Latest trends in social media and the airlines getting it right

Like many other industries, airlines have added social media to their marketing arsenal, using these new platforms to engage their customers. Used in the right way, social media can generate a lot of value to airlines with tangible results. To better understand the trends, Noticias caught up with the undisputed expert Shashank Nigam, CEO and Founder of SimpliFlying:

Q. Why is social media becoming increasingly important to airlines?
A. The age of the Connected Traveler has arrived. From trip planning to post-travel, sharing happens throughout the travel lifecycle. This presents windows of opportunities for airlines to engage and drive revenue from the connected traveler. Since most of the sharing is happening over social media, airlines need to be present to be part of the conversation and drive results.

Q. What are the most popular social media platforms used by airlines today?
A. Facebook and Twitter are the two most popular social media platforms used by airlines these days. Many airlines also use tools like Youtube, Pinterest and blogs that today’s connected travelers use frequently throughout their travel lifecycle.

Q. What airlines have embraced social media, and which ones are getting it right in Latin America?
A. According to latest data from Eezeer.com, there are 198 airlines on Twitter, of which only 90 tweet actively. This means the remaining airlines, over a hundred of them, don't really know how to ultilise Twitter to engage their travelers meaningfully. Of the 90 airlines that tweet actively, only 30 airlines make up the majority of the tweets, suggesting the others don't have an effective strategy or proper resources dedicated to social media.In Latin America, some of the best airlines on social media are Volaris, LAN, Gol and Azul. All are very creative and constantly innovating in the social space with the connected traveler in mind.

• Volaris is very good at launching new routes through social media. They drive buzz and engagement through social media, often involving their passengers. From Facebook sales alone they’ve had revenues amounting to $2 million Mexican Pesos on a monthly basis. (Read more here)

• LAN has done a phenomenal job over the last couple of years of rolling out a concerted social media strategy across its hubs in the United States, Peru, Chile and now Argentina and Brazil too. They've got over a combined million fans across their multiple country Facebook pages, which is commendable given their large and spread out organization

• Gol and Azul from Brazil are excellent at involving their fans with the brand on social media - from getting them to share photos and rewarding them for Mothers' Day to partnering with fashion brands that the customer like, they've done it all.

Q. What’s the secret to getting it right?
A. There are two things that we advise our clients to bear in mind when they use social media in their customer engagement strategy. They need to understand how today’s connected travelers behave, and remember to tie their efforts to specific goals. Strong internal resources, like LAN's, help drive long-term strategy, rather than one-off campaigns we see so often.

Q. What are some social media trends airlines should watch out for?
A. Several airlines are starting to take further steps to make their services and products more social, such as social customer service and social loyalty programs. Estonian Air, one of our clients, have launched a social loyalty program, AirScore, to reward Facebook users for social advocacy with loyalty points that can be redeemed for flights and discounts to their ancillary products. Our research shows that 72 percent of frequent fliers said they would join a social loyalty program.

SimpliFlying is a consulting firm that advises airlines and airports on optimizing customer engagement to drive business goals. To learn more about SimpliFlying, please visit SimpliFlying.com or email at wannalearnmore@simpliflying.com

For more information contact:
Patrick Baudis
Vice President Marketing, Latin America & Caribbean
patrick.baudis@airbus.com