribute Businesses information designated read
information on city projects, documents, Visitors to targeted audiences. • May be costly to
events, and services. Printed materials include Employees produce
but aren’t limited to letters, brochures, flyers, Media • May become outdated
bi-annual budget, capital improvement plan, Other orgs quickly
comprehensive plan, utility bill stuffers,
council/commission reports, and
advertisements for the community center.
Public meetings – In addition to city council Residents • Provides specific • Information does not
and commission meetings, the city holds other Businesses information designated reach those who are
public meetings to provide information on Media to target audiences. unavailable in
large projects and developments occurring in Other orgs • Staff members are evenings (typical time
the city, as well as provide the public with an present to answer of meetings) or don’t
opportunity to express opinions and give input. questions and provide have transportation to
clear, cohesive get to meetings.
messages
Press releases – The city issues press releases Residents • Easy to write and • May not always be
to the local media to provide information on Businesses distribute read
programs, events, awards, and projects. Media • Local newspapers are
Other orgs closing
E-notifications – Through Constant Contact, Residents • Additional opportunity • Information does not
audience members are able to sign up for Businesses for the city and reach those who aren’t
13information on city events and projects, Media community center to signed up for the e-
community center classes, etc. Other orgs connect with audiences. newsletter.
• Opened
approximately 46% of
the time
Text notifications – Through Nixle, audience Residents • Additional opportunity • Information does not
members are able to sign up for text Businesses for the city and reach those who aren’t
notifications on weather delays, closures, road Media community center to signed up for text
projects, etc. Other orgs connect with audiences. notifications.
Business Matters newsletter – The city’s Businesses • Can provide more in- • Is not currently sent
newsletter to businesses that covers recent depth information than out
news and developments that impact on social media. • May not always be
Shoreview, highlights a local business, and • Additional opportunity read
showcases available events and programs for to provide businesses
businesses. Please note that the city does not with information.
currently publish this. This is listed under goal
#1 for evaluation.
Internal: The city uses the following internal communication tools to reach its targeted audiences.
Communication Tool Audience Pros Cons
Weekly city manager’s report – The city City council • Keeps city council and • May not always be
manager issues a weekly report to the city Mgmt. mgmt. team informed read
council and management team that reviews team
upcoming council meetings and events, park
and recreation activities, and other projects.
Management meetings – Members of the Mgmt. • Provides an opportunity • Meetings may not
management team meet every other week to team for the management always be held on a
review the previous council meeting and to team to be informed of regular basis
keep each other informed of programs, what is happening in all
projects, and issues in their own departments. departments.
Employee newsletters – Employee Employees • Keeps employees • Is not sent out
newsletters are sent out once per month to informed of what is currently
notify employees of events, new employees, happening in the city. • May not always be
benefit changes, etc. • Easy way to reach all read
employees
14Employee access e-newsletter – Employee Employees • Keeps employees • May not always be
access e-newsletters are sent out once per informed of what is read
month to provide updates on department happening in the city. • May not reach
projects and staff. • Easy way to reach all employees who don’t
employees have email
• Average open rate of
84%
Department meetings – Departments meet as Employees • Keeps employees • Due to schedules,
needed to keep each other informed of informed meetings may not
projects, programs, and issues. always be held on a
regular basis
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