Parks and Recs Blog to Go Live This Week

The Manassas Park Department of Parks and Recreation’s blog is expected to go live this week as part of the agency's plan to have a strong online presence.

 Catherine Morretta, director of parks and recreation, told Manassas Park City Council Tuesday that the blog is part of the department’s marketing efforts and should come online early this week.  

 Readers should expect the blog to be updated at least three times a week by employees of the agency, Morretta said.

 “ … Our Facebook (page) is really used as a marketing tool to encourage conversation back and forth, but our blog is where we want to be apart of that dialogue,” she said.

 One of goals the department has for fiscal year 2012 is to enhance user online experience and have residents spend more time on the website, she said.

 It is important for the department to understand the importance of marketing, branding and the Internet, she said.

 The department’s marketing plan was developed prior to the opening of the Manassas Park Community Center, but it has since been revised, she said.

 It has developed a marketing plan, a slogan, a trademark, a logo, a mobile site aggressive online advertising and a very interactive website that’s now a “destination site,” Morretta said. 

 An online presence is a critical contributor to the success of the agency, she said.

 "Before a consumer turns the key in their ignition, they turn on their web,” Morretta said. “It is the first destination point. We had to ensure that our first impression was professional, engaging, informative and easy to navigate."

The briefing on the department’s social media and online endeavors was part of the department's 2011 annual report presented to council Tuesday.

Morretta talked about the evolution of the department and what practices they discovered would make them successful.

 “We had to understand and make our employees understand that they were stakeholders in our success,” she said.

 As a result, the department restructured its internal organization to bring it in line with its goals.

 The department also realized that they needed to poll their customers often and listen to what they had to say about their experiences.

 One of most difficult things about the last year was giving programs time to become established, Morretta said.

“Simply, … our process internally became: Evaluate, make a decision and move one. If you made the wrong decision, then re-evaluate and continue to move forward, she said.

 The department’s revenue target for this fiscal year is $1.2 million, and next year’s target of $1.5 million seems readily achievable, Morretta said.