Social media - why the hassle? - 10 tips how to get started

...and what airlines can learn from the Tate Modern Art Gallery in London

Have you recently been to the Tate Modern Art Gallery in London? Here, artists actively invite customers to interact with them via twitter. The Royal wedding was streamed live via youtube as was the Oscar night. In many pubs and restaurants, free wifi is offered, but they actively encourage to follow their events via social media. Many hotels have started to invite customer feedback via tripadvisor, lovethis or facebook. 

The world is changing. In 10 years’ time, consumers will have spent almost all their life digital. Smart phones and tablet computers will be normal. Instant interaction and spread of information is expected. It can help airlines to differentiate and achieve customer loyalty in a tough competitive environment. In addition, when dealt with properly, the marketing and sales efficiency is much higher. Social media have a key influence on brand building and on the positioning in google and other natural searches - and this is where the real revenue and brand benefit lies. They open the world to effective marketing, with the potential to achieve this additional revenue in your home market and in key foreign markets and can therefore make the difference between loss and profitability. 

Fears? Remember: In the past, customers also might have spread bad comments but you were not even aware. Social media give you the chance to know and learn and if you want to react to it, with a chance to get the customer back!

Start slowly and gradually gain confidence. Here are our top 10 tips for beginners:

1. Start with listening
2. Add options in the booking process to bookmark or share information
3. Extend your activities from points 1 and 2 to foreign markets
4. Assign clear ownership in the organization
5. Interact with your staff via social media
6. Start responding
7. Develop a long term social media strategy and objectives 
8. Review and introduce tools for analysis
9. Actively invite your customers for feedback
10. Actively spread content 

Be there, do not ignore the opportunities!

Learn more details about the different phases and the what, why, how, social media strategy, do and don’t , how to measure the effectiveness, other airline and non airline examples and practical templates and tools for monitoring here :. Or send us your comments and questions via twitter (@xxlsolutions) or facebook.