News

By Steve Plunkett
    
Boca Raton has a new Web page to guide residents to its host of social media sites.
    Chrissy Biagiotti, the city’s new communications and marketing manager, said she created MyBocaLink.com after meeting with the 30 municipal workers who communicate with residents “on a regular basis, either managing social media pages or sending out newsletters.”
    “It was news to me that we have 15 different Facebook pages in the city,” Biagiotti told City Council members Oct. 26. “And we have 11 different Twitter accounts for the city, five Instagram accounts for the city. So if we didn’t even know that, then I’m thinking, how do the residents know that?”
    Biagiotti said her overall objective is to develop a strong partnership with the community and increase civic engagement by providing timely information that’s accessible, understandable, interactive and engaging.
    “It sounds simple, but this is an objective that each department needs to be making sure that we’re using and utilizing,” she said.
    “Let’s add to that accurate, since we’ve heard some comments about that,” Mayor Susan Haynie said.
    Biagiotti called MyBocaLink a “landing page” that includes an index of social media sites. “It’s a place for people to go to connect and discover and engage and share,” she said.
    Councilman Scott Singer asked whether it might be time to get rid of some of the social media pages. Biagiotti answered that she already had shared some protocols with the staff communicators.
    “If you’re not posting at least four to five times a week as a general rule, then you probably shouldn’t have a Facebook page,” Biagiotti said.
    She also thanked everyone on staff who had helped her gather details for the media.
    “A lot of our residents still get their information from the newspaper and from the television news,” Biagiotti said. “So we have to make sure that we are responding in a timely way to the reporters and bloggers that are calling for information.” The city’s main website, www.myboca.us, has more than 800 pages of information, she said.