As always, I’m happy to share the slides here on SimpliFlying for my readers. And I’d love to have your feedback. You can view my previous conference presentations and keynotes here.

• Airline branding: Keynote video from Abu Dhabi, and CNBC Arabia
• Presentation on airlines and social media from FTMA & Freddies 2009, now available
• Ancillary revenues and airline branding webinar slides (with video!)
• Keynote from IATA Commercial Symposium 2009 – Driving revenue for airlines from real-time customer insights on social media
• Airlines 2.0: Using technology for branding through the recession – webinar slides

And that’s only natural, since most monolithic organizations have more naysayers than doers. And the doers seldom have more clout than the naysayers. So, how to overcome this challenge?

Look within – start from the inside

My suggestion to these executives was to look at the upcoming marketing plans/campaigns. Something that’s already been budgeted for, and would be rolled out in the next three months. Then, work with the marketing team to “social media-fy” that plan. Basically, you’d want to add wings to the campaign through social media. And make sure there’s a way to measure the results (even if qualitative) so that you can measure the before-and-after effect of social media on the initiatives.

This allows you to achieve a few things:

1. You prove that social media adds value
2. There’s no need for substantial additional budget to run the SM activities
3. Working from an already-planned initiative is much easier than proposing brand new (=risky) social media campaign
4. You can then duplicate this for a couple of other marketing initiatives and then branch out social media gradually
5. You prove your worth, and get started on the road to becoming a social media rockstar

Once you’ve done this, you can easily embark on the 11 steps I’ve suggested earlier, to quick-start the social media branding strategy at your airline, airport or hotel.

Does that help? Legacy airlines, are you listening?

If you have questions about the process, or would like to seek personal help in making this work, feel free to reach out to me by email: shashank[at]simpliflying[dot]com. Meanwhile, I’d love to hear your thoughts on your efforts in social media in the comments or over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

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• Reality Check: Three reasons why legacy airline brands are dead (and who to look out for)
• How airlines can drive and measure ROI from social media (Plus: Free passes for webinar)
• Airline brands to look out for, and those that can rest in peace beyond 2009
• Love airlines just as much as branding and social media? Would you like to write a guest post for SimpliFlying?

This presentation shares insights on how airlines can really use social media tools like Facebook, blogs and Twitter to drive revenue. This was originally presented as a keynote in Al Ain, UAE on October 13, 2009, at the Low Cost World Middle East Conference.

• Airline branding: Keynote video from Abu Dhabi, and CNBC Arabia
• Keynote on airline branding at Aviation Outlook Middle East
• SimpliFlying in the Media: FOX 7, Today, Air Transport News
• 3 speaking engagements on Airlines and social media in October
• SimpliFlying Awards for Social Media Excellence for Airlines – Winners, photos and finalist presentations

Heard of Morgan Johnston? On Google, “Morgan Johnston Jetblue” produces over 37,000 results, as compared to “Dave Barger jetblue”, which returns 26,800 results. Dave Barger is the CEO of the airline, and Morgan Johnston leads JetBlue’s social media branding strategy. Morgan was into video production, before he joined JetBlue’s Corporate Communications department in early 2007.

Heard of Christi Day? She was voted the Employee of the Quarter earlier this year at Southwest Airlines, because of her tremendous efforts in leading the airline’s brand on various social networks. It’s not very often that a personin the PR dept. of an airline gets such a prestigious award.

Heard of Elliott Pesut? He was featured as the Geek of the Week, in one of Seattle’s leading daily this summer. Why? Because he is the “Head Twit” for Alaska Airlines. Elliot is a trained pilot, who was earlier at Flight Operations in Alaska Airlines. He volunteered for this new role, when the opportunity arose.

Why should YOU lead social media branding for your airline?

See a common thread in the stories above? All these people have no background in IT or new web technologies, yet have created an in-formidable stature for themselves in their respective companies. They’re crucial to each airline’s success in engaging their customers, and are most likely to keep their jobs, even in these difficult times.

In June, when Elliot was taking me around Alsaka Airlines’ HQ in Seattle (watch his video interview), I was pleasantly surprised to note that almost everyone knew him (even in different buildings!), people were asking him questions about Twitter and Facebook and what they could do to help him, and congratulating him for his Geek award in the newspaper. I personally have not seen such rockstar-status for anyone under thirty in an airline before.

Morgan, Christi and Elliot have positioned themselves as an asset to their airlines; by leading an effort that airlines want to get into, but are often reluctant due to a lack of proven models, and just the “newness” of the practices. So, how can you help your airline (and become a rockstar in the process)?

Eleven steps to becoming a rockstar by bringing your airline brand on social media

1. Familiarize yourself of what businesses (not just airlines) are doing on social media. A good place to start is Chris Brogan’s article on 50 ideas on Twitter for Business, and the 360i social media playbook.
2. Learn how airlines around the world are using social media to engage their customers. My recent keynote presentation on the topic at the Aviation Outlook Summit in Sydney features over 25 airline examples. You can view it online here.
3. Gather a couple of your colleagues in the airline, who’re interested in doing something in this area. Generally, these people would either be young, forward thinking or open to exploring new ideas. Tell them it’s just a personal effort, with no official backing as yet. They may even not be from your department, and may be people who’re already active on social networks personally.
4. Listen. Get onto a few key social networks and start listening what’s being said about your airline. For a start, use Twitter search, Google blog search and search YouTube. Do this for at least a week.
5. Plan to Engage. Together with your colleague, come up with a mini-plan to engage these people talking about your airline brand online, and list the benefits and risks of doing so. Also include what will engaging them help the airline do.
6. Email the bosses. Depending on how open the communication channels are in your airline, write an email to the highest-ranking executive you feel comfortable writing to, and CC it to the Marketing and Corp. Communications Heads. In the email, seek an appointment with them, and tell them that you’d to share your findings listening to conversations about your airline online, and propose a plan to engage these people.
7. In the presentation tell them you’d like to lead the effort by allocating just an hour a day to this activity, which can be increased over time. Remember to outline the risks + mitigation of this initiative, and key milestones. Make this plan reviewable every 30 days.
8. Establish a presence. Start with the medium where most of your customers are talking about you. If it’s Twitter, start a Twitter account. If it’s on Facebook, start a Fan page for your airline, or start participating on the official one.
9. Get Cracking on the plan. Start engaging the people who’re talking about your brand, by responding to their queries and talking personally about the airline.
10. Announce and track. Work with Corp. Communications to figure out what can you announce first to your online fan-base, before announcing to the traditional media. Make this announcement, and track who re-tweets or forwards your message to their friends. Then, pamper these people with more love in your subsequent conversations.
11. Review the plan every 30 days, see what are the lessons learnt and discuss with the management where to take this next, ultimately as a full-fledged marketing strategy.

There you go! Those are the steps to becoming one of the most valued assets for your airline, and have fun while at it. Airlines like people who take initiative, and take part of the risk the company doesn’t want to take on its own. And this is where you can help. This list is especially useful if your airline is not yet on social media, or doesn’t have a very strong presence.

If you have questions about the process, or would like to seek personal help in making this work, feel free to reach out to me by email: shashank[at]simpliflying[dot]com. Meanwhile, I’d love to hear your thoughts on your efforts in social media in the comments or over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

P.S: Morgan, Elliot, Christy are teaming up at South by Southwest festival early next year, for a panel discussing their stories about being on social media. And I’m moderating! We need your vote: http://bit.ly/OqF9g

• Alaska Airlines’ brand strategy on Twitter, revealed by Elliot Pesut in exclusive interview
• How does JetBlue build a strong digital airline brand?
• “Chris Brogan: If I was an airline CEO.” Exclusive video interview with the social media mogul
• Five Steps to Succeeding as an Airline Customer Service Social Media team
• How can legacy airlines, airports or hotels make an entry into social media? Start from within

Yesterday, in Sydney, at the Australia Pacific Aviation Summit, I gave my keynote on airline branding and social media a different touch. I emphasized on the fact that airlines and airports need start moving from broadcasting messages to their customers, to having conversations about their brands with their “cult”.

Featuring case studies of over 25 airlines on social media, this was the presentation that I used for my keynote on 6 Aug 2009. It was very well received by an audience of experienced senior aviation executives. And I’d love to have your feedback on it. What do you like most? What’s the biggest challenge?

Keep Flying, SimpliFlying,
Shashank

• Presentation on airlines and social media from FTMA & Freddies 2009, now available
• Six ways social media can drive brand loyalty: Bollywood-style keynote presentation from World Brand Congress, Mumbai
• LCC 2.0: How low cost airlines can use social media to engage their customers
• Keynote on airline branding at Aviation Outlook Middle East
• Airline branding: Keynote video from Abu Dhabi, and CNBC Arabia

As mentioned in my review of the website earlier this week, the site not only features informal bios written in first person, but also formal and informal shots of everyone from flight attendants to baggage handlers. It’s good for getting acquainted with the faces behind the scenes at one of the world’s best airlines. But as I browsed through the profiles, I felt I wanted to do more…I felt like literally getting in touch with some of these people, with whom I could relate to. So here are three proposed next steps for the Cathay Pacific people micro-site.

1. Allow active interactions among visitors: One of the key enablers of engagement in social media is that anyone can share his or her thoughts about anything, in public, and garner responses. On the People site, visitors can currently share the URL on Facebook, Twitter and other leading social media sites. But that’s about it.

   How about allowing people to comment on the photos? And allowing the featured staff to reply to these comments. Of course, all of these can be moderated. But the interaction among visitors and between staff can make the site much more engaging and interactive

2. Get these people on Twitter: If the purpose of the campaign is to reveal the faces behind the brand, then the micro-site is a good first step. The next step should be to allow “fans” to talk with some of the more popular staff on Twitter. The staff need not be on Twitter all the time, but having a profile like Heather Poole or Captain Ron can certainly be helpful in getting interactions going.
3. Meet the people session: Engagement is fruitful when not just done online, but offline too. Cathay Pacific can hold a competition where winners can get to meet some of the staff featured on this micro-site. Connections formed with the brand (and the people) at such events can be long-lasting.Another way to get the staff featured online acquainted with the “fans” is to publish when they’ll be on duty next, like at the airport check-in counter, or in-flight. And “fans” can meet the people on duty, by booking a flight that’s coinciding with the person’s duty timing. This might even help boost sales for Cathay Pacific!

What are your thoughts about where this campaign can go next? Let’s discuss in the comments or over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

• Cathay Pacific reveals the faces behind the brand, in an interactive way
• Coming soon: SimpliFlying Buzz, the first airline marketing and branding portal on the web
• Virgin America’s online community – bull’s eye, or a flop?
• Cathay Pacific wants you to create a dessert on Facebook, and serve it in-flight to you!
• Experience Cathay Pacific without stepping on the plane

That’s partly because airlines have acted like faceless organizations all this while. You seldom get to interact with the people behind the brand. And that’s exactly what Cathay Pacific has tried to overcome, with their micro-site showcasing its people.

Meet the people – in a different light

On the people site, you can get to know better not only Cathay’s customer-facing staff like the Pursers or the Customer Service officer at the airport, you can learn just as much about the cargo handlers and the aircraft dispatchers. The flash-based interactive website literally has people “flying around” and once you click on them, you encounter two photos and a bio. The photos include one taken in black-and-white, in non-Cathay attire, and the bio is written in 1st person. All this adds a personal touch to the site.

The bios written in a way most people can relate to those featured. Anecdotes like “I was a Primary school tutor before I joined Cathay Pacific – may be that’s where I learnt to be patient,” only help to strengthen the connection.

The effort has become very popular internally as well, since an insider told me that now there’s a long list of staff with diverse backgrounds who want to be featured on it.

How un-legacy of Cathay…

Legacy airlines are generally not agile and like to play it safe. Especially with new media and technologies that are unproven. For example, Singapore Airlines till date doesn’t have an iPhone app, and is not on Twitter, Facebook or any other social media platform. But Cathay has chosen a different path.

About exactly one year ago, Cathay gave us the virtual cabin tour where you could experience their planes without even stepping on-board the aircraft. And now, they have come up with this brilliant initiative around its own people.

The aim of this initiative is to showcase the diversity of its staff, and give a glimpse into the lives of the people who serve the Cathay customers every day. And I think Cathay has achieved this aim elegantly. Although it’s difficult to tie such efforts directly to revenue, I’m sure Cathay has won the hearts of many with the site.

What’s next?

Cathay is certainly heading in the right direction. For next steps, instead of speculating, I’ll bring to you, SimpliFliers, an exclusive video interview with one of the key people behind this initiative in a couple of days, right here. And I’ll let you be the judge yourself.

For now, I’d love to hear what you think about this initiative and how it can be improved further. Why aren’t other airlines doing something like this? Let’s discuss in the comments or over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

• Three ways the Cathay Pacific brand can come alive by infusing social media into the People site
• Cathay Pacific wants you to create a dessert on Facebook, and serve it in-flight to you!
• Cathay Pacific unveils new Business Class seats and staff uniforms!
• Experience Cathay Pacific without stepping on the plane
• Is Cathay Pacific Business Class the best way to get from New York to Hong Kong?

As most of you are aware, a couple of weeks back, I delivered an expert address in Miami, Florida at the Low Cost Carriers Americas Summit, at the intersections of three topics – airline branding + social media + budget airlines. My ideas were very well received by the audience of key executives from LCCs in North America and South America. And I thought I’d share a video recording of my speech with all of you as well.

I’m keen to hear your feedback on my ideas, whether you find them feasible and how we can help airlines adopt these well. You may go through just the slides here.

Regards,
Shashank

• 5 insights on social media, which airlines must tap on – presentation from IATA Wings of Change at FIDAE
• LCC 2.0: How low cost airlines can use social media to engage their customers
• Ancillary revenues and airline branding webinar slides (with video!)
• Keynote presentation from Sydney: How airlines can have conversations with customers on social media
• Airlines 2.0: Using technology for branding through the recession – webinar slides

In this exclusive interview with SimpliFlying.com, Elliot details the airline’s Twitter strategy, and talks about the unique challenges of his job, as well as Alaska Airlines’ forays into social media and how it’s all about connections, online and offline.

Volcanic rise of @alaskaair on Twitter

Alaska Airlines’ social media efforts got a real boost after a volcanic eruption a couple of months ago, near Ancourage, one of their hubs. The eruption caused unpredictable delays to flights and the airline needed to inform its customers about changes in real-time, as well as sooth nerves. And they turned to Twitter, calming nerves online while updating passengers of their flight status. Don’t you think that is so much better than receiving an insensitive SMS telling you that your flight is cancelled?

Today, Elliot updates followers of which planes each day are wi-fi equipped and seeks their feedback on everything from new destinations to service levels on Alaska Airlines.

The importance of making real-life connections

In June, Elliot helped organize @alaskaair’s first tweet-up, a meeting of the airline’s Twitter followers. The incentive for the attndees was a chance to be part of the aviation geek night, where they would get to experience the airline’s flight simulator. A large variety of people attended, including me, all the way from Singapore. Though, it was the ability to connect with the locals in Seattle-area and Elliot and his team relished the most. Many discussioned turned into informal, impromptu “focus groups” where ideas about the airline were shared openly. In fact, there was even a large sheet of paper we could pen ideas for Alaska Airlines’ future efforts on Twitter.

Personally, I feel that meeting the “faces behind the mask” is as important as conversing with them online. And having regular real-world meetups is crucial to building strong bonds between customers and airlines.

Social media works when it’s a team effort

It’s difficult to imagine just Elliot managing over 9,000 followers Alaska Airlines has on Twitter. Moreover, he may not have the answers to all the questions he gets on Twitter. Hence, he is constantly supported by others in the Corporate Communications dept. and often reaches out to others from customer service and even IT when the need arises. And this support from subject matter experts is what I believe is the backbone of @alaskaair’s success on Twitter.

For these insights and more, I’d like to invite you to watch Elliot’s 10 min interview with SimpliFlying, Enjoy!

• Is Alaska Airlines’ Social Media Execution heading South of Expected?
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• Simpliflying Hero, May 2010: Aurelie Valtat from Eurocontrol

Christopher Elliott Travel columnist • Profile • E-mail

Before the latest social media revolution, Jessica Gottlieb would have probably watched helplessly when her kids, Jane and Alexander, were trapped on the tarmac, waiting for their Virgin America flight to take off.

But that’s so 2008. When it happened to her last week, the Los Angeles-based blogger reached for her iPhone and twittered about her troubles. “Dear Virgin Air,” she wrote. “My children have been on the tarmac for one hour with 90 more minutes to wait. I am at JFK gate b25. Pls RT.”

That last request — please “RT” — is shorthand for Gottlieb’s nearly 10,000 followers to “retweet” her message, or rebroadcast it to their followers. And retweet they did. Within minutes, Virgin had phoned Gottlieb to reassure her that her kids would be fine.

“They contacted the gate agent manager and explained to us the entire weather situation,” she says. “Within 20 minutes of that conversation, the plane took off.”

The same forces that threaten to unravel a repressive Iranian regime are revolutionizing the way Americans travel. Social media sites that allow people to interact in the moment are changing how travel companies talk to their customers — and how their customers talk back.

The net result? Travel could improve for everyone.

Behind the scenes
It may not come as a surprise that this movement is being powered by microblogging sites like Twitter, which allows travelers to communicate in short, 140-character bursts of text, and Facebook, the ubiquitous social networking site. (For more on microblogging and travel, see my recent column on the subject.) Sites like these let travelers share information almost at the same rate they receive it (or “real time,” in tech parlance), which is something previous Web-based services didn’t let travelers do.

But few people have come to understand the far-reaching implications of the technology. Talk with someone like Cheryl Spezia, the vice president of marketing at the Destin, Fla.-based vacation rental company ResortQuest, and you get a sense that the relationship between the travel industry and its customers is being rewritten. “The dynamics have changed,” she says.

ResortQuest’s Twitter presence has helped guests get quick answers — and sometimes action — about their accommodations. In one memorable case, a condo with a broken air conditioner that was in less-than-presentable shape was promptly fixed when it was brought to the company’s attention through Twitter.

Third wave
In order to understand what’s happening here, let’s hit “rewind” for a second. There have actually been three distinct customer service uprisings enabled, in part, by the Internet. In the late 1990s, Web sites and moderated discussion forums pushed the first wave of the revolution. But many travel companies brushed these sites off because they were easily managed or ignored.

About a decade ago, blogs and emerging social networks like MySpace and LinkedIn gave rise to a second customer rights movement that is just now abating. The third wave, which harnesses the influence of Facebook and Twitter and may peak with a new Internet standard coincidentally called Google Wave, is just now on the horizon.

It’s a big one.

Consider Gottlieb’s choices. In 1998, she might have shared her story on a popular members-only online forum, but it probably would have languished there for weeks or the airline may have even persuaded a moderator to delete it. In 2005, she could have told her story on a social networking site, but her kids would have landed in LA before Virgin caught wind of the problem.

Today, the results are practically immediate.

Travel companies are paying close attention this time. Southwest Airlines lists nearly 70,000 “fans” on its Facebook page, while Virgin Atlantic has close to 20,000 and American Airlines has more than 10,000. JetBlue leads the pack on Twitter, with well over 700,000 followers. Southwest has more than 100,000 followers.

How do you catch this third wave, ensuring a better customer service experience when you travel? Here are a few tips:

1. Sign up now.
An account on Twitter or Facebook is free. Once you’ve joined, “friend” or follow anyone in your address book that also belongs to these sites, and then start talking. Remember, it’s a numbers game. A travel company is likelier to pay attention to someone with 10,000 followers than a lone wolf with just a handful of contacts. So don’t be shy.

2. Get engaged.
Becoming a “friend” to a socially active travel company, which means following their Twitter feed or becoming a “fan” of their Facebook page, is the next step. Often, they’ll begin paying attention to what you’re doing. So when you have something important to say about customer service, these airlines, car rental companies and hotels will be far likelier to listen to you than if you were a random customer.

3. Travel with a company that understands.
“When it comes to a holistic social media strategy, I feel many airlines are either lost, or still experimenting,” says Shashank Nigam, the chief executive of the aviation branding company SimpliFlying. “Or at least that’s how it seems to the outsider.” Pick a travel company at the vanguard of these changes, and you’re likelier to be heard. Nigam says among the airlines, JetBlue, Southwest and Alaska Airlines, have reached that level. Many other travel brands, including Marriott, Starwood and Hertz also have strong social media presences.

4. Keep it positive.
For now, at least, companies are behaving more like people on these social networking sites. In other words, a kind word can really take you a long way. It did for Paul Marr, who works for an advertising agency in Vancouver and recently found $120 in unexpected fees on his Allegiant Air ticket. He tried contacting the carrier through normal channels — to no avail — so he sent a friendly message to its Twitter account. Within minutes, his problem was fixed. “Need an airline that offers great deals and listens on Twitter?” he asked his followers. “@allegiantair called me within 30 mins of my last post. Grt cstmr service!”

5. Be patient.
Travel companies are still finding their way in this new world. Many corporations that are involved in social media aren’t really sure how they’ll use it in the future, only that it is likely to be useful. For example, the iconic Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles chats with customers and anyone else who happens to be on Twitter. Its social-media claim to fame, at least in the customer service department, is helping a guest who tweeted that he had a moth in his room. “He thanked us via Twitter, and also told us that the iron in his room was broken,” says hotel spokeswoman Melanie Boyer. “So we sent up a new one.” Not exactly a stop-the-presses success story until you consider the Bonaventure is one of only a few Los Angeles hotel that bothers to listen to the twittersphere.

6. Look to the next thing.
Google Wave, for example, is a new communication platform where text, photos and other information can be exchanged in real time. It’s expected to debut later this year, and when it does, be there along with the other early adopters. It’s only a matter of time before others join in, including some forward-looking travel companies. You’ll have their ear — at least until everyone else arrives.

It’s clear to me that the third customer service revolution isn’t the end, but a beginning. Travelers with a legitimate grievance used to be powerless to change their fate. Today, anyone with a Twitter account can get immediate satisfaction.

Who knows what could happen next?

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. You can read more travel tips on his blog, elliott.org or e-mail him at celliott@ngs.org.

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