1. Quick response for travel complaints
The travel industry, like many others, has been dramatically affected by the influence of social media. Whether you’re an airline, hotel, rental car company or casino, social media has provided your customers with a platform to share their voice en masse, and handing the customer the power can have a huge impact on your brand’s reputation. Travel customers want to trust the company they are dealing with and they want to make sure their opinions are being heard and problems are being dealt with immediately. By listening for their complaints and helping in real-time – you will turn a negative situation into a winning customer experience, and develop strong, lifelong relationships with your customers – some will even become active advocates for your organization throughout the social space and beyond.
On July 23, 2013, a Southwest Airlines flight’s nose collapsed and skidded 2,175 feet. Unfortunately, ten of these passengers were hurt and six of them were hospitalized for minor injuries. Being the large global company that Southwest Airlines is, they were faced with tons of people reaching out with questions and complaints. Southwest Airlines hopped on social platforms in under a half an hour to respond to comments and concerns, as well as update the public immediately with information regarding the crisis.
2. Don’t Be Afraid To Add Humor
One of the most important things in social strategy is publishing engaging and shareable content. Videos that make you laugh are one of the most shared pieces of content. Why? Because it creates an emotional reaction that is worth spreading and being talked about.
One of the most boring parts of any flight is listening to the safety precautions. These are extremely important for any flight, but being these emergency instructions are often dry and mundane, companies like Delta Airlines tried to make light of this and add humor. Check this out for a good laugh:
3. Promote Desired Destinations
There are many reasons to travel; it could be a work related reason, to see family, or to simply just get away! But lots of avid travelers just looking to get away, may need a little inspiration on places to go.
For example, Hertz car rental company gives us a visionary experience on their Instagram. They post high quality images of places and experience that you can travel to with a Hertz car rental.
4. Track & Optimize Engagement
Consistently posting timely and relevant content may not be enough. If you are not achieving high levels of engagement around your posts, you are not effectively reaching your audience. The long-term goal of your social media content is to grab the attention of new potential customers and continue your relationship with existing ones. Use effective KPIs to track how well your social posts are doing. Check in on what is working and what your followers and fans care about.
Europcar UK sticks to a strict communications plan that stays with a consistent message. With their well-branded social content, their followers and fans are presented with the same look and feel across all platforms. Through a stimulating dialogue, they work with both visual and audio aspects to keep consumers engaged. For example, in Europcar UK’s Caraoke campaign, they had a call-to-action where they encouraged fans and followers on their social channels to submit YouTube singing for “fabulatastic” prizes.
