A Hyperlocal Approach to Winter Storm Response Kentucky ‘Snowbook’: A Hyperlocal Approach to Winter Storm Response

A ‘Hit The Road’ Strategy During the 2014-2015 season, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet drew inspiration for use of Facebook based on previous winters’ snow-removal work, and public demands: What’s it like on the interstate? Are they plowing my road? Can I make it to work? How much snow’s on the highway? To answer those questions, public affairs staff planned a hit-the-road strategy to get hyperlocal – and use regional Facebook pages to share information via photo- and video-centric posts! And, the plan paid off as two record-breaking snowstorms blanketed the state within weeks of each other.

Be There, or Be Square! Total Followers Before Storm: 32,000 https://www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict1 https://www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict2 https://www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict3 https://www.facebook.com/KYTCD4 https://www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict5 https://www.facebook.com/KYTC.District6 https://www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict7 https://www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict8 https://www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict9 https://www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict10 https://www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict11 https://www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict1212 Information officers traveled highways and rode with snow plow teams in order to share statuses in real time, gathering photos and videos of travel conditions on major highways – using either their own field work or submitted photos and information from plow drivers. That information was then shared to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s array of highway district Facebook Pages … Total Followers Before Storm: 32,000

Reaching Out…

Reaching Out…

And Reaching Out! Photo and video posts during the February and March storms averaged 15,000 to 70,000 reach each – with some, especially videos, hitting the 100,000 mark. One viral video topped 667,000 reach with nearly 300,000 views. All 12 Face-book pages combined reached approximately 400,000 to 600,000 people statewide each day for a +2 million total reach!

Audience Explosion! Total Followers After Storms: 42,300 Posts with photos and videos of road conditions were shared 60-80 percent more than standard posts, resulting in a spike in new page likes: about 700 to 1,500 per page per storm. Total Followers After Storms: 42,300

After The Storm(s) There’s not enough room to show each of the hundreds of road condition reports or photos that were posted during the storms, or the dozens of thank you notes each page received. But, we can say that thanks to our hyperlocal approach to answering the public’s questions and expectations, we: Have 10,000+ more followers watching and interacting with local highway departments Have seen a 20-30 percent increase in engagement on each page’s posts since the storms Are maintaining 7,000 to 10,000 weekly reach on each page, which means as many as 120,000 citizens a week are learning more about their roads in Kentucky Have seen a 25 percent increase in media use of our pages with sharing of content, or following up on issues

Now … When we post, not only are we the most interesting post in the room … because we’re going to where the action is, but we’re also reaching more people than ever before!

Meet the PIOs http://transportation.ky.gov/ Keith Todd Wes Watt The information officers responsible for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s media presence include: Keith Todd Wes Watt Chris Jessie Andrea Clifford Nancy Wood Natasha Lacy Amber Hale Allen Blair H.B Elkins Les Dixon Sara George Jim Isaman Learn more about the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and its 12 highway districts, including links to districts and associated social media pages at: http://transportation.ky.gov/