Branding 2.0: Top 10 Facebook Contests by Airlines

Airlines these days seem to be tripping over their feet to generate interest and subsequently greater audience numbers on their Facebook fanpages and Twitter accounts. What is interesting in this trend is not the explosion of social technologies but the paths to social explosion that airlines are taking.

Some airlines have booking engines on Facebook, some provide customer service only on Twitter while some initiate extensive, integrated social media campaigns to drive brand engagement. This month onwards, SimpliFlying will publish a monthly feature highlighting the best of such social media strategies by airlines.

This month we bring to you the 10 best Facebook contests by airlines, as Facebook has become the “real” playground for airlines to showcase their creative brand strategies. This is because of the more immersive and multimedia-rich features of the Facebook platform itself.

In recent times, a number of airlines have organized some rather interesting contests on Facebook. For some airlines, such as All Nippon Airways, contests are a way of gaining more fans on their Facebook page and generating more awareness about it. For some, such as Hawaiian, contests are used to promote route-launches; for others it might be about a new product such as Turkish Airlines’ new Comfort Class. Of course, some, such as Cebu Pacific choose to be fantastically creative and drive engagement by directly channeling the power of their followers’ cults. Ultimately, these contests prove with more certainty than ever that airlines are getting serious about their social media strategies. Moreover, airlines which haven’t hopped on to the bandwagon have much (if not everything) to lose.

So, which airline did you think have the most creative and innovative Facebook contest amongst those shared in this presentation? Or do you know of others that have impressed you? Let’s hear it on Twitter and in comments.

Some fascinating facts about this presentation:

1. It became the most Tweeted presentation on Slideshare within 2 hours of it being uploaded
2. It was in the Top 10 Slideshare presentations within 5 hours of being uploaded
3. And it was the #1 presentation on Slideshare within 8 hours of being uploaded!