773-613-9798
Buy with Confidence
Montgomery County Auditor's Office
Year:
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2024
Industry:
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Government
Category:
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Public relations
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Media relations
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Digital communications
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Web development
Background
At the Auditor’s Office, we saw a scary phenomenon happening throughout the county. People were asking for help with delinquent taxes and setting up payment plans, often needing translation assistance into Spanish. In fact, over 50% of all Spanish speakers who contacted us needed assistance with housing-related issues such as tax payment plans.
We found out that people were falling prey to housing scams, where cash deals were set up for houses that had thousands or tens of thousands in delinquent taxes. Some were even slated for demolition. This led to a great need. I proposed a public relations campaign to my supervisor to make homebuyers aware of rising numbers of housing scams, and to provide resources to those who are looking to buy homes in the county.
Process
The planning for Buy with Confidence took months of preparation, which began with creating web materials and print materials for residents to utilize the resources.
I created three web pages. One of them was the main landing page for Buy with Confidence, our goal being to drive people to this page so they could find out about the homebuying resources they needed. The second page walked people through how to use our real estate website in English and Spanish. Finally, a page with upcoming events to direct people to in-person support for these issues.
After the website material was approved, I created a press release and started researching journalists who would want to cover this story and make people aware. From there, we partnered with Welcome Dayton, the city’s main community engagement center for immigrants and New Americans. They helped us put together a media list, including a local Spanish newspaper, a reporter interested in Spanish events, and more.
Once the media list was ready, I sent out the release and sent individual pitches around to reporters and talk show hosts.
Alongside contacting reporters, I created a small amount of social media content designed to raise awareness of homebuying scams and inform people of this new program to bring people to the web page. I also worked with my supervisor to create and pay for a social media advertisement on Facebook to raise awareness with Spanish speakers and drive them to our website.
Finally, our office looked at events and ways to connect with the public further on the issue. I coordinated collateral materials for grassroots engagement and worked on pitching the story to talk shows and blogs.
Creative Samples
Results
1st rank in search results for county elected officials
7,000 people visited the Buy with Confidence page
10% increase in people reaching out for housing support
5 stories written or aired about the story
19,400 people were reached via online and TV news stories
3,200 engagements from online and TV news stories
30+ families assisted by our office as a result of the campaign
Content Portfolio
Press Release Writing:
I drafted, edited, and revised the press release for the campaign continuously based on feedback from my supervisor.
News Stories:
I pitched news story opportunities to various throughout the Dayton region and secured news coverage to make people aware of the resources for homebuyers.
Web Content Development:
I created unique webpages to serve as landing pages and resource collections on the Auditor’s website. Below are the web pages:
Campaign Reporting:
I created this report in CoverageBook, a PR software tool, to document the number of individuals reached from the campaign along with social engagement metrics like shares, crucial to measuring the success of the campaign.