Our most popular blogs and podcasts of 2018

By Colin Killian, Public Communications Manager

When blogging became all the rage several years ago, it was common to see corporations and even state and federal government agencies jumping aboard.

But you didn’t see many local governments taking part – and you still don’t.

The reason the City of College Station decided to start blogging in 2010 was simple. It was an effective way to better tell our story. More than eight years later, the city blog continues to be a powerful cornerstone of our public outreach strategy.

In our first year of blogging, we averaged about 1,500 views per month. In 2018, we averaged almost 12,000 views per month, an eightfold increase. Since we launched the blog in August 2010, we’ve published nearly 870 posts, resulting in more than 400,000 views and tens of thousands of shares through social media.

Our 128 new blog posts this year attracted more than 141,000 views – about 40,000 more than the old record set in 2017 and almost twice what we saw in 2016. Our most-viewed blog of 2018 was about last summer’s new sanitation schedules and rates, which received well over 10,000 views.   

The five-year-old post about how to report power outages remains our most-read piece overall with almost 20,000 views, including 3,700 new ones in 2017.

Podcasts

While blogging is rare for municipalities, you see even fewer cities delivering regular podcasts featuring local government leaders. Public Communications produced seven podcasts in 2018 that received more than 9,000 plays through Soundcloud, YouTube, and the city blog.

The “Is This a Thing?” series featuring Economic Development Director Natalie Ruiz has continued to be especially popular with our podcast audience. The series explores the rumors and realities about new restaurants, stores, and other development coming to town.

The year’s most popular episode, posted in April, featured local chef and restaurateur Wade Barkman and was played a whopping 2,532 times.

Here are our most popular blogs and podcasts of the year:

Top Blog Posts of 2018

1.     10,482 views	New sanitation schedules and rates start in July
2.     5,044 views	How you can help save the monarch butterfly
3.     3,743 views	Your account number is key when reporting an outage
4.     2,936 views	What to do when Ofo becomes an oh no
5.     2,509 views	10 ways to protect your pipes and irrigation in freezing weather
6.     2,354 views	A closer look at the proposed city charter amendments
7.     2,043 views	Why doesn’t College Station have a Waffle House?
8.     1,877 views	Is This a Thing? What’s coming to CS and what’s not (Episode 6)
9.     1,848 views	Chef Wade Barkman dished on The Republic and Primrose Path
10.    1,772 views	Jayden, Ava were CS’s most popular baby names in 2017

Top Podcasts of 2018

1.    2,532 plays	Chef Wade Barkman dishes on The Republic and Primrose Path
2.    2,050 plays	Is This a Thing? What’s coming to CS and what’s not (Episode 6)
3.    1,868 plays	Jones Crossing H-E-B built for technology – and pizza
4.    1,229 plays	Is This A Thing? Krispy Kreme, Lululemon and Spice World
5.    734 plays	Is This a Thing? How the At Home deal was sealed
6.    414 plays	Is This a Thing? Live from the Stella Hotel
7.    246 plays	Bridget Russell, College Station’s pool shark

 Happy New Year!

 

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About the Blogger

Colin Killian (@ColinKillian) has been with the City of College Station since 2010 after serving 23 years as associate media relations director for the Texas A&M Athletics Department. Killian has also worked as a reporter and editor for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and Lewisville News. A native of Hobbs, N.M., he graduated from Texas Tech with a bachelor’s degree in journalism/political science.

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