“Is this really the official Metro page?”
Whitney Nichels, VP of Comms and Head of Social at Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, on increasing engagement by 347%.
On June 13th, 2024 the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) would put up the post that would change everything.
They took the popular “I’m looking for a guy in finance” song and posted clips of various riders of WMATA. A popular comment reads, “Not official Metro social media thirst trapping commuters 😂😂”. The video has 4.7M views on Instagram alone.
As I’ll learn in today’s interview, it was that post that gave the team “all the proof [they] needed to make the case that there was an appetite for this type of content”.
Since June, WMATA has continued to participate in trends, highlight the team, and find creative ways into local news. It’s led to an impressive 347% YoY increase in engagement on Instagram alone.
In today’s interview, I chatted with Whitney Nichels, VP of Comms and Head of Social at WMATA, about their growth strategy.
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Rachel Karten: Can you tell me a bit about your current role?
Whitney Nichels: In my role as VP of Communications, I oversee external messaging—including media relations, digital communications (social media and many of the digital display screens throughout the system), and multimedia production.
My team plays a key role in all crisis communications and emergency messaging around service and safety-related incidents, and we also handle media relations and social media for the Metro Transit Police Department. My team operates 24 hours a day through a rotating on-call schedule to cover nights and weekends.
RK: If you had to sum up your social media philosophy in a few sentences, what would it be?
WN: Whether you present information in a flat tone or with memes, the information is still the same. Ultimately, the goal has to be getting people to pay attention. It doesn’t matter how great your message is if people are scrolling past it.
RK: And how would you describe WMATA's social strategy?
WN: We have a multi-pronged content strategy that varies across platforms.
On LinkedIn, Bluesky, and Twitter/X (our largest audience), we have maintained our traditional, professional tone. The content ranges from ridership highlights and service updates to press releases and board meeting materials. We want our customers and other stakeholders looking for that type of information to know they can always get it there.
On Instagram and TikTok, we’ve implemented a whole new strategy that is focused on Gen Z marketing. The goal is simple: post content that fits the vibe of the platform. In the early days of corporate social media, there was this idea that you had to have content consistency across all platforms. Now, we are realizing that you can have brand consistency while still catering to different audiences based on the platform.
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These changes have been supported by other new efforts from our broader Customer Experience and Engagement team, including new merch and community events geared towards young adult audiences.
The strategy has been successful. On Instagram, we’ve seen a 347% increase in post engagement and a 327% increase in profile visits compared to the same time last year.
RK: It's kind of amazing how I can scroll back and really see the shift in strategy on your accounts. It's a clear departure from what you were doing before. How did you advocate for making these changes?
WN: When I started this role about a year ago, I knew I wanted to take these platforms in this direction, but it was about finding the right time. We had our breakout moment in June with a video we made using the viral “Man in Finance” song as a tongue-in-cheek way to promote transit as an alternative to dating apps. The video has gotten over 5 million views across Instagram and TikTok. That success was all the proof we needed to make the case that there was an appetite for this type of content, so we decided to make that shift and the rest came naturally.
As the VP of Communications, I’m responsible for social media approvals. I also happen to be chronically online—for better or worse. So, we have a unique situation in which the approver is actively involved in the content ideation and creation process. Thankfully, I have a senior leadership team who trusts my judgment and gives me space to lead this effort without going through additional approvals.
In an organization that is focused on safely transporting hundreds of thousands of customers a day and accounting for 13,000 employees in a multi-modal environment, there’s no time to sit our senior executives down and explain how “BRAT summer” ties to ridership. But they trust me as leader to know what works. This is one of many reasons why it’s important to have diverse leadership in an organization. As a young leader, I have different strengths from a leader with 30 years of experience. When we all bring our individual strengths to the table, it makes us much more effective as a whole.
RK: What's a recent post you're proud of? Tell me how it came together!
WN: We’ve had a few videos where we were able to feature frontline employees who don’t often get the spotlight, including station managers and operators. My favorite is our most recent effort to highlight our janitorial staff on National Custodian Day. We brought together a team of divas to do a fun trend that had them strutting their stuff and dancing in their uniforms. The goal was to show how people can be multi-faceted. These ladies can keep the stations clean AND slay at the same time. People are more than their occupation, and Metro is more than just a service—we’re human beings.
The shoot was special to me because it was so much fun. It was wonderful to see those ladies laughing and having a good time. And then came the outpouring of love in the comments, which meant so much to them. Making people feel seen and appreciated is really what it’s all about for me.
RK: In your Washington Post interview, you credited the NYC Ferry and the Denver International Airport for inspiring you to get creative on social. It's pretty amazing how other transportation orgs like Metro Los Angeles and BART have also been able to attract a dedicated audience. What about working in transportation do you think makes for such engaging accounts?
WN: We definitely get a lot of inspiration from our transit peers, as well as other transportation pages like Utah DOT and Washington State DOT.
Transportation is universal. It’s used by people from all walks of life, so it’s easy to make content that is relatable to a broad audience. I also think people just enjoy seeing content they wouldn’t expect from a government or government-adjacent account.
We often get comments like “is this really the official Metro page?”. That’s exactly the reaction we want because it drives curiosity and makes people pay attention to the underlying message. That is the goal.
RK: Have you noticed a difference in how people engage with WMATA? I'd imagine that when people complain in the comments about service, etc there are more fans who are willing to defend you?
WN: We’ve seen a HUGE difference in the way people engage with the accounts. That’s been the best part of this entire effort! Like most transit agencies, people used to bring any and all frustrations right to our comment section, even when we were sharing positive news.
Customers have enjoyed the shift so much, they’ll often jump in to defend Metro before we even see the comment. That only happens when you’re running good service. We’ve made a lot of progress in critical areas like safety and service reliability, so customers are pleased, and it shows. We’ve seen more “thank yous” and “I love Metro” comments in the last 90 days than we have ever seen on these accounts.
The takeaway: your brand voice has the ability to influence attitude and behavior. The way you engage with your customers sets the tone for not only how they feel about you but how they treat you as a brand.
RK: What do you love about working in social media?
WN: While social media is only a small part of what I do, it never feels like a chore to open one of the apps and see what people are saying. It puts a smile on my face and really makes me feel like our strategy has been effective. I’ve seen a few comments that said, “this has become my favorite Instagram/TikTok page.” As a transit agency, it doesn’t get much better than that!
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