The Parkes Shire Council’s communication efforts to keep the community in the loop was rewarded in Sydney last week. The council won the RH Dougherty Award for Excellence in Communication (Division A) at the 2017 Local Government Awards for the development of its corporate website and social media channels.
Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM said: “We are delighted to have received this award. We completely transformed our communications methods and platforms, including rebuilding our corporate website and social media channels.”
In 2016, a survey found Council’s corporate website and social media presence were in need of significant improvement. “This project was a whole community effort, with feedback from residents and stakeholders forming the foundations of the design and function of the new website to make it more accessible, engaging and easily understandable,” said Council’s Brand and Marketing Manager, Katrina Dwyer.
“Since we launched the new website and social media platforms in December 2016, we have recorded a significant increase in community engagement with communications regarding Council works, services, initiatives and events.
“Most notably, earlier this year Council’s Facebook page received 186 new followers in 24 hours and reached over 15,000 people with one post regarding the flash flooding event in March. This shows that our residents are moving online to receive road closure updates and emergency information.”
The RH Dougherty awards are held annually during Local Government Week, and are judged by leading experts in the communications field.