How Amtrak Got Creative in Social during the Pandemic

Jul 23, 2021

Andy Jasenak, Director of Digital Media at Amtrak, joins this episode of the Social Pros Podcast to share how the iconic railroad service Amtrak managed social during the pandemic.

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Full Episode Details

Director of Digital Media at Amtrak, Andy Jasenak, discusses how Amtrak got creative during a trying year of COVID-19. While many industries were affected by lockdowns, the travel industry was hit particularly hard.

How do you promote a travel service when everyone’s locked down?

Rather than slowing things down, Amtrak charged ahead and decided to get creative. Andy shares how Amtrak managed unique and fun social campaigns over Instagram Stories to keep people interested in travel throughout the pandemic.

He shares how Amtrak values user-generated content from its many passionate brand advocates who help propel the brand across the U.S. Andy also talks more about his background and shares some food for thought for anyone looking to become a social pro.

In This Episode:

• 4:30 – How Amtrak kept people engaged and inspired during the pandemic
• 6:09 – Amtrak’s strategy to stand out on social media
• 8:04 – The primary objective for Amtrak on social media
• 10:13 – Andy takes us behind-the-scenes of Amtrak’s social team setup
• 15:34 – How Amtrak coordinates responses across different channels
• 18:22 – How Andy makes a case for new social strategies to the rest of the team
• 19:35 – Why Amtrak hosted a Jimmy Kimmel mean tweet-style leadership meeting
• 22:10 – The role of brand advocates and why Amtrak loves user-generated content
• 25:33 – Amtrak’s creative Instagram Stories campaign
• 27:49 – How the Amtrak social team works humor and fun into its content so organically
• 31:18 – How social media differs across all the industries Andy’s worked in
• 34:44 – Andy shares why music is such an important part of his life
• 36:55 – Andy gives his top tip for those looking to become a social pro

Resources

• Get the new State of Marketing report for free from Salesforce
• Download the Social Media Metrics template from Supermetrics

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