Making New Connections Through @ridetrimet, TriMet's Instagram Feed

Target Audience: Our Instagram feed is a love letter to Portland. It's for everyone who lives, works, vacations or dreams of visiting here; it's not meant to exclusively appeal to our riders (although they certainly appreciate it). In fact, we've found that our feed is a great way for us to introduce ourselves to people who may not have considered transit, or who may have never tried the bus or MAX.

Strategy Objective:Portland is a beautiful, unique place; for many, its sights have a special resonance. It's no surprise that pictures of the city are consistently popular among our followers. We embrace this fact and leverage our presence throughout the region by presenting high-quality, original photos with transit as a common thread. Buses and trains are in most of the pictures we share, but they aren't necessarily front and center. This is a key part of our strategy: By presenting a genuine and authentic expression of our love for Portland ' and not making our posts overtly about ourselves ' we allow our audience to picture themselves in the scene. It's our way of earning respect and trust, demonstrating our love for our community and converting followers into transit riders and advocates.

Situation Challenge: Like nearly every other transit agency, we've faced flat or declining ridership in recent years. Determined to change that, we did some research to identify the types of people most likely to ride more. We found that one particular demographic seemed like a good match for our Instagram audience: Relatively young and educated Portlanders with open minds and options for getting around. If we could show them that transit is part of the appeal of living somewhere as great as Portland, we could get more people on board ' literally and figuratively speaking.

Results Impact: Our profile has grown significantly in just three years ' with little paid promotion. We welcome hundreds of new followers monthly, including influencers. Our increasing reach and clout has led us to pursue innovative partnerships, including an upcoming apparel collaboration and signature coffee blend. It has also ensured that our story is heard. Whether we're introducing new service, asking questions or sharing thoughts, we have an audience of thousands of active listeners, as shown by our average engagement rate of 14%. (Along with our growth rate, this stands out among our social channels.) It's worth mentioning that we recently saw our first ridership gain in months ' obviously, our Instagram account is just one possible factor, but this has encouraged us to continue our strategy

Why Submit: We took a leap of faith and created an Instagram account unlike that of most public agencies. We felt that the best way to grow our audience was similar to the approach we all use when making real-life connections: Through genuine and thoughtful expressions, without making it all about ourselves. This is easier said than done. But we've stuck to our plan and seen consistent growth and praise from followers near and far ' including brands and organizations eager to partner with us. Our Instagram deserves an AdWheel because other transit agencies may benefit from our approach: Serve your audience before you serve yourself. Give them something they value, such as a beautiful photo of the city they love, and they're more likely to return the favor with a follow, fare or vote.