1. Telling Our Story
The WSDOT Blog utilizes personality to engage the public, share important news and (sometimes) post pictures of goats
TransComm 2015 Skills Competition
Annapolis, Maryland
Lars Erickson
Communications Director Washington State Department of Transportation

2. Goat “Weed Warriors”
When WSDOT expanded its goat weed clearing pilot project statewide we shared the news on our blog.
The blog was used in conjunction with media events and a “#MissionGoat” hashtag to help spread the word.
Generated 2,052 page views (and counting!) and several earned media stories about the project.

3. Goats! Now that I have your attention…
The goat weed whackers were fun, and cute, but also highlighted:
WSDOT’s environmental stewardship efforts
Fostering new ideas from employees – a key agency goal
Being fiscally responsible, testing the program to see if goat power pays
The WSDOT Blog as a trusted source for information, from features to emergencies

4. Sharing the story of our work
WSDOT Blog articles use a first person style for an engaging conversation – “we” share the news
Style allows writers to share their personality and have some “fun” with topics while relaying accurate information
Helps connect to our readers rather than just telling them new facts
We first used hoof-powered weed control last year in Vancouver. This year – appropriately enough the Year of the Goat – we’re expanding the pilot program. Goat weed warriors will tangle with brush and weeds in Olympia and Spokane as well as return to battle at more Vancouver sites. – WSDOT blog

5. Social media strategy spreads the word
We used Twitter and Facebook – and goat pictures and memes – to drive people to the blog. A “#MissionGoat” hashtag was used to drive Twitter viewers to the blog. Some news stories resulted straight from the blog; others used it as a background for their news coverage of our media events.

6. Timely cross promotion
New postings – and goat arrivals – allowed us to drive readers back to the blog beyond the first day goat rollout.
Other agencies also got into the “goat game” and helped spread the word:

7. Trusted source of information
Humor is used where warranted, but the blog’s main purpose is to communicate news to the public. The blog allows us to:
Rapidly push out serious information to a large population during emergencies
Explain complicated projects or issues, answer the “why did they do that?” questions.
Give the public an “insider’s view” of some of our projects, providing a better understanding of our work.

8. Tackling storm updates by blog
When heavy rains caused flooding and landslides in January 2015, our blog became a central source of up-to-the-minute closure information.
Nearly 10,000 page views the first day
More than 17,000 page views overall
Allowed staffers to post updates in real-time

9. Cultivating interest; growing our brand
“Goat Weed Warriors” blog by the numbers
Most viewed story for the month of May
2,052 page views
17.5 percent of all page views that month
477 page views the day after blog debuted
Another peak (264 page views) when second round of goats arrived in Olympia
WSDOT Blog overall
286,141 page views in past months
102,206 page views so far in 2015
On pace to surpass 2014’s overall 214,188 page views
Most popular in 2015 was the January storm updates blog
17,782 page views
9,666 alone on first day
17.4 percent of all page views in 2015 year to date

10. Engaging with users
The blog’s conversational style encourages interactions with readers and lets us quickly answer questions, clarify items or just further engage with the public.
Goat weed warrior blog comments:
During January’s storms: