Photo by Conor Betts on Unsplash

Why the CTDOH?

American trust in institutions is at an all-time low. Combine this with increasingly divisive politics and global instability, and you have the perfect recipe for a restless population. While some institutions have contributed more to these issues than others, ultimately they will all suffer unless they take steps to reassure citizens that they are working in their best interests. Government transparency and communication are essential to ensuring that citizens feel informed, engaged, and empowered.

The Connecticut Department of Housing offers several valuable programs, including the CDBG Small Cities Program, which supports local community development, and the BUILD4CT Workforce Housing Program, which provides funding and assistance for developing affordable multifamily housing for the middle class.

Photo of CT Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno from CT DOH Linked-In post (July 24)

The Challenge

Unfortunately, the CTDOH is one of the few state departments with a lack of social media presence. While they have accounts on FaceBook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn, they only post semi-regularly on LinkedIn; the other platforms are largely neglected. This is a huge missed opportunity for civic engagement and transparency.

There are 3 main issues with the CTDOH’s online presence:

1. Lack of originality/variety. There is little content variety between platforms. Much of their content on Twitter (X), for example, is re-posts by the CT governor.

2. Inconsistent posting. Even when the CTDOH was posting fairly regularly, the timing was inconsistent. One month, there may be two or more posts every week; then the next month, no posts at all. Sporadic posting is notoriously bad for online engagement.

3. Corporate focus. The only platform that the CTDOH posts regularly on now is LinkedIn. This makes sense as most of their content focuses on development partnerships, ribbon-cuttings, and conference presentations, rarely centering CT citizens or speaks directly to their audience.

Figure 1 taken from the report (linked below)

Social Media Audit

CTDOH has a Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), and LinkedIn. While each platform has its unique issues, the common theme is a lack of audience engagement. This is a missed opportunity as there are so few chances for government to speak directly to citizens and social media is one of the best ways to do so.

Photo by todd kent on Unsplash

Photo by Kimson Doan on Unsplash

Target Audience

CTDOH’s target audience should be, first and foremost, citizens of Connecticut looking to obtain and/or retain housing in the state. Their mission is as follows:

“The Department of Housing’s mission is to ensure everyone has access to quality housing opportunities and options throughout the State of Connecticut.”

The content that they post to their social media should reflect that mission, showing how the CTDOH is working to provide quality housing around the state.

Homeowners

According to the CT Mirror, the average age in CT in 2022 was 40.9 while the average age of first-time home buyers in 2022 was 36. Thus, most CT residents are the in prime home-buying age.

Renters

Additionally, three-quarters of renters are Gen-Z and Millennial (18-44 years old). The rising cost of living as caused rent to increase almost 20% since 2020, affecting this group the most.

Figure 2 taken from the report (linked below)

Campaign Strategy

1. Revitalize abandoned social media platforms
2. Reach both renters and first-time home buyers
3. Transition content from corporate-feel to community-feel