Name Alisa Krause

Date 03-14-2022
EME 4390: Digital Identity
Semester Year 2022

Social Media Campaign Research Report

Assigned organization: Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority

NOTE: Remember to include links and references

About the organization

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit is an organization that provides transportation for people in
Hillsborough County, Florida. HART was established in 1979 and is located in Tampa. HART's
purpose is stated on its website "Go HART", where it states "The Hillsborough Transit Authority
(HART) was created in October of 1979 to plan, finance, acquire, construct, operate and
maintain mass transit facilities and supply transportation assistance in Hillsborough County"
(HART about HART, gohart.org). Today, a lot of people, with different lifestyles use HART as an
affordable and handy transpiration option. For example, HART has 100% wheelchair and bike
accessible buses, that accommodate for people in different life situations. Currently, HART has
nearly 500 buses and services more than 9000 transit stops. With this many buses HART is able
to provide transportation to approximately 28 million passengers every year in the Tampa Bay
area. Additionally, HART is very accessible to the public reaching a wide variety of places, which
makes it a practical means of transportation. On its website, in the section "Hart Bus Service", it
gives a description of the different times the bus drives on the different routes. Downtown,
Route 10 services start at 5:30 am and on weekends at 7 am, and ends throughout the entire
week at 11:30 pm. Another example is Route 30, which starts at 4:30 am on weekdays and 7 on
weekends, however ends at midnight throughout the whole week (HART Bus Services) More
specific maps and schedules can also be found on the HART website. These are both routes for
example, that go to the Tampa International Airport, giving a lot of travelers a public
transportation option. Another big determining factor, if it is worth using HART or not, are the
costs. Looking at the information of HART Farecards, on HART's website, it says a "Local and
Limitless Express" costs $4 and $65 for a 31 day unlimited pass. HART also offers an option for
visitors for example, with a 10 Pack of 1 day unlimited tickets for $37, which can be used on any
10 days of the purchaser's choice. At the convenience for students, student tickets are free.
Analysis of the organization’s current social media presence
Currently, the Hillsborough Transit Authority is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and
YouTube. They are currently active on all social media platforms and post almost every single
day. This enables them to keep people updated and interact with a lot of people, who are
interested and effected by them. Starting off with their Facebook, which was made in 2009. By
taking a look at a few of the most recent Facebook posts, it can be established that HART posts
a lot of up-to-date information that keeps people informed about changes, new events and
advantages of using HART. A post was published on March 11, 2022, that suggested driving the
car to a HART bus stop and use the bus from there on, in order to save gas and therefore gas
money. Scrolling down a little further, there was a comparison made between HART prices and
gas prices. The Facebook post on March 10th, 2022 says "Gallon of Gas: $65, MONTH of
unlimited rides on HART: $65. Incorporating HART even two days a week into your commute
can reap considerable savings!" (Post March 10, 2022, Facebook). This is an example of HART
using social media as a form of advertisement and to spread awareness of how much people
could potentially save by using HART. Secondly, HART also uses Twitter, where they post very
similar stuff compared to their content on Facebook. The most recent tweet that was posted
though, was different than the one on Facebook (which might change by the time this is turned
in). This tweet was about the upcoming St Patrick’s Day, which promoted free transportation to
the Mayor's RiverOGreen Fest. While on Twitter and Facebook HART posts more updated
information, including links and reposts, on Instagram, they post a variety of accomplishments,
pictures of different buses and information to keep the people up to date. This seems like a
more casual platform, possibly because it has a different target audience. Lastly, HART created
a YouTube in 2009, which is used to post different kinds of videos, mostly different board
meetings but also videos containing updated information.

Recent, current, or upcoming events that could be emphasized on behalf of the organization
There are a couple of events that HART is working on, that could benefit a lot of people. To
begin with, HART is working on a high speed rail between Tampa and Orlando. An article
published by WUSF interviewed a board member and Hillsborough County commissioner, Harry
Cohen, who states "The more that we can centralize people's ability to choose from different
modes of transportation, I think not only the more successful Brightline will be but the further
we're going to get to actually having a real functioning transportation network that can get
people out to all areas of the region" (Cohen, par. 7). On top of that, in order to not disrupt
communities, the train will travel up to 120 miles per hour in rural areas and go slower in cities.
Another important event that happened in February 2022 was that after HART got more than
$47.7 million in funding last year from the American Rescue Plan, the board gave the CEO a
$37500 raise (Tampa Bay Times, par. 1). This allows the organization to work on new plans and
projects for the future. Lastly, another very interesting partnership that HART already has in the
works is a self-driving shuttle, that drives around the Marion Street transitway and the scenic
Tampa Riverwalk. Besides the fact that it is a fully-electric automated vehicle, it is equipped
with an ADA compliant ramp, a Q'Straint system and onboard monitors that display route
connections, a map of the route and stops (Beep, par. 2). This is just another great and different
option for transportation. These are all events that are currently happening, that can have a
positive effect on the organization.
Ideas on possible opportunities to visit, volunteer, utilize, or otherwise personally interact
with the organization
A great way to receive updates and know about different opportunities to get involved with
HART is through staying updated and involved with the different social medias. Events such as
the Design Charrettes Workshop and the Health and Wellness Fair, were all posted on Social
Media before and after to inform others. Other than that, I would go to HART's Customer
Service in Tampa and ask in person for further opportunities.
(HART Customer Service Times& Address)

What is your plan to build followers on your personal social media?

If I would be serious about growing my social media, the first important aspect would be to
determine a certain "topic" or purpose I want to convey to my audience. For instance, HART
posts everything specifically about the organization. If I would implement this to my personal
social media, an example would be creating an account that is all about nature or animals for
example. Once that is all figured out, it's important to appeal to the audience and build a
follower base, for example through different advertisements, pictures or videos. Using tools,
such as hashtags can often times help reach a variety of audiences. Social media in today's
society provides a lot of different tools for people to interact with one another, which is also
very important in order to build followers on social media. Liking posts that interest you, giving
people with similar interests a follow or reposting posts that you might want to give more
attention too, will all help you get more attention. Another important factor to think of is that
different social medias will reach different target groups. Personally, I know a lot of people my
age use Instagram but a lot of people don't necessarily use Facebook. Depending on why and
about what I want to grow my social media I would think about creating different social medias,
which additionally all have different tools, to reach a more diverse group and variety of people.
Trends can also increase the amount of people that notice you. Social media works in crazy
ways nowadays, so one good video, picture or Instagram Reel can get you 100000 views before
you know it.
What are best practices of social media campaigns and gaining social media interactions
Describe how you intend to use this information to reach a large audience?
Social media campaigns can be defined by a set of coordinated actions that will help someone
or an organization to reach its overall goals in social media. I think one of the first important
steps is to create a professional and organized social media platform, or maybe even multiple,
to reach a variety of target groups. Generally speaking, the more platforms an organization
creates, the more likely it is to be able to interact with a diverse group of people. After creating
an account that states what the organization is about, it is important to follow other
organizations or people that have a similar interest or focus, similarly to what we did in class
when we created our Twitter and started following each other in class. This can enhance
engagement and interaction. Next, becoming a part of or creating trends, that could potentially
go viral, is another great way to enhance engagement with a lot of people. An example for this
is the brand Zalando, who created the trend/ challenge "Turn Casual Friday into Style Friday".
The article "7 Inspirational Social Media Campaigns" described this example by stating " When
Covid hit and many people were stuck at home or no longer going into the office, loungewear
sales jumped up as most fashion-y pieces (read: clothes with “buttons” and “waistbands”)
dropped dramatically. European fashion brand Zalando tried to combat the plummet by
promoting a weekly, get-dolled-up challenge among its followers: turn Casual Friday into Style
Friday"(McLachlan, par. ). I personally grew up in Germany and moved to Florida when I was 14
years old, so I am very familiar with this brand and could have taken part of this challenge. This
doesn't just show how important trends can be to create interactions with people and brands
but how this can cause an increase in diversity of a group participating in the same thing. When
creating creative content that relates to your organization or content, it is also very important
to analyze the feedback you are given. Certain posts, pictures or videos might get more
interaction or attention from people, simply because people liked the content more. Taking
that feedback and analyzing it, will help identify what changes can be made to keep receiving
positive feedback and new followers. For example, people might interact with a post of an
influencer trying out a product more, than just a plain picture of the product itself. This brings
me to my next point, marketing. A lot of aspects on social media in today's society are
marketing, whether we notice it or not. The article "Social Spotlight: How GoPro fuels brand
loyalty with UGC" mentioned the brand GoPro and said " But GoPro’s take on UGC is unique in
that the product itself is rarely shown. And that’s quite alright with the brand, because that
means its heaviest users are out doing what they’re meant to do with the product: capture
astounding images and videos of life on the proverbial edge." (). I have seen many GoPro videos
and my reaction every time was positive and usually led me to watching more. Meanwhile, the
GoPro is never shown, it does make me feel like if I would purchase one, I could make similar
videos! Lastly, I think there are some basic ways of increasing interaction, that could potentially
reach a large audience. Being familiar with the tools different social medias provide is very
important. Hashtags, enables people to find an organization's account a lot easier and can
encourage people to use the hashtag themselves.
Conclusion: Describe how you would conduct a 10-day grassroots, ad-hoc social media
campaign (basically one that you do on your own on behalf of the organization without them
knowing you were doing it – kind of like a surprise for them). Make sure you outline the steps
and timeline.
I would conduct a 10-day grassroots, ad-hoc social media campaign with the goal of USF
students to use the HART transportations more often, in order to save gas, whether this is
school related or for an activity that's not related to USF. My target audience in this case would
be USF students. I would appeal to students by presenting the common reason why we all don't
like driving a lot right now and that is because of the high gas prices, that are just another cost
students have to plan into their budget. This can definitely appeal to students emotionally,
because it can be very stressful to students to pay these prices, while still wanting to be able to
go places with friends and be able to move from place to place whenever they want to. My first
step would be to reach out to a couple of students, to use them as "examples". After a couple
of students would agree to complete this experiment with me, I would give them a list of the
different routes the HART buses take, which brings us to the second step. The students would
mark the routes they could fit into their schedule of places they would need to go to at certain
times. Step three would involve the students to select a day that they do an activity together,
such as going to a cafe or mini golf, however they take the HART bus there. The goal is for these
students to test this out for ten days and then come back with their feedback, which will most
likely be, that they saved a lot of gas money. The 10 days of single HART bus tickets is perfect
for this experiment. After the students observed and experienced taking the HART buses
around instead of their cars, the students give feedback. Step four, the feedback, would most
likely be conducted in the form of a survey, as the information would be easier to analyze and
make comparisons to. Now, step 5 is based off the assumption that most students did save gas.
After collecting this feedback, I am able to use these reviews to appeal to other students. This
can be done by posting on social media about it, such as YouTube or on the USF Instagram and
Twitter. Visuals can be created that catch people’s attention. The group that experimented this
will hopefully spread the word as well, as they had a positive experience. I think that this would
encourage more students to use the HART buses because they see how this could potentially
benefit them as well. As a result, HART buses and transportation would be used more, maybe
students will even share this with friends and family, who don't attend USF. Overall, I think this
would have a positive outcome on the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit and can benefit them,
as well as USF students.
Citations

Cridlin, J. (2022, February 11). After Hart got millions in covid-19 funding, board gives CEO
$37,500 raise. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from
https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/2022/02/11/after-hart-got-millions-in-covid-19-
funding-board-gives-ceo-37500-raise/

Hillsborough area regional transit-bus - bus times, bus routes and updates. Moovit. (n.d.).
Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://moovitapp.com/index/en/public_transit-lines-
TampaSt_Petersburg_FL-1345-11010

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority. Ride Farecards. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2022,
from http://www.gohart.org/Pages/fares-cards.aspx

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority. HART. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2022, from
http://www.gohart.org/Pages/AboutUS-
HART.aspx#:~:text=The%20Hillsborough%20Area%20Regional%20Transit,transportatio
n%20assistance%20in%20Hillsborough%20County.

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit: Hart. Beep. (2021, November 3). Retrieved March 20,
2022, from https://ridebeep.com/location/hart-hillsborough-area-regional-transit/

Log in or sign up to view. Facebook. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2022, from
https://www.facebook.com/HillsboroughTransit

Login • instagram. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2022, from

https://www.instagram.com/harttransit/

Twitter. (n.d.). Twitter. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from

https://twitter.com/GoHART/with_replies

WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7 | By Steve Newborn. (2022, March 10). Brightline says a
plan for high-speed rail between Tampa and Orlando is in the works. WUSF Public
Media. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from
https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/transportation/2022-03-10/brightline-says-a-plan-for-high-
speed-rail-between-tampa-and-orlando-is-in-the-works

YouTube. (n.d.). Go hart. YouTube. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from

https://www.youtube.com/user/harttransit/videos