LET'S TALK:
AIRLINES' USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Kristian HvassCenter For Tourism and Culture
ManagementCopenhagen Business SchoolCopenhagen,
[email protected]
Air Transport Research SocietyPorto, PortugalJuly 2010
LET'S TALK:
AIRLINES' USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Mapping of social media use
Recent development
Expanding to firms
Exploration of airline utilization of social media
Achieved by categorizing airline social media posts
Inspiration for paper from personal experience
Internet is a marketing tool...
Marketing
2-way level communication
Social process
Continuous
Marketing is a social process through which individuals fulfill
their needs by creating and exchanging value with others
Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Saunders, J., Wong, V. 1996,
Principles of Marketing
...allowing users to generate content...
Social Media
Podcasts
Messaging
Wiki
Apps
Blogs
Social media is that part of the Internet that enables users to
contribute to developing, rating, collaborating, and distributing
Internet content.
Vickery, G., Wunsch-Vincent, S. 2007, Participative Web and
User-Created Content
...leading to shift in structure
User Generated Content
Information sharing
Social software
Enhances collaboration
Command and control
Engagement
and
empowerment
Categorization of sample set...
Airline social media posts categorized according to promotional
marketing mix (PMM)
3 elements removed from original PMM (exhibitions,
merchandising, and packaging)
1 element added to adapted PMM (social activity)
...using the Promotional Marketing Mix...
UGC PMMDefinition
AdvertisingProduct description or explanation, either airlines
initiative or as a response to a question
SellingLink to purchase a product or service
Sales promotionDescription and/or link to promotions/partner
companies affiliated with frequent flyer program
Public relationsAirline general response to a question not
worded as an advertisement; providing general information;
soliciting for contributions from customers; a challenge/game for
customers
SponsorshipInformation about a sponsored event or initiative
Direct mailReal-time or pertinent information to travelers
Word-of-mouthPromoting content uploaded by other users
Social activityInitiating a dialog without specific information
about the company (e.g. wishing happy holidays)
3 categories deleted from original PMM
1 category (social activity) added
UGC PMMExample
AdvertisingJust in case you hadn't heard already, we are having
a massive global sale to a large range of destinations - Auckland,
Fiji, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Mumbai, London, Los Angeles, New
York, London, Johannesburg, Buenos Aires and more. Limited
availability. Happy Travels! (Qantas on Facebook)
SellingSo they say it's your birthday? Well it's our birthday
too, yeah! Hurry - our birthday sale ends tonight @ 11:59pm PST!
Click the link below to book: (Southwest Airlines on Facebook)
Sales promotionQantas Wallabies fans: Frequent Flyers can enter
to win exclusive access to the Qantas Frequent Flyer Pre-Match
Lounges at the Qantas Wallabies Bledisloe Cup Test home matches!
(Qantas on Facebook)
Public relations[Question of the day] - If my infant is at his
20th months now and I am considering to buy a flight in advance
which is 6 months later. Can I book an Infant seat for him? Or
should i buy an Adult seat? What do you think? (Air Asia on
Facebook)
SponsorshipWho's going to the #SFPride Parade? We're proud to be
Official Airline of SF Pride! Come check out our float or watch for
Sunday TwitPics. (Virgin America on Twitter)
Direct mailSFO is experiencing high winds which are causing some
long delays. Thx for your patience everyone. (Virgin America on
Twitter)
Word-of-mouthRT @MrReasonable Got to marvel at the skills of the
pilots of @flyairnz getting those planes down in this weather (Air
New Zealand on Twitter)
Social activity@AliciaWag you pooor thing .. how did you get the
poison ivy? (Air New Zealand on Twitter)
with data from social media platforms
Facebook allows airlines to establish groups of which one can
become a fan33 airlines present
November 2007 earliest post
41,369 average # of fans
10 posts average per 1000 fans (first post to Jan 2010)
Twitter allows airlines to establish account which one can
follow35 airlines present
May 2007 earliest tweet
86,232 average # of followers
65 tweets average per 1000 followers (first tweet to Jan
2010)
Choosing of airlines...
Choosing of airlines
Airlines ranked in ATW 2008 according to business model
Joined/followed airlines
Aggregated number of airline posts from August 2009 to January
2010
Airlines with lowest, average, most posts per business model per
social media platform analyzed 3rd lowest FSC Twitter poster
used
...led to a diverse sample
Facebook (FB)# FB posts1# FB fans*Twitter (TW)# TW posts1# TW
followers*
FSCLow Air Canada912,251SAS301,490
Average Qantas5613,462British Airways29921,644
High American Airlines17847,015Air New Zealand125211,987
LCC Low Air Berlin155,550Air Berlin30465
Average Frontier1225,379Virgin America3841,966
High AirAsia482160,775Southwest10151,031,898
1 August 2009 January 2010* As of 25-2-2010
Overall characteristics...
Formal
Informal
TONE
Our cabin crew got a champagne shower on d podium by top 3
winners of Moto2. Hope d wind isnt blowin 2 strong or theyd be
freezing #AAMotoGP
- Air Asia on Twitter
Overall characteristics...
Command & Control
Interactivity
AUTHORITY
Nice pic, good luck in Vegas! RT @JenCook: Landed in Vegas! Love
me some @southwestair! Look- the grand canyon!
http://yfrog.com/4c9uzj
- Southwest Airlines on Twitter
Overall characteristics...
Opaque
Transparent
ANONYMITY
Speed of Internet: At time of article writing WN Facebook agents
posted first names for great transparency
...describe airline social media use...
Internal
External
RECIPIENT
Thanks to all VX teammates for helping raise funds for Haiti-
we're matching you
- Virgin America on Twitter
...and show a failure to capitalize on potential of social
media
Content primarilyFormal
Official
Authoritative
Social activity posts more informal
Not capitalizing on relationship-building capabilities of
platforms
Many airlines regard social media as Web 1.0
Lack of interconnectivity
Strong advertising focus with static content
Selling is not complementary function
Limited cross-platform use
Relationship-building content seen more on Twitter than
Facebook
Time-sensitive information disseminated via both platforms
Facebook is for advertising...
Little difference between FSC and LCC
Poor link between advertising and selling
Little use of platform for social activity
Direct mail content used by most active posting airlines
...while Twitter is for relationships
Disparity between FSC and LCC use
Strong focus on public relations and social activity
Content more informal in nature
Retweeting of others' tweets allows airlines to reinforce
unbiased content or content not appropriate for airline to post
themselves
To summarize...
Increased airline use of social media
Prevalent formal and authoritative tone
Strong focus on advertising but not selling via Facebook
Lack of capitalization of platform capabilities
Social and relational activity prevalent via Twitter
Dynamic media
...before the next step
Consider alternative theoretical foundations
Increase sample size to allow generalizations
Integration of fans & followers posts
Expansion of platforms (e.g. blogs, YouTube, etc.)
Analyses of airline content on third-party platforms (e.g.
TripAdvisor)
Facebook Content - All AirlinesAdvertisingSellingSales
promotionPublic relationsSponsorshipDirect mailWord-of-mouthSocial
activity
Facebook0.4118357487922710.1207729468599030.02777777777777780.187198067632850.06038647342995170.1618357487922710.00603864734299520.0241545893719807
Twitter Content - All AirlinesAdvertisingSellingSales
promotionPublic relationsSponsorshipDirect mailWord-of-mouthSocial
activity
Twitter0.1358267716535430.04461942257217850.0314960629921260.3156167979002620.01771653543307090.09448818897637790.05380577427821520.306430446194226
