The Pros and Cons of social media in the airline industry

Social media has proved to be a successful marketing and customer service tool for airlines through interaction and engagement with customers and potential prospects. Airlines have successfully promoted, driven sales for their products and services and gained valid information about their customer. Unfortunately for all companies including airlines, social media can go horribly wrong.

In 2011, Qantas launched a campaign on Twitter using the Hashtag #Qantasluxury asking customers to post a story about their experience with Qantas. The response was sarcastic and negative leaving Qantas red-faced.

 

In 2013, US airways were attacked on social media in regards to an incident involving a blind man. The blind man and his service dog were kicked off a flight for being disruptive – not listening to instructions. It is reported that the blind man refused to secure his dog for take-off and soon after was escorted off the plane with a number of outraged passengers. Tweets and Facebook comments were instantly posted causing a major backlash and outrage from passengers and a call to boycott the airline. Passengers on board the aircraft had accessibility to Wi-Fi and internet and posted a number of tweets and Facebook blasts. Below is an example of a Tweet from an on-board passenger

Sophie B‏@sophie_ba 13 Nov 2013

blind man and his dog just got kicked off @USAirways after we've been on the tarmac an hour, bc dog wiggled a bit. Whole plane outraged.

·         Retweets 31

With the increasing accessibility to internet connection through smartphones, tablets and Wi-Fi, travelers are almost always connected to the internet posting reviews, photos and comments on a public platform – both good and bad. Airlines need to ensure they have a strong digital marketing strategy and are quick to respond.

Social media fails and negative feedback occurs for all airlines due to the nature of their operations – delays and logistical issues. Airlines must introduce strategies to overcome negativity on social media and prevent social media mistakes. These include public apologies, responding to feedback promptly, learning from mistakes and continually focusing on the benefits of social media - customer engagement, market reach of new and target audience, knowledge of customer perspective and increasing brand presence and awareness.



Are you marketing for the digital consumer?

In the age of digital marketing and social media, the use of smartphones and tablets are rapidly increasing. In Australia alone a Deloitte Media Consumer Survey in 2015 on adults 18-75 revealed:

• 89% owned a smartphone
• 60% owned a tablet
• 53% of respondents owned a smartphone, personal computer and tablet

The tourism industry has been forced to switch from traditional marketing to digital marketing where consumers are making travel plans and making bookings over the internet. A change of marketing strategy to focus on digital marketing and the way it is delivered has become the new challenge for e-marketers in order to satisfy consumer demand and behaviour.

What needs to be considered by e-marketers for travel products?

• Email marketing
• Travel apps
• Sites suitable for access from multiple types of devices such as smartphones and tablets
• Social media engagement such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• E-commerce

Smartphones and tablets


Research has shown that two-thirds of all emails are being read on smartphones and tablets. Travel companies need to think about the content and ability to link emails directly to their sites for quick bookings and enquires. Digital marketing needs to be designed for viewing on these devices and ensure efficiency and visual content

Travel Blogs and Reviews

Travelers are using sites such as Trip Advisor, travel blog sites and social media to read and post reviews and plan trips. It is essential that travel companies understand the trend of blogging and reviews. They can use these sites to understand travel patterns, travel spending habits and global travel trends. They can utilize these digital channels to engage with their customers by responding to forums and feedback.

 

 

Statistics for digital travel

Marketers cannot ignore the trend of digital channels and the influence it has amongst travllers. Below is a chart from a TripAdvisor’s TripBarometer survey in 2013

 

 
 

Marketers are able to connect with customers faster and more engaging than ever before through online digital channels. Statistics are showing a massive decrease in the use of face to face retail stores, choosing online travel services. Marketers need to ensure they consider in their digital marketing plan - efficacy of your content, real-time engagement, and personalization efforts. This will assist in an effective CRM system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
   

 

The use of hashtags in the tourism industry

 

The use of hashtags evolved in 2007 combined with the social media site Twitter and is now widely used across major social media programs such as Instagram and Facebook.  Hashtags can be an effective marketing tool when used right.

Hashtags have proved to be an effective marketing tool for the tourism industry allowing travel companies such as government and private tourism organisations, travel agents, travel operators and airlines to use hashtags to research consumers, target consumers and to track what competitors are doing in the industry.

These are examples of some commonly used hashtags:

#travel

#city – cities such as #newyorkcity #waikiki

#County – Countries such as #Australia #America

#holiday

Hashtags for market research

Travel companies can research hashtags to find valuable information about their target audiences. Travellers spend 2.8 hours a day on social media posting photos, reviews, updates and researching trips. What these statistics mean for e-marketers is they have the ability to see first-hand what travellers are enjoying, where they are staying, what activities they are doing, analyse what trends exist amongst travellers and what needs/wants can be met. This form of market research is a relatively inexpensive way to understand consumer behaviour.

Hash tags for campaigns

Tourism is a visual product therefore the use of hashtags is a great tool for linking to travel photos on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Many tourism companies are using hashtags as part of their online marketing campaigns. An example is #myjasper

The #myjasper campaign was a successful digital marketing campaign resulting in:

·         12,000 traveller-generated stories through instagram hashtag #MyJasper

·         185% increase in social referrals to their website year over year

·         211% increase in shareholder referral from social media year over year

The benefits of social media and the use of hashtags are creating mass market reach and online campaigns that are going viral. They are a great tool for all travel companies to think about when forming their digital marketing plans. Hashtags can lead to an increase in followings resulting in positive word of mouth and loyalty amongst customers.