Working in the airline business has to be rough. Unreasonable security requests, baggage fees and oversold flights make folks extremely unhappy and they have no problem expressing their frustrations publicly. So, how do the airlines manage their online reputations when tempers flare and the social networks light up? We asked the top airlines how they manage it all. While you might not have as much traffic as the major airlines, you can certainly take a few of these tips and apply them to your organization.
1. Organize for Succcess
Social Media teams at the airlines are relatively small, but well trained and coordinated. On-call assignments ensure that the major social media networks are covered 24/7. JetBlue has won numerous customer service awards since launching their social media programs. You can check out their case study here.
2. Establish rules of Engagement
Pre-approved content makes everyone's job easier and ensures that the front-line managers stay on message and compy with regulations
3. Assign Roles and Responbilities
Make sure roles and responsiblities are clear up-front. Use the SocialEngage assignment feature to route messaging to the appropriate parties
4. Use Hastags Wisely
Ensure that every new product launch or event has its own hastag to track and manage conversations. United unvieled its brand new Boeing 787 live online, accompanied by the hash tag, #United787. The hash tag was overflowing with excited tweets from viewers around the world - check out a handful on Storify here
5. Respond within 15-30 minutes
Customers expect quick, real-time responses to their questions, comments or concerns or things can quickly get out of control or completely lost in the shuffle. JetBlue responds to 90% of all tweets within 15 minutes and has grown their followers to 1.7 million.
Virtually any size business can learn from the big airlines. I encourage you to download the JetBlue case study and start implementing a few of these tips today!
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