APTA M&C Workshop Feb HOW TO BE AN EXCEPTIONAL SMALL FISH IN A REALLY BIG POND

 Focusing on branding efforts that require minimal budget and result in big impact  Three key areas for discussion:  Community Partnerships  Leveraging partner assets and communication channels  Putting a face with the name through community events  Social Media  Building a comprehensive social media editorial calendar  Using internal resources for an external win  Media Relations  Making relationships that matter  Developing a solid pitching plan OVERVIEW

 Be Engaged  Routine Communications  Media Release Distribution  Collateral Distribution  Leverage Joint Assets  Newsletters  Utility Inserts  City Website  City TV  City Mailing Lists  Billboards COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: LEVERAGING PARTNER ASSETS & COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

 Lewisville Western Days  Event Attendance – 27K  Booth Attendance – 1,800 (one-on- one interactions)  Collected 175 Lewisville and Highland Village COA votes  Collected 463 raffle entries (to build marketing database)  Communications:  Facebook – 200 total people reached / 4 total engagements  Twitter – 1,671 total impressions / 24 total engagements  Rider Alerts – 1,432 recipients  DCTA Website – 194 total pageviews in a 6-day period of time (151 unique) COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: PUTTING A FACE WITH THE NAME THROUGH COMMUNITY EVENTS

 Highland Village Balloon Festival  Assisted with the marketing of the event and shuttle services  Facebook – 1,375 Impressions / 15 Post Likes / 11 Post Shares  Twitter – 3,515 Impressions / 21 Total Engagements  Media Relations – 5 Placements / 297,016 Impressions / $ Total Publicity Value  Booth Activities  1,225 On-on-One Interactions  300+ Comprehensive Operational Analysis Surveys Completed (online and paper)  72 Raffle Entries COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: PUTTING A FACE WITH THE NAME THROUGH COMMUNITY EVENTS

 Steps to Success  Understand your audience  Identify routine happenings  Consider community events, partnerships, etc.  Slate future initiatives of interest  Remain flexible to accommodate other newsworthy activities  Determine How Often to Post  What does your audience wants to read?  How often will you have to respond?  Develop Supporting Creative  Support your message with a compelling visual  Be consistent  Link Your Platforms Together  Develop varied content based on the platform SOCIAL MEDIA: BUILDING A COMPREHENSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORIAL CALENDAR

 Why I Ride Campaign/Promotion  In-house customer advocacy campaign and contest  Highlight existing riders by telling their story  Encourage passengers to act as a brand ambassador  Create rider-driven content  Increase overall rider morale  Results:  More than 10 entries per month  Development of personal passenger content for the DCTA website, blog and newsletter  Building brand ambassadors through organic efforts  Addition of positive reviews to DCTA site – which can encourage an increase in new ridership SOCIAL MEDIA: USING INTERNAL RESOURCES FOR AN EXTERNAL WIN

 DCTA Hop on Board Blog  Develop a comprehensive editorial calendar for the year, with enough flexibility to increase posts as identified by real-time events and activities  Create a core group of writers who can contribute to the site using their distinct voices to increase an array of readers  Post and respond regularly  Install in depth analytics to monitor user behavior and adjust tactics accordingly SOCIAL MEDIA: USING INTERNAL RESOURCES FOR AN EXTERNAL WIN

 DCTA Hop on Board Blog (Con’t)  Results:  Metrics (January 11 – January 20)  Views:  997 Sessions  688 Users  1,658 Page Views  Subscribers:  23 New Subscribers  Up 76.9% in comparison to old blog (in only 10 days)  Facebook:  63,895 Reached  1,807 Engagements  Twitter:  83,312 Impressions  496 Engagements SOCIAL MEDIA: USING INTERNAL RESOURCES FOR AN EXTERNAL WIN

 Identify Your Outreach  Core Media Outlets/Reporters  Specialty Reporters  “Next Step” Reporters  Develop a Relationship   Phone  In-Person Visits  Initiate a Plan  How to Pitch  Intriguing Topics  Routine Communications  Non-Traditional Pitching Opportunities MEDIA RELATIONS: MAKING RELATIONSHIPS THAT MATTER

 Develop a Proactive Media Relations Editorial Calendar  Identify routine happenings  Slate future initiatives of interest  Remain flexible to accommodate other newsworthy activities  Stay Engaged  Find ways to be in-the-know  Always craft your messaging early on  Ask questions  Create Your Voice  Develop a voice that is consistent across all messaging  Keep your communications short and your details big MEDIA RELATIONS: DEVELOPING A SOLID PITCHING PLAN

QUESTIONS? NICOLE RECKER | VP, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS | DCTA | RIDEDCTA.NET | HOPONBOARDBLOG.COM