Traditional Media

Meribeth & Media• 23 years in television journalism• 4,000 news reports delivered• 2,500 newscasts anchored• 600 plus community events emceed• 1 RTNDA for a long series (reporter) on

Canadian Aid in Africa

FISHING IN THE DARK

• The first call or encounter sets the tone• Reporters are fishing for information• Positive relationships with the media are

important for BC Transit’s image & reputation

EVENTS & NEWS RELEASES

KAMLOOPS EVENTS

CATCH OF THE DAY: Contributions• Communicate• Participate• Make an impression• Share your story when appropriate• Politely decline and redirect

handyDART Crash July 2012

• handyDART hit by van at busy intersection

• Impact spins handyDART 360 degrees & slams into building wall

fore First Canada

SMALL FRY SOLUTIONS

• Call BC Transit media relations en route

• Media may have already be on scene

• Offer empathy• Defer to emergency

services personnel (police, fire, ambulance)

• Incident reporting is critical but over-stepping our role causes trouble

• Informed media are far better than those who guess it up

Old Proverb

• Give a man a fish – you’ll feed him for a day

• Teach a man to fish – you’ll feed him for a lifetime

“KIDNAP” CHRONOLOGY• December 4, 2012 Youtube video sent to the media • December 5, 2012 BC Transit sees video for first time• December 6, 2012 Local stories emerge, driver is suspended• December 7, 2012 National coverage begins• December 8, 2012 BC Transit sends investigators• December 9, 2012 Editorial urging readers not to jump to

conclusions• December 12, 2012 BC Transit seeks witnesses to help with

investigation• December 21, 2012 Passengers may be charged• December 27, 2012 BC Transit clears drivers of wrong-doing in

passenger confinement case

BC TRANSIT TV BENEFITS• Self promotion• Rider Awareness• Tell the story better• Let others know what you’re doing • More than 4000 views and 15 stories • Nanaimo, Nelson, Prince George,

Kamloops and Victoria

TIMING IS EVERYTHING• Every second counts when dealing with

reporters• Facts cement a story• Be quick, be direct and be gone• Agree to be the conduit between the

reporter and BC Transit• Refuse comment but offer cooperation

Social Media

Social Media - Why Care?• Two-thirds of the global internet population use social networks• Visiting social sites is more popular than sending an e-mail

That woman is checking

out my profile…I opened a

doggy daycare…

wanna tweet that?

Sure, if you

“like” me!

Traditional versus

Social Media

Another Reason to Care…

The Urban Transportation Monitor (UTM) surveyed 39 North American transportation organizations about their use of social media:

• Facebook (54%)

• Twitter (51%);

• YouTube (37%)

*90% response rate

#1 Reason - Public Information

#2 Reason: Stakeholder Engagement

BC Transit’s Stakeholders on Facebook Most

viewed 1,186 views!

Stakeholder Engagement: Transit Future

Events

#3 Employee Recruitment and Recognition

Recruiting new employees

and Recognizing staff.

YouTube Recruitment Video Almost1,000

views!

#4 Reason - Timely Updates

BC Transit service update examples

#5 Reason – Building Awareness

PWT Twitter Case Study

PWT Twitter Case Study

• Social Media corporately adopted by PWT to support their business

• Social Media resources available internally

• PWT request pilot project to deploy Twitter in Whistler

• Collaborative approach – PWT, RMOW and BC Transit

Overview

29

Objectives

• Provide service updates and advisories

• Obtain rider feedback on current service conditions

• Improve customer satisfaction

• Communicate with current and reach out to future riders

• Strengthen community support

PWT Twitter Case Study

PWT Twitter Case Study

30

How BC Transit helped

• Account management – created a secure regional account

• Content – reviewed by BC Transit with input from the RMOW

• Guidance (use and conduct)

using social media guidelines

rules of conduct (employees, contributors, users)

legal and privacy policies

BC Transit Whistler @WhistlerTransit Twitter Page

Sample Content: #TransitAlert #Whistler

Sample Content: #SafetyTip #Whistler

Sample Content: Customer Interactions

Growth Strategy of @whistlertransit

• Tactical plan and content posting schedule• Tuesdays: How to take transit to a local business• Weekend: How to take transit to local events• Ad Hoc: Contests

It’s a Wrap!