WSDOT social media

FY2024

WSDOT's social media following increases

WSDOT's social media following continued its upward trend during fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024). WSDOT Facebook page followers increased 13.5% from 197,292 in FY2023 to 223,885 in FY2024. In the past five years the number of Facebook followers has increased 93.4% from 115,779 in FY2020.

WSDOT has 13 Twitter accounts; the two most popular are "@wsdot" and "@wsdot_traffic"—During FY2024, @wsdot's following increased by 4.6% from 360,745 in FY2023 to 377,256 in FY2024 while the "@wsdot_traffic" account saw a 4.2% increase in followers from 525,255 in FY2023 to 547,140 in FY2024. In the past five years, @wsdot has increased 27.8% from 295,131 in FY2020 while @wsdot_traffic has increased 15% from 475,840 in FY2020.

From FY2023 to FY2024, WSDOT Twitter accounts experienced:

• 18.5% increase—from 36,810 to 43,620—in those following the "@wsdot_east" account, which informs travelers of conditions east of the Cascades.
• 15.9% increase—from 101,228 to 117,317—in people following the "@SnoqualmiePass" account for updates on that heavily used mountain pass.

WSDOT's Instagram saw a significant spike in growth with an increase of 51.5% from 54,212 followers in FY2023 to 82,154 followers in FY2024.

WSDOT's 511 travel information phone system service was deactivated on May 19 2023 due to decreasing users. As a result, future iterations of the Gray Notebook will not include data for the 511 system.

WSDOT mobile app downloads increase

The total aggregated downloads of WSDOT's mobile app increased slightly (0.76%) from 228,287 in FY2023 to 230,022 in FY2024. The agency continues to improve the mobile app as relevant advances from the main website are incorporated into the app.

WSDOT on X/Twitter

Billionaire Elon Musk purchased Twitter in October 2022 and rebranded it as "X," ushering in a slew of significant changes to the platform. Most notably and immediately, verified accounts lost their blue checkmarks, linking to other social media sites was temporarily banned, Twitter launched a new "for you" page, tweets could no longer be viewed on third-party websites and scores of accounts that had been permanently suspended were reinstated. The immediate aftermath caused nearly one million users to leave Twitter in the week following Musk's acquisition.

While some of these changes were reverted over time, the pay-to-play landscape (blue checkmarks) and the continuing issues mean it's more difficult for @wsdot to obtain the same reach and new follower growth it once has — as evidenced in the 4.6% increase in followers in FY2024 compared to 7.9% in FY2023 and 9.8% in FY2022. Despite these challenges and changes, X/Twitter will remain a crucial communications tool for @wsdot until the agency deems it is no longer a reliable way to reach the traveling public.

WSDOT welcomes social media manager

In February 2024, after 11 years behind the @wsdot accounts, WSDOT's first (full time) social media manager left the agency. A new interactive engagement manager came on board in May, ushering in a new era of social media management priorities that both complement and differ from the former manager's unique style and voice.

Among these new approaches are a more intentional focus on shortform vertical video—link TikTok or Instagram Reels—to reach younger travelers on growing platforms. The social media team will continue to experiment with would-be Twitter successors, such as Threads, as well.

FY2023

WSDOT's social media following increases

WSDOT's social media following continued its upward trend during fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023). WSDOT Facebook page followers increased 19.2% from 165,564 in FY2022 to 197,292 in FY2023.

WSDOT has 13 Twitter accounts; the two most popular are "@wsdot" and "@wsdot_traffic"—During FY2023, @wsdot's following increased by 7.9% from 334,309 in FY2022 to 360,745 while the "@wsdot_traffic" account saw a 5.4% increase in followers from 498,496 in FY2022 to 525,255 in FY2023.

WSDOT Twitter accounts experienced:

• 27.3% increase—from 28,906 to 36,810—in those following the "@wsdot_east" account, which informs travelers of conditions east of the Cascades.
• 25.4% increase—from 80,751 to 101,228—in people following the "@SnoqualmiePass" account for updates on that heavily used mountain pass.

WSDOT's Instagram continues to see steady growth with an increase of 23.6% from 43,878 followers in FY2022 to 54,212 followers in FY2023.

WSDOT's 511 travel information phone system service was deactivated on May 19 2023 due to decreasing users. As a result, future iterations of the Gray Notebook will not include data for the 511 system.

WSDOT mobile app downloads increase

WSDOT mobile app downloads increased 0.29% from 227,628 in FY2022 to 228,287 in FY2023 due to app downloads generated by the release of a popular new phone and consistent growth in active users. The mobile app also continues to improve as relevant advances from the main website are incorporated into the app.

WSDOT using TikTok

In FY2023, WSDOT TikTok reached 64,038 followers, an increase of 432% over the previous number of 15,000 in FY2022. This fiscal year was the first year that WSDOT put significant effort into utilizing TikTok. WSDOT goals were to increase the overall users with a special focus on increasing its presence with the younger audience. After six months of focused effort, TikTok followers grew to almost 65,000 with 70% of those people age 34 and under. This compares to the audience on Facebook and Instagram where 70% of followers are age 35 or over.

The nature of TikTok is such that videos are often seen by people who are not active followers, so WSDOT has received more than a million "Likes" on video posts there in the last year. The channel is especially suited to sharing information about what WSDOT does as an agency (from wetlands restoration to bridge construction and everything in between) as well as educational information about transportation usage. These topics are especially interesting to a younger audience, who might be new to driving or taking other transit options and also newly aware of the importance of WSDOT.

FY2022

WSDOT's social media following increases

WSDOT's social media following continued its upward trend during fiscal year 2022 (July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022). WSDOT Facebook page followers increased 14.7% from 144,294 in FY2021 to 165,564 in FY2022.

WSDOT has 13 Twitter accounts; the two most popular are "@wsdot" and "@wsdot_traffic". During FY2022, @wsdot's following increased by 9.8% from 304,369 in FY2021 to 334,309 while the "@wsdot_traffic" account saw a 4.9% increase in following from 475,180 in FY2021 to 498,496 in FY2022. As more users turn to social media for travel information between FY2021 and FY2022.

WSDOT Twitter accounts experienced:

• 45.2% increase—from 19,909 to 28,906—in those following the "@wsdot_east" account, which informs travelers of conditions east of the Cascades.
• 57.8% increase—from 51,173 to 80,751—in people following the "@SnoqualmiePass" account for updates on that heavily used mountain pass.

WSDOT's approach to social media is recognized as one of the most innovative among government agencies in the nation. WSDOT's Social Media Manager is frequently asked to explain the agency's social media strategy to government and non-government agencies wanting to improve their online presence.

WSDOT's Instagram continues to see steady growth with an increase of 42.9% from 30,700 followers in FY2021 to 43,878 followers in FY2022. The "reach" of WSDOT's Instagram—or the number of users who were shown content by the WSDOT account—increased by 63.6% from approximately 343,000 in FY2021 to 585,000 in FY2022.

As social media use continued to increase, calls to WSDOT's 511 travel information phone system continued to drop and decreased 3.6% to 301,269 in FY2022 from 312,668 in FY2021.

WSDOT mobile app downloads increase 45%

Between the app downloads generated by the release of a popular new phone and consistent growth in active users, WSDOT mobile app downloads increased 45% from 156,861 in FY2021 to 227,628 in FY2022. The mobile app also continues to improve as relevant advances from the main website are incorporated into the app.

WSDOT using TikTok

Due to the success of the other WSDOT social media platforms, the agency started a TikTok account in early June FY2021. Utilizing TikTok has allowed the agency to reach a younger previously receiving WSDOT information and content.

FY2021

WSDOT's social media following continues to grow

WSDOT's social media following continued its upward trend during fiscal year 2021 (July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021). WSDOT Facebook page followers increased 24.6% from 115,799 in FY2020 to 144,294 in FY2021.

WSDOT has 13 Twitter accounts. The two most popular accounts are "@wsdot" and "@wsdot_traffic". During FY2021, @wsdot's following increased by 2.7%, from 295,131 to 303,334. The @wsdot_traffic account saw a slight decrease in following, losing 0.27% over the fiscal year from 475,840 to 474,550.

WSDOT Twitter accounts that saw substantial growth in followers included:

• The "@wsdot_east" account, which informs travelers of east of the Cascade Mountains, increased 25.5% from 15,310 to 19,214 followers over FY2021.
• The "@wsdot_passes" account, which informs travels crossing the state's mountain passes, increased 19.2% from 35,938 to 42,827 followers over FY2021.

WSDOT's Instagram has experienced steady growth in followers since the agency began using it in March 2016—the account currently has around 30,700 followers. Images and videos posted by WSDOT in FY 2021 received 170,785 likes. The highest "like" count on a single image and video was a snowplower clearing the road on US 2 highway, which had 2,800 likes.

WSDOT's 511 travel information calls decrease

The number of calls to WSDOT's 511 travel information phone system decreased 6.3% to 312,668 calls during the 2021 reporting period, down from 333,781 from the 2020.

WSDOT using TikTok

Due to the success of the other WSDOT social media platforms, the agency started a TikTok account in early June FY2021.

FY2020

WSDOT using TikTok

WSDOT's social media following continued its upward trend during fiscal year 2020 (July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020). The number of people following WSDOT's Facebook page increased 14.3% from 101,293 in FY2019 to 115,799 in FY2020.

WSDOT has 13 Twitter accounts; the two most popular—"@wsdot_traffic" and "@wsdot"—gained followers in FY2020. The number of people following the "@wsdot_traffic" Twitter account increased 0.7% from 472,244 in FY2019 to 475,659 in FY2020, and those following the "@wsdot" Twitter account increased 2.8% from 286,662 to 294,576 during the same time period.

WSDOT's mobile apps (available on both iPhone and Android) had 197,446 downloads FY2020. Altogether the apps reached the one million download mark this reporting period since first being offered in 2010.

WSDOT's 511 travel information calls decrease

The number of calls to WSDOT's 511 travel information phone system decreased 26.7% to 333,781 calls during the 2020 reporting period, down from 455,650 calls during the previous reporting period (April 1, 2018 through March 31, 2019). While the exact reason for this decrease is unknown, customers may be using WSDOT's other outreach tools to receive this information. WSDOT's 511 travel information serves as a resource for travelers who do not have access to the agency's internet-based travel information site.