[Report & Infographic] Airport Social Media Outlook 2012/ 2013: Resource allocation, Challenges and ROI

How Airports Allocate Resources to Social Media

From airport check-ins to tweets for customer service assistance and Instagram photos from the tarmac, travelers today have a strong interest in social media platforms and usage rates in airports are growing. Following the Airline Social Media Outlook 2012 report, SimpliFlying surveyed 55 airports across the globe in September 2012, to gain a better understanding of how they are positioning social media within the overall airport marketing, communications, and organizational plans.

The Airport Social Media Outlook 2012 delves into airports’ resource allocation to social media in terms of budgets and staffing as well as challenges faced by airports and how return on investment (ROI) is monitored and calculated. The report also projects how the airports and social media are expected to evolve in the near future.

Key findings

In our research, we found that:

• Over 55% of airports invest fewer than 100 man-hours per month on social media, showing that most airports are still being conservative in investing resources in social media.
• About 63% of the airports surveyed allocate less than $10,000 annually to social media.
• Airport budgets for social media span from a few thousand dollars to more than $100,000.
• Many airlines have mapped the value of social media performance to business goals, among which the top three are 1) brand engagement 2) customer service 3) revenue.
• Airports are also reaping benefits from social media metrics with the biggest reward being customer-centric data.
• The biggest challenge faced by airports is the insufficient allocation of resources to social media, as cited by over 60% of them.
• 98% of the airports surveyed have social media staff working across departments, with marketing as the most common cross-functional role.
• About 40% of the airports plan to increase their social media budgets in the next year.

For an infographic of the key findings, please see below or click here.

Premium Report

How can your airport allocate budget efficiently to cater for the rapidly evolving social media field?

Should you have resources dedicated only to social media or should you go for a cross-functional model? 

What are some ways to measure benefits from investing in social media (ROI)?

More importantly, what do the statistics mean and how can your airport pick up the cues from other airports to get ahead in the industry?

Want answers to the above questions for your airlines’ social media strategy? Our premium Airport Social Media Outlook 2012 Report features in-depth analysis of exclusive insights from the survey. In addition, our subject-matter experts provide recommendations, based on latest trends around the key aspects of resource allocation, on how airports on social media can take their game to the next level. From now until 15 November 2012, the report is available for an early-bird price of USD199 (usual price: USD249).

Infographic

For more information, please contact report@simpliflying.com