Airline Reviews

1. Be human – Too many airlines are using automated software to keep their public profiles updated. People have a natural connection to other people, and tend to ignore things they feel aren’t authentic. Adding more employees to your social media team can prove to be extremely valuable in maintaining a human appearance.
2. Dream big, appear small – Because of the recession, people tend to have less sympathy for large companies. Unfortunately, this also applies to airlines, especially with the cost of flying being so high. It’s important for airlines to appear small and approachable to customers. WestJet and Southwest airlines (USA) have done a fantastic job doing this, and even Air Canada is beginning to jump on the bandwagon. By being active on social networks like Twitter and Facebook, and actually replying to every single customer can go a long way in appearing to be a more socially friendly airline.
3. Use social networking to douse PR nightmares – The great thing about social networking versus mainstream media is that you can respond to issues and complaints immediately, rather than wait for the six o’clock news to air your story. Furthermore, if you have a large amount of followers, your story can be seen by millions quickly.
4. Give special deals to social media followers only – It’s important as a major business to reward customers for taking the time out of their day to follow your company. These people obviously appreciate your company enough to follow you, and are also your best chance in spreading your brand to others. Giving followers a special deal will give customers every reason to keep following you into the future as well.
5. Don’t say things you’ll regret – I’m going to say the same thing I would tell a 13 year old before they first sign up for Facebook: Don’t post anything you’ll regret in the future. Remember, a majority of the time, once you post something on the Internet it cant be reversed. Keep posts on your social accounts limited to your business and your business only. By venturing into other topics you’ll be opening yourself up to potential lawsuits or PR wildfires.
6. Participate in comments and forums – There are a few airlines that I’ve noticed as of late who have people for the single purpose of responding to comments on blogs. I myself got into a interesting discussion on AirlineReporter.com with a PR representative (don’t remember the airline name though). However, it’s important while representing your brand that you do not to get caught up in the heat of the moment confrontations, especially considering that a small portions of blogs are designed to be very critical on specific brands. You don’t want to embarrass your company be participating in these heated discussions.
7. Produce Content – The Internet lives off of new content and links. Actively creating content revolving around your brand is a great way to get yourself some free advertising. Youtube, for example, is a great way to promote your brand, especially with it’s large community. Adding a blog to your airline can also show some realism to your customers. However, It’s important to remember to keep your videos personable; refrain from creating an anti-social barrier between you and the viewer.
8. Let your employees run free – Depending on that nature of your company (and I stress depending), letting your employees have their own Twitter account can work wonders. It allows your company to receive free promotion from employees living their everyday lives. WestJet has done a fantastic job of this, as you can find many of their employees on social networks. With that said, doing this may not be for your company if you’re concerned about a slip up of words that may hurt your public image in the long run.

Do you have any social media tips that airlines could use?

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