Social networking done on the cheap
The council in Marlborough might not be splashing out on social media promotions but the message is still getting out, its chief executive says.
Figures requested by the Taxpayers’ Union show the Marlborough District Council is the second lowest council spender on social media promotion in the country.
The figures, released under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, show the council spent $22.13 in the year to June on LinkedIn promotions. It did not spend anything on boosting Facebook posts.
This pales in comparison to the top spender, the Auckland City Council, which paid a whopping $187,870 for LinkedIn and Facebook content.
Marlborough District Council chief executive Mark Wheeler said the council made use of social media, through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, but did not feel it had to pay to promote posts.
Because of the ageing population in the region, Wheeler felt that many people still made use of other avenues to receive council communications, such as newspapers.
However, he said social media was becoming increasingly important, and the council had appointed a new communications co-ordinator to review how it could improve its outreach.
‘‘That’s the way the world is moving, but I find in Marlborough our resident survey every year shows us that a very high percentage of people engage with council through the newspaper,’’ Wheeler said.
The new council communications coordinator, Glyn Walters, started with the Marlborough District Council on Tuesday, after working in communications for the Auckland City Council.
Wheeler said Walters would be working across every council department and reviewing how they communicated with the media and how they engaged the public.
‘‘I think there’s lots of scope for council to improve how it communicates with the public and I believe we need professional help with that,’’ he said.
The salary for the role was being partially covered by the departure of another staff member, so Wheeler said it would not come at a significant cost to the council.
Wheeler described what Walters would be doing as a policy and strategy review, which would help the council better approach its communications.
As well the review, the council was also re-developing its website, however Wheeler was not certain when this would be completed. Social spend The top 10 council spenders on Facebook and LinkedIn over the past year:
1. Auckland City Council – $187,870 2. Dunedin City Council – $65,292 3. Rotorua District Council – $28,855 4. Christchurch City Council – $26,511 5. Whanganui District Council – $24,513 6. Wellington City Council – $18,132 7. Hamilton City Council – $18,109 8. Nelson City Council – $10,214 9. Selwyn District Council – $7486 10. Whangarei District Council – $7172
The top10 lowest spenders on Facebook and LinkedIn over the past year:
1. South Taranaki District Council - $11.39 2. Marlborough District Council - $22.13 3. Waitaki District Council - $27 4. Otorohanga District Council - $30 5. Ashburton District Council - $32 6. Clutha District Council - $48.95 7. Grey District Council - $81 8. Ruapehu District Council - $110 9. Matamata-Piako District Council - $123.11 10. Palmerston North City Council - $177.10