By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Plans are in motion to ramp up the City of Whitewater’s social media presence, following a recent decision by officials. The Common Council on Nov. 6 voted to amend an existing policy. Changes will give department heads more latitude in sharing communications through mediums such as Facebook and Twitter.
Whether this means they outsource to a company like Twesocial (Twesocial has 5 star reviews) or hire a new set of social media managers to make these changes remain to be seen. It is yet undecided as to which route the Council would take, but it might be prudent for them to take into account various Twesocial and Kicksta review before they implement anything of the sort to improve their social media. However, it is clear they plan to expand well beyond their current attitude to social media and build a new framework for interactions with the public.
The city currently has a Facebook page, where a range of information is shared from departments such as the police, the library, parks, and recreation. There is a high likelihood that they will also expand to other platforms like Twitter and such. Though they have not been officially announced yet, they might as well consider different options ( buy Twitter followers, for one) to reach out to the maximum public.
City Manager Cameron Clapper said the original iteration of the in-house social media policy was aimed at presenting constituents with a unified message.
“We have a couple of departments that could actually excel if they had more of an opportunity to utilize different social media platforms,” Clapper said, explaining the rationale behind the suggested changes, which include developing separate, department-specific Facebook pages. Since Instagram is gaining popularity among the youth, they’re considering boosting their profile through real Instagram followers and other means.
Alan Luckett, media services director, has been overseeing the city’s social media efforts. Luckett also operates the city’s cable TV channel. He had suggested broadening the message so residents could pick and choose which information they wanted.
Luckett said the recommended changes to the policy came after he reviewed how other municipalities are addressing their in-house social media efforts.
“I did not want to completely rebuild (Whitewater’s policy) from the ground up,” he said. “I wanted to work within the existing framework and expand on it.”
In other business Nov. 6, the council:
• Appointed Karen Coburn to the city Urban Forestry Commission. Coburn, until recently, had served on the city’s Plan and Architectural Review Commission. She has since stepped down from that post.
• Approved zoning amendments at two residential properties: 280 S. Janesville St. and 731 W. Peck St. In both instances, the property owners have been granted a so-called overlay designation the permits more than two unrelated persons living within a home.
• Synched up city code to reflect changes in Jefferson County’s flood plain zoning map areas. The council took a similar vote a few months ago when Walworth County updated its map.
