The document discusses trends in social media usage and adoption by state departments of transportation (DOTs). It notes that internet access is increasingly mobile, with many Americans accessing the internet primarily through smartphones and tablets. Most commonly used social media tools by DOTs include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Challenges for DOTs in using social media include limited staff and resources to manage multiple platforms, as well as ensuring engagement and establishing an online brand. The document advocates having a clear social media plan and goals, and emphasizes that building an online community takes time.

1. Social Media=Mobile Media
Today‟s Internet is everywhere … Are you ready?
Lloyd D. Brown, Director of Communications
IAP2 Training
March 27, 2013

2. What we’ll cover
• What are the trends in social media usage,
tool adoption
• The current state of DOTs social media
usage
• Establishing a brand in the social media
world

3. Let’s review
• 1990 - AOL rules
• 1996 – Cable broadband To get to the
• 1998 – “Online PR” heart of social
• 2000 – Rise of streaming audio media
adoption, we
• 2002 – AOL disappearing first must
• 2005 – What‟s a blog? understand
Internet access.
• 2006 – We need a blog!
• 2007 – Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin
• 2009 – Smart phones, iPads = mobility

4. Internet access
Contributing factors Latest statistics
• 1 in 5 Americans do not
Race use Internet
Education • A third of Americans with
disabilities are less likely
Geography to go online
Disability • „Mobile‟ is changing the
game
Pew Internet and American Life Project, http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Digital-
differences/Overview.aspx

5. It‟s a mobile world
SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS

6. Social media tools
What‟s so social about today‟s media?
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
It’s all about the conversation!

7. Facebook
Still one of the most challenging
social media outlets.
• Privacy
• Changing algorithms
• Facebook „fatigue‟

8. Twitter
Microblogging site continuing to
change our news/information
culture in 140 characters.
• 7 years old
• 400 million „tweets‟ a day
• Careers devastated, careers
made

9. YouTube
• More than 1
BILLION visitors a
day
• More than 2
BILLION searches
a day
So what are people doing online?
Search Email Shop Social Banking
network
92% 91% 71% 64% 61%
http://youtu.be/6f-z_hFpwQk

10. Quick pause: Do you remember?

11. Wireless generations?
• 63% of American adults
connect to the Internet
wirelessly
• However, 6 in 10
American adults connect
via broadband (as of Aug.
2011)
 Nearly 90% of adults with
household income over
$75,000 annually have
broadband access.
Source: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Digital-differences/Overview/Digital-differences.aspx
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12. Connected devices here to stay
American ownership:
• Cell phones - 87%
• Netbooks/laptops - 61%
• E-readers - 26%
• Tablet computers - 31%
As of December 2012. Source: http://pewinternet.org/Static-Pages/Trend-Data/Device-Ownership.aspx
4/26/2012 12

13. Forget the desk: We’re moving
Since 2009, laptop
computers have
out sold desktops
Source:
http://www.pewinternet.org/Static-
Pages/Trend-Data/Device-
Ownership.aspx
4/26/2012 13

14. Where are the eyeballs?
‘Consumers downloaded a
record 1.76 billion apps
between Christmas and
New Year’s Eve 2012.’
http://gigaom.com/mobile/app-downloads-hit-record-1-76-billion-over-holiday-week/

15. We love our ‘smart’ phones
• 46% of ALL adults own a SMART PHONE!
• Smart phone owners (53%) now outnumber
users of basic cell phones.
Source: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Smartphone-Update-2012/Findings.aspx
4/26/2012 15

16. Mobile phones open opportunities
New York Times:
“Other cultural forces
aside, minorities, lower-
income households and
younger adults access the
Internet at higher rates on
mobile devices because
Photo by Ed Yourdon they often do not have
computers at home.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/technology/02drill.html?_r=1
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17. Technology Acceptance Model: Mobile
changes the rules of media consumption

18. Shoot for a moving target
The advent of mobile changes the game
• Your “customers”
have gone mobile
• For DOTs that means
Internet = Mobile
Media = Social Media
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19. Established social media
http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/March/Pew-Internet-Social-Networking-
full-detail.aspx

20. Emerging social media
• Pinterest
• Storify
• SnapChat
• Vine
• Path
• Banjo

21. Using Vine

22. The current state of
DOT SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE

23. 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

24. It was 1-way outreach in 2010
• Survey respondents said social media was
effective way of reaching an audience
• Every state relied on news releases to
reach media.
• Only two states said they had reduced or
cut other activities to manage social
media.

25. In 2012, the world changes
Good bye old tools, Hello new tools
• 7 states use Pinterest, 4 states use Storify
• Linkedin use cut in half, just 16% use
podcasts
• 1/4th of states have staff dedicated to
social media full time
• 11 states give their employees access to
social media sites at work.

26. Most
used
Social media tool usage social
media
tools

27. 2012 = 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.”

28. Challenges ahead
Too 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.”

29. Challenges ahead
Employee access
Does the policy allow employees
Does your organization have a agency wide to access social
social media policy? media sites and tools?
4.8%
2.4% 7.1%
26.2%
28.6%
66.7%
64.3%
Yes No Not Sure Yes No Not Sure No Response

30. Putting social media to work
2011 focus groups & interviews reported
state DOTs barriers to implementation:
• Organizational culture
• Budgets
• Legal concerns

31. Looking ahead at 2013
• Social media emerging as public
involvement tool.
• A social media is standard tool. Focus now
is on best practices, staffing, access to
tools.
• And …

32. Establishing a brand …
IN A SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

33. A new opportunity for engagement
Formal federal
decision-making
process does not
directly provide for
the use of these
new engagement
technologies … but
also doesn‟t
prohibit them.
4/26/2012 33

34. New technologies = Old problems
• You still need a message
that beaks through the
information clutter
• Accuracy and timeliness of
information remain critical
concerns for
communication teams
• New tools complement old
tactics … more pressure on
communication teams to
manage more tools
4/26/2012 34

35. Have a plan – use it
• What are you trying to do?
 Be informational? Collect comments? Be
promotional? You need to know this.
• Audience?
 Where are they most likely to be? What are they most
likely doing?
• Be patient: Building community takes time.
 No. 1 rule of engagement: “Have a take. Don‟t suck.”
(lifted from sports radio host, Jim Rome)

36. When building ‘social’ plan
Keep doing the basics well.
• Be available: Is the web site easy to
access? What about a mobile app?
• Be responsive: Are there internal
processes in place to handle questions or
to pass along information?
• Be creative: Are there opportunities to
engage the public in new ways?
4/26/2012 36

37. Conclusion
• The public is moving, no longer limited by
time or space.
• The new technologies bring with them old
challenges … and, new opportunities
• Focus on a core communications program
that includes:
 Accountability
 Responsiveness
 Creativity
4/26/2012 37

38. Social Media=Mobile Media
Today‟s Internet is everywhere … Are you ready?
Contact:
Lloyd D. Brown, Director of Communications
American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials
(202) 624-5802 office
(202) 677-5811 cell
lbrown@aashto.org
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