The city of Arnold is trending online.

That’s the information Matt Unrein, city administrator, shared with council members at their last meeting, where Unrein unveiled the latest statistics regarding Arnold’s Facebook page.

The city of Arnold joined Facebook in January of 2011. Since then, it has gathered 278 “likes” and had a total weekly reach of 339 people.

The city’s Facebook account even has fans from Sweden, Germany and France as well as:

• 111 Fans from Arnold
• 80 from St. Louis
• 26 from Imperial
• 8 from Pevely
• 4 from Festus
• 3 from Oakville.

Both the city’s Facebook page and website are maintained by the city’s IT manager. Unrein said he hopes more people around the city will follow them back.

“The Mayor and City Council have encouraged the staff to produce and maintain a fresh and positive social media presence, ” Unrein said.

More and more municipalities across the United States have started to pay more attention to their social media efforts. According to an article on Mashable, cities are using social media to attract visitors, business and improve their economies.

“We are taking this very seriously,” Unrein told the council.

The city also has a twitter account.