social media: why it matters
DESCRIPTION
A few thoughts on the value of online, mobile communication tools presented during Social Media and ITS Webinar sponsored by Thinking Highways, Nov. 20, 2013.TRANSCRIPT
Social media: Why it mattersA few thoughts on the value of online, mobile communication tools
S o c i a l M e d i a a n d I T S We b i n a rH o s t e d b y T h i n k i n g H i g h w a y s
We d n e s d a y, N o v e m b e r 2 0 , 2 0 1 3
Lloyd BrownDirector of Communications
American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
What we’ll cover
• Why is social media important to AASHTO?
• The current state of DOTs social media usage
Social media = All ages“Six out of 10 internet users ages 50-64 are social networking site users, as are 43% of those ages 65 and older.”
- Pew Study
Source: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/social-networking-sites/Findings.aspx?view=all
News consumption• Half of Facebook and Twitter
users get news at a social site.• 65% of U.S. adults get news on
one social site; 26% from two sites; 9% get news from three or more sites.
Source: http://www.journalism.org/2013/11/14/news-use-across-social-media-platforms//
Looking for News
“ 50% of the public now cites the internet as a main source for national and international news, still below television, but far above newspapers and radio.”
Source: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/10/16/12-trends-shaping-digital-news/
Connected devices here to stay
American ownership:• Cell phones - 91%• Netbooks/laptops - 61%• E-readers - 26%• Tablet computers - 34%
4/26/2012 6
As of May 2013. Source: http://pewinternet.org/Static-Pages/Trend-Data-(Adults)/Device-Ownership.aspx
DOT SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE
The current state of
History of the survey
• AASHTO’s first social media survey of state DOTs published in 2010.
• 26 states were using Twitter – primarily relaying road/traffic information
• 14 states used Facebook.• 7 states had a blog• 10 states used podcasting
2010 2011 2012 20130
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100TwitterFacebookLinkedInFlickrBlogs VideoPodcastsPinterestStorifyOtherMobile Apps
Social media tool usageMost used social media tools
2012-2013 = Engagement
“We used to be very rigid and formal in all our responses. Now, we're trying to humanize the feed. We post pictures of ourselves and answer the feed as people (saying I and we) instead of an agency (DOT says...). It has helped tremendously and we've received really good public feedback!”
“We're seeing a slow and steady gain in Twitter and Facebook followers. We're seeing more and more people asking questions, sharing comments or airing concerns via these two medium.”
Challenges aheadToo many tools, not enough time
“Already we are spread kind of thin, so I anticipate we will have to make a choice at some point: either we shrink our social media presence and focus on the most successful/useful tools, or we hire someone to manage all of them full time.”
Looking ahead at 2014• Social media emerging as public
involvement tool.• Social media are standard tools. Focus
now is on best practices, staffing, access to tools.
• And … A new opportunity for engagement
Social media: Why it matters
10/30/2012 13
Contact: Lloyd D. Brown, Director of CommunicationsAmerican Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
(202) 624-5802 office(202) 677-5811 [email protected]
A few thoughts on the value of online, mobile communication tools