By Adam Brazeau
CORNWALL, Ontario – Move over major metropolises, the City of Cornwall is quickly becoming the province’s newest social media darling, according to Redbrick Communications.
The Mississauga-based public relations firm says about 60 per cent of Ontario’s 444 municipalities are using social media.
And apparently Cornwall’s doing it right after placing fourth in the Most Liked category of the firm’s new survey.
Haliburton County came in third after London, and Sault Ste. Marie took the top spot.
“When it comes to being ranked in this latest communication, I would say that the credit for that really belongs with the community,” said Kevin Lajoie, the city’s public information coordinator.
Lisa Timoshenko, a senior consultant at Redbrick Communications, says the survey looks at which of Ontario’s 444 municipalities are using social media to engage with residents, what platforms they’re using and how.
Cornwall’s Facebook page boasts 5,947 members and the economic development team’s Choose Cornwall page has 8,481.
Cornwall is active on Twitter with the handles @CityOfCornwall and @ChooseCornwall.
In addition, the city has Facebook pages for the Cornwall Civic Complex and Aquatic Centre, which are also starting to grow in popularity.
Lastly, Cornwall also uses LinkedIn and YouTube to a lesser degree.
“Social media is a convenient and cost-effective way to share info and communicate with residents,” said Lajoie. “We use it for a variety of things, such as employment opportunities, recreation programs, traffic notices, upcoming events, and much more,”
This year’s results also highlight how other municipalities are finding creative ways to engage and interact with residents.
Other survey categories include Most Liked Per Capita, Most Followed, and Most Followed Per Capita.
Redbrick Communications noted that many municipal incumbents and candidates discovered social media in the 2010 federal election.
