Blaine residents prefer Facebook, newspaper for city news

A recent survey by the city of Blaine shows that residents prefer to learn about city news through Facebook, The Northern Light and electronic newsletters.

Earlier this year, the city conducted a communications survey to determine how people prefer to receive official news about the city.

The survey went live on February 27 and included outreach through the city website, Twitter, Facebook, The Northern Light, mailing inserts and flyers.

Thousands of people were targeted for the survey, including more than 5,200 users on Facebook and 3,600 addresses through mailing inserts. In addition, two ads were placed in The Northern Light, which has an independently verified circulation of 10,500 copies.

Of the thousands of people targeted, a total of 346 responses were received. Of those, 240 were Blaine residents.

In the survey, respondents were asked to select their top three preferred ways of receiving city of Blaine news. The answer choices included electronic newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, the city website, utility bill inserts, mail, newspaper and “I am not interested in receiving information about the city of Blaine.”

Among Blaine residents, the top three responses were Facebook (127 responses), newspaper (121 responses) and electronic newsletter (113 responses). The lowest three responses were Twitter (17 responses), mail (44 responses) and utility bill inserts (56 responses). Just three people said they were not interested in receiving information about the city.

Respondents were also asked to select which type of email communications they prefer to receive from the city. The answer choices included longer newsletters two or three times a year, brief monthly updates about current activities and issues, notices about city council and other meetings, a bi-monthly update regarding city council’s activities and “I do not want to subscribe to electronic newsletters from Blaine.”

Among Blaine residents, the top two responses were brief monthly updates about current activities and issues (167 responses) followed by meeting notices (75 responses). The bottom two responses were longer newsletters (33 responses) and “I do not want to subscribe” (43 responses).

Finally, respondents were asked to select what information they are most interested in. The answer choices included community events, special projects, police alerts, city meetings and agendas, city council actions and decisions, breaking news, public notices, city programs and services, bios of city staff and new hires, private building and development projects, policy/ordinance reminders and “other.”

Among Blaine residents, the top three responses were breaking news (197 responses), community events (185 responses) and police alerts (171 responses). The bottom three responses were staff biographies (73 responses), policy/ordinance reminders (98 responses) and city meetings and agendas (106 responses).