"Today is the day to try transit" in your community!
Meeting folks where they are and reminding them of your service to their locations makes a big difference.
Want to re-engage your ridership, build off existing partnerships, and build rapport with new community organizations? Want to do it for less than a hundred bucks?
Transit Services of Frederick County’s communications strategy pivoted after years of overly formal government language and style, and sanitized interactions with the public. Transit’s reach to riders was limited, and the ability to engage with the community suffered. We knew we needed to reach folks but struggled with knowing how.
How did this work?
First, we came up with a simple catch phrase, with the goal to share our service. Much of that meant simplifying language, working to build off existing community events, and explaining how decisions were made, all based around the phrase “Today is the day to try Transit.”
We started with a review of how we discussed our services. Instead of just posting a detour, Transit shared how the detour was developed, and what goes into determining where the bus can travel. We helped break down and define jargony terms we’d been using, like “deadheading” or “terminus”, so that people felt “in the know.”
We began engaging with community organizations on social media, such as commenting on their posts with Transit directions to their events. Because our service is countywide, it was easy to find a group hosting a job fair, and comment on their post with Transit directions. This generated engagement for everyone involved. How many people in know that the bus serves the library? Maybe fewer than you think! By commenting on others’ posts, you can reach their constituents, too. Often, this initial interaction would result in Transit being invited to the event!
So, how much did this cost?
The marketing campaign, like our buses, had no cost to ride (or produce)! The goal was to reach people where they were, and could be replicated again. The campaign cost approximately $35 of promoted Facebook posts in a year. Staff time was less than an hour per week per person, spread out amongst a team taking photos, providing content ideas, and sharing their thoughts on information that they thought riders would want to know. We now have a significant library of transit photos, too!
How can this marketing campaign be transferred or implemented by other organizations?
We want you to copy this campaign! Legitimately. Take this and use it in your system, too, and let us know how it works and what you learn. Small agencies, especially, can benefit from a more engaged social media presence because the ability to provide one-on-one customer service is more readily available. To make this campaign successful, you must be aware of existing social media policies, or create a social media policy. Your team must be willing to share ideas so that efforts are distributed. It’s especially important to ask your operators, dispatchers, and the folks who answer the phones what types of questions they get - it’s likely that many others have the same questions but don’t know where to look or who to ask. Finally, be willing to take lots and lots of bus photos!
Want to learn more about this campaign? Check out the expanded article below for further details.