Planning for Complete Communities in Delaware: Strategic Promotion and Dissemination of the Online Delaware Complete Communities Planning Toolbox
| Author(s) | Scott, Marcia | |
| Author(s) | Pragg, Sarah | |
| Author(s) | Telleri, Frank | |
| Date Accessioned | 2016-07-06T14:57:49Z | |
| Date Available | 2016-07-06T14:57:49Z | |
| Publication Date | 2015-12 | |
| Abstract | In January 2014, the Institute for Publication (IPA) at the University of Delaware launched the online Delaware Complete Communities Planning Toolbox (completecommunitiesde.org). The website was designed to be visually appealing and provide three major sections of resources to build local-government capacity to develop complete-communities planning approaches, community-design tools, and public-engagement strategies. Since January 2014, more than 20 new content areas have been added. When the Toolbox was first introduced in 2014, the official “launch” and promotion of the site was delayed to direct attention to the state’s new Downtown Development Districts initiative. The Toolbox project team took advantage of this downtime and used it as an opportunity to request feedback on the functionality and content of the Toolbox and to develop a full promotional strategy for the Toolbox. In FY 2015 (July 1, 2014–June 30, 2015), the Toolbox generated 5,187 sessions and attracted nearly 4,000 new visitors (77%) and over 1,000 returning visitors (23%). Based on metrics for top “landing pages,” or the web page where a user enters the website, the most popular topics included streetscaping, transit-oriented development, public engagement, and visual preference surveys. The affiliated YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/CompleteCommunities) featured 35 videos. In FY 2015, 3,684 videos were viewed. This Phase IV project initiated strategic Toolbox promotion and dissemination to publicize aspects and features of the website and determine what content is useful and which features need to be modified or augmented. In August 2015, social media campaigns for Twitter and Facebook were launched. The Delaware League of Local Governments, Sussex County Association of Towns, Delaware Chapter of the American Planning Association, Newark Rotary, and Delaware Institute for Local Government Leaders all featured presentations on the Toolbox. A presentation is scheduled for the Delaware Municipal Web Developers Group in 2016. Since initiating the Toolbox marketing plan, page views have almost doubled, and users are viewing more pages per session and staying on the site longer. FY 2016 is on track to surpass FY 2015 engagement levels. In fewer than six months (July 1, 2015–December 5, 2015), the Toolbox generated 3,198 sessions and attracted nearly 2,328 new visitors (73%) and 870 returning visitors (27%). The most popular topics included streetscaping, economic development, transit-oriented development, and benefits of mixed-use development. The YouTube channel now has 37 videos, with an additional 974 views. The top five videos are Proposed Delaware Avenue Cycle Track (two versions); Rural Land Management Tools: Transfer of Development Rights; Designing Better Places: Section 1; and Park and Recreation Master Planning. With the implementation of social media strategies on Facebook and Twitter, engagement on both platforms has more than doubled. The Facebook page has earned 70 more likes (followers) and reached as many as 53 of those followers at any given time (compared to six prior to the campaign). Similarly, project tweets are viewed as much as 6,000 times, compared to 1,000 times prior to the campaign. Most notably, stakeholders are actively engaging with posts, by retweeting and replying to posts | en_US |
| Sponsor | Funded by the Delaware Department of Transportation | en_US |
| URL | http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/18431 | |
| Language | en_US | en_US |
| Part of Series | IPA;473 | |
| Keywords | Marketing, Social Media, Education, Outreach | en_US |
| Title | Planning for Complete Communities in Delaware: Strategic Promotion and Dissemination of the Online Delaware Complete Communities Planning Toolbox | en_US |
| Title | en_US | |
| Type | Technical Report | en_US |
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