Flight Club: Mischief, Mayhem, Social MediaThe airlines we love to love, the airlines we

don’t love, and how they’re using social media (or not)

Flight Plan: On Deck for Tonight

• Amplicate study: Which airlines are most loved, which are not?

• Survey of the airline landscape: Where they’re engaging and the volume of engagement: What do the numbers tell us?

• The fun factor: Which airlines have it going on and why?

• Case study: Mouth on Southwest: The Kevin Smith tweakout and SW Airlines response

• Other airlines: What are they doing?• Rules of Flight Club for social media• References

Amplicate study: Which airlines are the most loved and not-

so-loved?Amplicate Ranking Airline

1 Virgin American Airlines

2 JetBlue Airways

3 Southwest Airlines

1 American Airlines

2 US Airways

3 United Airlines

Over 12 month period (Oct 2010 through Sept 2011):• 30,785 opinions posted (public posts from Facebook, Twitter• 43% positive

Study Factoids• Virgin America rockin’ the love: 97%

comments about airline positive

• American Airlines not so rockin’: only 12% positive comments

• But there’s hope: American’s performance in social media showed most growth (5%)

• Southwest popularity fell from 77% to 59% in 2011 due to change in rewards program to favor business passengers

Survey of the airline landscape: Where they’re engagingAirline Twitter Facebook YouTube Blog/Apps/Other efforts

# 1. Virgin America(http://www.virginamerica.com/ )

“A breath of fresh airline”

@VirginAmerica270,164 followers4,919 tweets 

Virgin America page173,361 likes1,560 talking about this 

Virgin America channel282,715 channel views3,160 subscribersJoined: 10/11/06

Blog: Richard’s BlogApp: Chrome app, leverages Urban Daddy

#2. JetBlue(http://www.jetblue.com/)

“You above all”

@JetBlue1,660,523 followers12,398 tweets 

JetBlue page540,275 likes1,929 talking about this 

jetBlue channel1,055,236 channel views949 subscribersJoined: 3/14/06

Blog: BlueTalesFacebook: Go Places TrueBlue Community

#3. Southwest Airlines(http://www.southwest.com/)

“Nuts about Southwest”

@SouthwestAir1,188,318 followers7,781 tweets 

Southwest Airlines page1,711,277 likes16,781 talking about this 

NutsAboutSouthwest305,887 channel views4,091 subscribersJoined: 6/6/07

Blog: Nuts About SouthwestApp: iPhone app, notifications for limited-time air fare deals

# 1. American Airlines(http://www.aa.com/)

“We know why you fly”

@AmericanAir285,750 followers10,929 tweets 

American Airlines page234,700 likes4,136 talking about this

American Airlines220,351 channel views4,511 subscribersJoined: 5/28/06 

App: Support on many devices, boarding pass, notifications, check-in, monitor standby lists

#2. US Airways(http://www.usairways.com/)

“Fly with Us”

@USAirways175,501 followers2,069 tweets 

US Airways page24,879 likes1,247 talking about this

usairways channel20,301 channel views414 subscribersJoined: 3/9/06 

Mobile US Airways: Information about mobile boarding, how to book flights, get status , etc from mobile phones

#3. United Airlines(http://www.united.com/)

“It’s time to fly”

@united61,619 followers1,572 tweets

United Airlines page329,632 likes2,506 talking about this

uniteditstimetofly115,652 channel views1,360 subscribersJoined: 7/29/08 

App: Android, iPhone app check-in, mobile boarding, account info

N/A: Alaska Airlines(http://www.alaskaair.com/)

“North of Expected”

@AlaskaAir48,310 followers3,372 tweets

Alaska Airlines page154,639 likes3,028 talking about this

AlaskaAirVids6,344 channel views193 subscribersJoined: 2/25/09 

App: Android, iPhone support, boarding pass, check-in, flight alerts, account info

What do the numbers tell us?

How do the airlines compare?

• Twitter: JetBlue and SW far outrank the other 5 airlines. JetBlue has massive following. Although American has third highest number of Twitter followers, it has fewest number of positive comments.

• Facebook: Domain of SW. SW leads the crowd in terms of Likes (57% total) and talking about this (54%). Alaska Airlines also invest heavily here, although their numbers are not as high.

• YouTube: Although Virgin not top ranked, they are clearly investing here. (14% channel views and 22% subscribers—third in both cases). JetBlue does very well in terms of views, not as strongly in subscribers.

# Twitter followers and tweets

Is there a connection between the number of twitter followers and the amount of “love” (number of positive comments on Twitter and Facebook)?

These airlines have the fun factor going on

Let’s start with YouTube

JetBlue: Witty on Twitter

Virgin American: Yum when you want it (93,723 views)

JetBlue: Mr. Non-Stop (81,600 views)

Southwest: Flag a Friend on Facebook

Virgin American: Topguest promotion

Mouth on Southwest: The Kevin Smith Southwest Airlines Tweak Out

Ejected from flight due to customers of size policy

Tweet # 1, 8:52 PM, 2/13/10

Smodcast video

Smodcast post

Followed by:Tweets # 2- 6, with 1 F-bomb

Then he boards another flight:Tweets # 7 – 12

The flight lands:Tweets # 13-15, another F-bomb

Capped with a tweet that links to his smodcast site.

The Southwest Airlines Response• Within 8 hours, Southwest Airlines:• Listened and engaged: Responded to

everyone who tweeted to airline about incident

• Posted blog post to apologize and clarify position

• Did not try to control the conversation: Did not remove angry customer comments on their blog

• Had VP call Kevin Smithblog post

Twitter response

Exasperated

bystander t

weet

What are some other airlines (and their passengers) doing?

Social media hits and misses

American Airlines Facebook page

Dave Caroll video: 3.2 million views and 14,000 comments within 10 days of release

American Airlines YouTube video

FlyingSocial: Alaska Airlines

United Airlines “twares”

Alaska Airlines’ Social Media Strategy Overview

• 2 individuals devoted to social media efforts• Efforts primarily devoted to Facebook: allows them to geo-target their

messaging• Can measure ROI via links posted on Facebook (example: Travel Deals

tab/application on Facebook, now being overhauled)• “Nuts for Hawaii” campaign most successful, grew fan base

substantially• How social media is changing the game:

Social Media provides another avenue for us to spread our messaging and creates a valuable, two-way communication channel. That two-way communication is key to shaping our brand. Furthermore, social strategies have proven to also help corporations' search engine optimization efforts.

D. Scotland (personal communication, November 8, 2011)

The Rules of Flight Club for Social Media

• 1st rule: You engage in the conversation.• 2nd rule: You ENGAGE in the conversation.• 3rd rule: If a customer says, “I’m unhappy,” you listen. Customers will

punish the brand that does not listen. • 4th rule: You cannot control the conversation, so join it. • 5th rule: One brand, find your voice, and use it.• 6th rule: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Foursquare, Blogs, Flickr, Mobile

Apps: Know your tools and use them.• 7th rule: The conversation will continue as long as it has to.• 8th rule: If this is your first night or 100th night at Flight Club, you have

to engage.

And Finally …

Don’t be a jerk!

ReferencesAlaska Airlines. (n.d.) In Facebook [Fan page]. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from

http://www.facebook.com/alaskaairlines American Airlines. (n.d.) In Facebook [Fan page]. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from

http://www.facebook.com/aa americanairlines (2011, October 25). American Airlines Global Pink Out with Zumba [Video file]. Retrieved

from http://www.youtube.com/user/americanairlines#p/u/8/HqfhfrmjeowAmplicate (2011). Public Opinion on US Airlines on Social Media. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from

http://amplicate.com/social-media-analytics-reports/27-41-us-airlines/Carroll, Dave (sonsofmaxwell). (2009, July 6). United Breaks Guitars [Video file]. Retrieved from http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozojetblue. (2011, April 15). JetBlue – Mr. Nonstop – Gate Counter [Video file]. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcHZ9TpXs0s&feature=channel_video_title JetBlue Airways. (n.d.) In Facebook [Fan page]. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from:

http://www.facebook.com/JetBlue Kamer, Foster (2010, February 14). Update: The Kevin Smith Southwest Airlines Fat-Flight Tweakout of Epic

Proportion. Retrieved from http://gawker.com/5471463/the-kevin-smith-southwest-airlines-fat+flight-tweakout-of-epic-proportions

Kirby, M. (2011). PERSONAL TOUCH. Airline Business, 27(6), 54-56. Retrieved November 3, 2011, from EBSCO Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com

McNeil, Christi .(2010, February 14). Not So Silent Bob. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/not-so-silent-bob

Rutherford, Linda. (2010, February 15). My Conversation with Kevin Smith. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/my-conversation-with-kevin-smith-0

SilverStein, Cord. (2011, February 15). [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.marketinghipster.com/2010/02/15/kevin-smith-and-southwest-airlines-a-social-media-case-study/

References (Cont).

Smith, Kevin. (2010). [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://s3.amazonaws.com/smodcast/SModcast-106.mp3Smith, Kevin. (2010, February 18). I love you, Mom. I Hate you, Fake-heart. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http

://silentbobspeaks.com/?p=394SouthwestAir (2011, February 13). @ThatKevinSmith Again, I'm very sorry for the experience you had

tonight. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do. [Twitter post]. Retrieved from http://twitter.com/#!/SouthwestAir/status/9089068708

Southwest Airlines. (n.d.) In Facebook [Fan page]. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from http://www.facebook.com/Southwest

ThatKevinSmith. (2010, February 13). Dear @SouthwestAir - I know I'm fat, but was Captain Leysath really justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated? [Twitter post]. Retrieved from http://twitter.com/#!/thatkevinsmith/status/9079110598

United Airlines. (n.d.) In Facebook [Fan page]. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from http://www.facebook.com/UnitedAirlines

Unnikrishnan, M., & Wall, R. (2010). All That Twitters. Aviation Week & Space Technology, 172(2), 42-44. Retrieved November 3, 2011, from EBSCO Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com

Van Grove, Jennifer. (2009, July 15). United Breaks Guitars Surpasses 3 Million Views in 10 Days. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2009/07/15/united-breaks-guitars/

VirginAmerica. (2011, April 18). Yum When You Want It. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YDpc0TP3K6k

US Airways. (n.d.) In Facebook [Fan page]. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from http://www.facebook.com/USAirways

Virgin American Airlines. (n.d.) In Facebook [Fan page]. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from http://www.facebook.com/VirginAmerica

Bonus Slide 1: # Twitter followers

Bonus Slide 2: # Likes for Facebook fan page

Bonus Slide 3: # People talking about Facebook page

Bonus Slide 4: # YouTube Channel Views

Bonus Slide 5: # YouTube Channel Subscribers