It was five years ago this month that we first popped up on social media. Our first posts were published on Facebook and Twitter (now X) in September 2021. Today, we are active on
Facebook and
Bluesky (no longer X), sharing posts daily that inform residents about local information and news.
Why did we do it?
In June 2021 we hired our first Communications Officer. She was tasked with helping the Parish Council to improve and enhance the relationship with residents. One of her ideas was to add social media channels into the existing package of ‘comms’.
We’re aware that not everyone uses social media, but some residents do a lot – the Eynsham Community Facebook is a very busy place! We wanted to make sure we were reaching residents where they were.
Social media is just one of the various ways we communicate. We also have our website, noticeboards, an email newsletter and this double page spread in every Eynsham News.
How has it been?
As many are aware, social media is a complicated beast. We enjoy some benefits and also face issues, always trying to find the happy medium. For example, Twitter became X, and has gradually become a less pleasant place to be. We decided to stop posting on there and move onto Bluesky.
Facebook has proved to be the best platform for reaching the community. Our follower numbers have grown steadily over the years, as have the amount of people we reach with our posts. It’s proving to be a great place to share information quickly and people can be quite responsive.
Sadly, we’ve faced anger and rudeness on Facebook, which has been upsetting for our team. But we also get lovely comments and support. We would always rather people contact us directly with an issue, instead of ranting about it on social media.
What’s of interest?
Each month we review all the data to see what people are looking at. Invariably it’s traffic and transport that come top! Residents want to know about road closures, temporary lights, A40 work and potential transport options like the train line. There has also been a lot of interest in the activity at Dovehouse Close play area, and there was around the potential closure of our fire station, too.
What do you think about it? What could we do on social media to improve the way we communicate with you? Your comments, suggestions and questions are welcome – email our Communications Officer via [email protected].