UDOT social media team receives national award
May 26, 2025, 7:00 AM
UDOT's social media team won the social media team of the year award at the Golden Post Awards. This is one of the posts that made their page stand out. (Utah Department of Transportation/via @utahtransportation)
(Utah Department of Transportation/via @utahtransportation)
SALT LAKE CITY — A series of plows clearing several feet of snow in a snowplow ballet (73.8M views).
An old-fashioned Microsoft art meme sharing that the freeway will be closed (2.6M views).
A Road-eo including cranes shooting basketballs through a hoop (90.8K views).
A video using local firefighter celebrities to share construction news (421K views).
These are all videos that combine information and trending entertainment to capture the eyes of millions, both in Utah and across the world.
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These videos also led to the Utah Department of Transportation social media team being nominated for—and winning—the social media team of the year award at the Golden Post Awards.
“We were really honored and quite frankly surprised that we were nominated for a social media team of the year at the government social media conference,” said Amy Colton, UDOT’s social media manager.
The team was nominated for the fun and engaging ways it informs Utahns about what is happening on the roads.
“We had made a submission for a different category, but (the) social media team of the year (award) is nomination-only, so it was a complete shocking surprise. In all the best ways,” she said.
UDOT social media strategy
UDOT’s social media page boasts over 177K followers on Instagram with several posts grossing millions of views. That kind of interaction doesn’t come without plenty of ideas, collaboration, dedication, and time.
“There’s a lot of idea-sharing across government and, especially, with DOT (Departments of Transportation). We are always collaborating with other DOTs,” Colton said. “But I’m also just an avid user of social media myself. So just seeing trends and seeing what people are talking about on social media, I love to see how we can use that to communicate important messages to Utah in a fun and entertaining way.”
The team’s strategy behind their posts is to provide transparency about current and future projects so that Utah drivers can understand what to expect on the roads and know how taxpayer money is being used.
“That construction barrel that’s been out for maybe a couple (of) weeks, and you haven’t seen crews working on it, there’s a reason for that. And the reason might be that the concrete is curing, so let’s talk about what concrete curing means,” she said.
They want drivers to know that there is always a purpose behind the steps they take.
“As Utah drivers ourselves and Utah bikers ourselves, we understand that construction can be an inconvenience. But what makes it just a little less painful is when you know when and why something is happening,” Colton explained.
Social media success
Out of nearly 2,000 posts, Colton said her favorite campaign was last summer with their Bridge Fest posts.
View this post on Instagram
Some of their best-performing posts include a snowplow video that received over 100 million views, and a recent major I-15 closure in Davis County, which they announced using Microsoft Paint.
View this post on Instagram
Overall, the team loves to know that their posts are helping Utah drivers learn.
“The comment that means the most is when people say, ‘I took note of the information. I paid attention to what you shared, and I made adjustments to my travel plans.’ That is everything to me,” Colton said. “And sometimes people jokingly will say, ‘Give the social media manager a raise!’ Which is also very kind and sweet! But it just means a lot when I know that a social media post has made someone’s behavior change in some way.”
They want Utahns to understand that they are working to be transparent, open and honest in an engaging way.
