“We have added some more focus on some reels and features to show an informative yet fun side of the city,” said Lisa Flinders, Pleasant Grove director of communications. “The main goal of posting on social media is to inform. There are many events and crucial information that need to be relayed to the community and social media is a great avenue for that.”

Flinders said that the city’s social media accounts have experienced an increase in followers recently. Some of that is also due to exciting information, such as the new Cook Family Park in the city.

Recently, a reel was posted in which four City Council members are seen playing at the city’s pool. “Where are we this week?” is another installment on social media, as a reel shows neighborhoods in the city.

“We do get some engagement from the entertaining ones. However, we still want to maintain a professional balance because we realize not everyone is on social media to be entertained,” Flinders said.

“Monday Memo” is a weekly post on Springville City’s social media accounts. Within each post, there are photos and information about the many goings-on for that week. The city’s social media is very active, with several posts a week full of information, reels and announcements.

“Springville residents are increasingly turning to social media for information about our city. The city’s Facebook started in 2011 and as of 2025, has 13,300 followers as well as over 6,000 on Instagram,” said Jennifer Grigg, communications specialist.

The city also started a podcast called “Art Cityscape” on YouTube in 2021, which gives a behind-the-scenes look at the business of running Springville. There are several episodes currently in the works.

Grigg said that between the city newsletter, podcast, livestreams and social media, there are more ways than ever to stay in the loop. Springville also livestreams two City Council meetings each month. “While staff and elected officials still receive many emails and phone calls, these additional communication channels help share important updates and good news with the community,” she said

Social media can be used for more than dispensing information. Orem Police Department regularly posts “Tattletale Tuesday” even on other days of the week. These entertaining posts describe crimes and ask the public for help with identifying people or asking for information.

“Don’t you dare honk at this male or he may follow you and your family into the mall parking lot, get dropped off by his wife, then assault you via sucker punch to the nose,” reads a recent Tattletale post.

“When it comes to trying to identify suspects on Tattletale Tuesday posts, I feel that it has been very effective. I can say that we have solved many crimes and closed several cases that we wouldn’t have if it weren’t for tips coming in regarding the posts,” said Sergeant Michael Locke, writer of Tattletale Tuesday. “Apart from receiving tips through Facebook private messages about the posts, many of the commenters below the post fancy themselves detectives, offering up suggestions on what the police can do to solve the crime.”

Shenanigans is another popular regular installment on the page. “A 41-year-old woman reported to Officer Abrams that about eight juveniles around 13 years old, egged her home on two different days. Officers are seeking information on these teens so we can find out where the heck they are getting eggs to waste,” reads a recent post.

“When I post entertaining posts such as the Shenanigans, I take meticulous time to re-read and proofread each and every word several times over. I will often refer to a thesaurus to make sure I’m not using too similar words and I obviously try to make sure each incident paragraph is entertaining,” Locke said.

“Sometimes I will write something that I think is so witty that I laughed out loud after coming up with it, only to find out that the public didn’t really comment on it. Then, I find that something I put in just for filler gets all the comments and reactions. I just never know,” Locke said. “I always sign off with my title and name at the bottom of the Shenanigans and I still see lots of comments to the effect of ‘whoever writes these deserves a raise, etc.’ It’s funny to see.”