National Preservation Month Social Media Initiative (2022)

Employing creative adaptation with existing social media tools facilitates high-impact public engagement and campaign success, even with minimal budget and tight deadlines.

National Preservation Month Social Media Initiative (2022)

Key Results

Generated 330,260 impressions and 6,039 engagements.

Received over 200 photo submissions.

Secured positive earned local media coverage.

Increased follower growth for the Development Services/Landmark Commission.

City Communications adopted campaign methodology for later contests.

Introduction

In the spring of 2022, the City of Corpus Christi Landmark Commission, part of the Development Services Department, sought to increase its public visibility and engagement by participating in National Preservation Month (May).

Inspired by initiatives in other cities, the Commission aimed to launch a local campaign but faced limitations in developing dedicated web resources within a short timeframe.

This case study examines how I leveraged my Public Information Officer (PIO) – Social Media expertise to devise and execute a highly successful, low-cost public engagement campaign.

Role & Event:

As Public Information Officer (PIO) – Social Media, I devised and executed the City of Corpus Christi Landmark Commission’s inaugural National Preservation Month social media initiative in May 2022.

Challenges Overcome:

Successfully launched an engaging public campaign with limited time, virtually no budget, and without the possibility of developing dedicated web resources (like a webpage or submission form) due to tight deadlines.

Strategic Approach:

Proposed and implemented an innovative, social media-centric photo contest. This involved utilizing the existing Development Services Facebook page as the central hub, creating a custom branded hashtag for easy submissions across platforms, leveraging local influencers and community pages for organic promotion, and using Facebook “reactions” for a transparent public voting system. I led all technical and execution aspects.

The Challenge: Limited Time and Resources for a New Initiative

The Landmark Commission identified National Preservation Month as an opportunity to connect with the community and raise awareness about local historic preservation. The initial concept involved a photo contest requiring a dedicated webpage and submission form.

However, consultations with the city's web development team revealed that building these components was not feasible given the tight deadline (April/May 2022). The primary challenge became: How could the Commission launch an engaging Preservation Month campaign quickly, effectively, and with minimal budget, while meeting the goal of increasing public awareness and driving social media growth?

The Solution: A Social Media-Centric Photo Contest

Recognizing the constraints and opportunities, I was invited by the departmental PIO for my technical expertise. I proposed a social media-driven approach. The core idea was to bypass the need for new web infrastructure and leverage existing, popular platforms. The solution I devised included:

Platform:

Use the City of Corpus Christi Development Services Facebook page as the central hub for the contest, specifically for hosting photo submissions in a dedicated album.

Submission Mechanism:

Implement a user-friendly submission process via a custom-branded hashtag on various social media platforms. This allowed easy public participation and simplified collection for me.

Promotion Strategy:

Engage local influencers and established community social media pages to amplify the contest announcement and reach a wider audience organically.

Voting System:

Institute a transparent and accessible public voting method using Facebook "reactions" on the photos within the official contest album.

Implementation: Agile Execution and My Leadership

I took the lead on the technical and execution aspects of the campaign:

Hashtag Strategy:

I devised and promoted the unique hashtag for tracking submissions.

Content Curation and Creation:

I monitored social media channels for hashtag submissions and vetted entries against contest rules and criteria.

Platform Management:

I created a dedicated Facebook photo album and uploaded curated submissions.

Voting Oversight:

I managed the voting period, provided regular updates, ensured fair play, and tallied the final results based on "reactions."

Marketing & Communications:

I designed promotional graphics and materials for the campaign. I identified and liaised with relevant influencers and social media pages for promotion. I coordinated with the departmental PIO to draft and distribute three key press releases (contest announcement, voting period launch, winner announcement).

Results & Impact: Exceeding Expectations

Increased Awareness & Engagement:

The campaign generated substantial public interest, evidenced by: 330,260 impressions, 6,039 engagements (likes, comments, shares, reactions), over 200 photo submissions from the public.

Follower Growth:

The initiative successfully drove new followers to the Development Services/Landmark Commission, achieving a key objective for future engagement.

Earned Media:

The contest garnered positive local media coverage.

Peer Recognition:

Other municipalities contacted the City of Corpus Christi post-campaign to learn how to replicate the successful model I had implemented.

Internal Recognition:

My colleague and I were formally recognized by the Landmark Commission for our successful efforts.

Sustainability:

The methodology I developed for this campaign proved effective. It adopted was for subsequent iterations of the contest after I departed from the city. The Commission later built upon this foundation by introducing annual themes to the contest.

Conclusion & Lessons Learned

This initiative demonstrates the power of leveraging existing social media platforms for effective, low-cost public engagement, even under tight deadlines. By pivoting from a resource-intensive web development approach to an agile, social media-centric strategy, I successfully enabled the Landmark Commission to launch its first National Preservation Month campaign.

National Preservation Month Social Media Initiative (2022)