How one public transit agency engaged an audience and grew an award-winning blog in just six months.

1. Building A
How one transit
Company Blog agency engaged
an audience and
grew an award-
winning blog in
just six months.
Juno Kughler Carlson
juno.carlson@omnitrans.org

2. In 2012, Omnitrans began
a new blog featuring news
and story profiles of its
passengers and employees.
It earned 1st place in the
Social Media Blog category
in the APTA 2012 AdWheel
competition.

3. Why is blogging so Builds online brand reputation
important to an online
marketing campaign? Defines who you are and what sets
you apart in your industry
Identifies brand ambassadors
Generates goodwill
Humanizes you as a company
Encourages social sharing
Provides social media content
Creates partnership opportunities
Forms the basis for press releases

4. Blogging & your social networks:
Blogging not only provides
original content for your social
networks, it also increases
audience engagement.
Thanks largely to the blog stories we’ve shared
on our Facebook page in 2012, our fan
engagement has risen from 479 in January to
2,402 in August—an total increase of 401%.

5. The concept:
For Valentine’s Day, spotlight
Marianne and Larry Rose,
Omnitrans coach operators who
have been married 16 years.
Article posted to niche social sites on
cancer survival, autism and transit.
The Press-Enterprise newspaper picked
up the story for Valentine’s Day.
The Roses received a letter of
commendation from Senator Bill
Emerson.
Marianne was able to offer support to
passengers also struggling with cancer.

6. Show some heart
Coach operator JoJo picked up a
family who had gotten lost near
their stop, and the children wrote
her a thank-you. Sharing touching
personal moments like this helps
humanize our service.

7. Some tips for blogging success:
Listen: Share:
When interviewing people, Add a tagline at the end of your blog
listen for interesting side articles to encourage sharing:
stories that go beyond your
original concept. Do you like this story and want to use it for
your blog or newsletter? All our stories may
be freely re-posted and shared with others!
Network:
Think about what social Do you have a great Omnitrans story to
partners might be natural share? Let us know!
tie-ins for your article.
Email juno.carlson@omnitrans.org

8. The concept:
Write a passenger profile of a cyclist
who regularly uses public transit to
highlight the use of our bus bike
racks.
Story was networked on social sites
focusing on doulas, cycling & frugal living.
Christine was identified as a public transit
champion & potential brand ambassador.

9. Feature a Destination What are some of the interesting
stops along your routes that your
passengers might enjoy?
By interviewing local businesses, you
build goodwill and provide a valuable
resource for your customers.

10. The concept:
Interview a community college
student who has been saving money
through our GoSmart program.
Article was posted to social sites focusing
on living donors.
Story was also networked with
community colleges who partnered with
us on Go Smart.
Krystle was identified as a potential
brand ambassador. She was recognized
as a heroine by our Board Chair Dick
Riddell at our rebranding ceremony.

11. Say it with pictures
Sharing pictures that show some
of the behind-the-scenes
operations of the business can
help build excitement over a
product or service.

12. How blogging helped our agency:
Increased our online presence on industry
sites, news networks and social media.
Helped break stereotypes about the people
who ride public transit.
Boosted social media engagement and created
online buzz.
Raised employee and customer morale with
our people profiles.
Helped us identify & reward brand
ambassadors to spotlight at special events and
share as potential contacts for news media.

13. Comments from readers:
“I was struck by how cut off from our community we can be when we
ride in our individual automobiles, and also how much cars keep us
from moving our bodies and getting fresh air. Thanks for an inspiring
story.” – Susan
“I would enjoy being
employed by someone who
cared as much as Omnitrans
does about your team and
passengers” – Oratio
“I really enjoyed reading this
article. It is really refreshing
to see that others’ do look
for the good in people. Even
the grumpy ones!” - Marice