Fairfax Connector Social Media€¦ · Fairfax Connector Social Media Best Practices Ellen Kamilakis Public Information Officer Fairfax County Department of Transportation . County

County of Fairfax, Virginia

Department of Transportation

Fairfax Connector Social Media

Best Practices

Ellen Kamilakis

Public Information Officer

Fairfax County Department of Transportation



2

Online County Engagement Channels

• www.fairfaxcounty.gov

• Emergency Information Blog

• Facebook

• Twitter

• YouTube

• Flickr

• SlideShare

• Tumblr

• Google+

• NewsWire



/fairfaxconnector

• 3,035 Likes

• 434 outgoing

• 470 incoming



• 1,529 Followers

• 418 Tweets

• 607 Mentions

@ffxconnector



Risk Communications 101

“When people are stressed and

upset, they want to know

that you care before they

care what you know.”

- Will Rogers



Risk Communications 101

1. APOLOGIZE!

2. Accept responsibility!

3. Explain what you learned.

4. Explain what will be different in the

future.



Lesson 1

Your number of Likes and

Followers do not matter. Social

media is about reach and

engagement.



Lesson 2

Your passengers are human. So

are you. Make sure your

conversations and tone reflect

that. “We” is your friend.





January 26, 2011

“The first buses began to arrive at the West Falls Church Metro station about

9:15 p.m. Many of the dozens of riders had been waiting nearly four hours.

Word had spread that Connector buses were suspending service at 9 p.m., but

officials said the buses would keep running until everyone stuck at the station

made it home.

Riders with smartphones and Web

access passed along updates to fellow

commuters from the connector Web

site or loved ones monitoring the

news.”

- The Washington Post



January 26, 2011







Lesson 3

Set and maintain

realistic

expectations.





Lesson 4

Know your audience and

platform. Know what kinds of

things that they want to hear from

you.







Lesson 5

Do NOT judge whether or not a

passenger should be upset. A

passenger’s crisis could be a

snowstorm, or simply being late

to an important meeting. A crisis

is a crisis.





Lesson 6

Credibility is key. ALWAYS verify

information.



Lesson 7

Your passengers are not the

enemy. THEY are doing YOU a

favor by using your system. Treat

them accordingly.





Lesson 8

Use humor and be witty. People

like being “in” on the joke.





Lesson 9

Meet people halfway. Reciprocate

humor and tone.



Lesson 10

Let your passengers see you are

human. It softens the tone of your

interactions and often diffuses

situations.





Lesson 11

A picture is worth a thousand

words.

“We’re experiencing flooding at

Reston North Park and Ride.”





31



August 19, 2011: “America’s 9/11 Ride”



Lesson 12

Interact real-time.







Lesson 13

Build and maintain

a sense of

community.



Ellen Kamilakis

Public Information Officer

Fairfax County


[email protected]

703-877-5606

Documents

Fairfax Connector Social Media€¦ · Fairfax Connector Social Media Best Practices Ellen Kamilakis Public Information Officer Fairfax County Department of Transportation . County