Left: Emergency Manager Eric Smith is a frequent star of Metrolink’s safety-related social media content; right: a thumbnail for Metrolink’s most recent post about Emergency Notification System (ENS) signs.
According to the data gathering agency SOAX, nearly three-quarters of Americans are active on social media in 2025, and Metrolink is meeting them where they are: online. In collaboration with the safety, security and compliance team, Metrolink Marketing Manager Sheri Candler and Interim Social Media Specialist Sharon Cruz are using digital platforms to share important information, including safety tips and how-to videos. This dynamic, multipronged strategy is transforming rail safety education into digestible formats that are easy to understand, engaging to watch and memorable, while also reaching new audiences.
Metrolink’s “I Choose Safety” video series features real conductors and engineers in short clips that humanize the people behind the uniform and underscore the importance of making safe decisions around trains and tracks. We’ve also embraced influencer marketing to deliver key messages in fresh and relatable ways. By working with local content creators, we are able to present rail safety guidance as trusted peer advice, while retaining oversight to ensure everything is accurate and on brand. The creative team has also tapped into trending audio, memes and cultural references to lower resistance to “serious” topics and spark interest among casual viewers.
Posts are shared regularly across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook, providing frequent, high-impact messaging aimed at both riders and those who encounter our system in other ways, such as at railroad crossings. The results have been noteworthy. A June 24 Instagram reel highlighting Emergency Notification System signage earned more than 20,000 views and 180 shares, with the audience nearly evenly split between followers and non-followers. Another late June reel featuring Emergency Manager Eric Smith drew more than two-thirds of its views from non-followers, demonstrating how Metrolink’s compelling storytelling is cutting through the noise and amplifying rail safety in the public consciousness.