Spokane Transit Authority - Social Media Campaign

Target Audience: Community members in the serviceable region between the ages of 18-65 who fit the following influencer profiles: -Current riders -Community and business leaders -General public The ideal target audience would benefit from Spokane Transit Authority's (STA) ability to: -Connect people to services -Connect workers to jobs -Help advance regional economic development

Strategy Objective:With 48.7% of Washington's population active on Facebook, STA decided to leverage this dominant communication channel to connect with the public. STA developed a detailed posting strategy to highlight local destinations, events, services and organizations that STA could connect the public to, to increase brand awareness and affinity, regardless of the Facebook member's ridership status. The objective of this strategy was to: -Transition the "sentiment" of STA's social space from a negative, unsupportive environment advocacy and celebration -Enhance the current riders' experience through relevant information -Show STA's connection to respected and liked brands with large social audiences and reach, like Gonzaga University -Demonstrate how to use the bus to access the region

Situation Challenge: In 2015, STA sought the public's support for a ballot initiative that would have helped fund a 10-year plan to maintain, improve and expand public transit in the region. After a very close loss, it became apparent to STA that the community lacked understanding of the role the agency played in supporting the community. STA needed a way to create relevance for community members in the serviceable region that extended beyond riding the bus for affordability reasons.

Results Impact: STA's social presence grew by 55% in less than a year, creating a larger audience to help share STA's message. In addition, according to social stat tracker LikeAlyzer by Meltwater, STA is outperforming other industry and governmental organizations when it comes to social. Social Ranking: STA Transit: 64 Similar Brands: 63 Government Organizations: 60 General: 53

Why Submit: Engaging in social media is a cost-effective way for STA to connect with the community. It provides opportunities to leverage partnerships like the ridership program STA has with Gonzaga University (GU). This partnership led to producing a video with GU's department of sustainability on Bike to Work week. This video reached 30,000+ people through organic engagement, allowing the community to share STA's message. This opened the door to a partnership with local ABC affiliate KXLY to support their annual winter coat drive for kids. This partnership allowed STA to participate in news remotes, social posts and promotional opportunities for free, simply because a popular KXLY news anchor shared the Bike to Work week post. STA's Facebook page demonstrates the power of posting with purpose.