Centro and Network West Midlands used Hootsuite to boost its social media presence during a heavy snowstorm
Social media for emergency communications
As the local transportation organisation for west central England, Centro is responsible for providing excellent customer service, real-time passenger information updates, and keeping people safe and informed. This was all put to the test during a heavy winter snowfall.
Centro and Network West Midlands (NWM)
Network West Midlands (NWM) is the name that connects all public transport in the West Midlands, England, including Centro and service operating companies. Centro works to improve the quality of service for over 2.1 million passengers by promoting and implementing public transport services and projects.
- Facebook: 30 per cent increase in page likes following the snow storm in less than a week.
- Twitter: 53 per cent increase in followers following the snow storm in less than a week.
- Web: 2.1 million passengers in direct communication daily.
What they did
Centro aims to be a world class transportation organisation that operates efficiently in every way possible. But with over 2.1 million people using Centro’s services daily, the organisation is challenged to effectively listen and communicate with passengers and get service updates out instantly.
In 2011, Centro established a social media presence and onboarded Hootsuite Enterprise to help stay organised across a number of customer-facing teams, including ‘passenger information’, ‘customer relations’, and ‘ticketing’. Social media was increasingly becoming the leading way to connect internally and externally. However, there had been no major test to see how effective the communication policy was, until a snowy snap caused widespread disruption across the network.
How they did it
The heavy snowfall of mid-January 2013 presented many challenges to Centro’s information team. Hundreds of thousands of worried travellers looked to their digital communications channels for answers on whether they could get home safely and if the buses were being rerouted. Luckily for the organisation, the snowfall was forecast in advance, giving them some lead time to strategise and organise emergency communications.
Centro set up their Hootsuite dashboard to monitor relevant keyword searches like ‘Birmingham’, ’snow’ and ‘NWM’. Hootsuite’s listening, engagement, and team’s functionalities allowed the entire organisation to collaborate on social to ensure all customers had the right answers, right away. During the snowstorm, the information team communicated directly with service operators to get their on-the-ground updates. They then posted the latest news and service disruptions on the ‘service alerts’ page of the Network West Midlands website, and shared those updates via social media.
“Hootsuite helped us stay on top of communications and stay organised as teams worked long hours through the weekend to answer queries and deliver this vital service,” said Peter Sharples, web and social media specialist, Centro.
The Results
Bus operators, local citizens, and other organisations re-posted Centro’s information across their own social networks. Everyone banded together both externally and internally, showing just how much value social media adds to customer-facing activity.
Sharples said: “Social has changed the way we communicate – it’s instantaneous. We can now have live conversations with many people at once and create a greater sense of a personable community.”
After the snowfall, Centro and NWM received an influx of customers’ thanks on social media. Both organisation executives and local citizens were greatly impressed by the level of customer service and coordination to keep people safe, calm, and well informed. As a result, the number of people who ‘like’ their Facebook page rose by 30 per cent from just over 800 to 1025 and NWM Twitter followers rocketed by 53 per cent from 1800 to 3200 – all in less than a week. Today, these channels are a trusted source of timely updates and information.
How Centro and Network West Midlands used Hootsuite during the snowfall:
- Used streams and keyword searches to listen for and inform public of disruptions, service information, and snowfall-related emergencies.
- Used teams and assignments to collaborate among many team members in order to resolve service issues quickly.
- Scheduled service disruptions and safety tips ahead of time and pushed daily marketing content into the future.
- Monitored responses, shared comments, retweeted positive sentiment, engaged in conversations once travellers were safe.
Sharples added: “Social media was tested and proven during this period as an essential channel, paving the way for it to become a permanent part of Centro’s structure and business plans.”
