southwest air: nuts about online communications
DESCRIPTION
Using your content as a currency. Emerging Media Coordinator Brooks E Thomas demonstrates how Southwest Airlines provides the best online content of any airline and shares how they measure their success.TRANSCRIPT
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SOUTHWEST AIRLINESNUTS ABOUT COMMUNICATION
April 2012@brooksethomas
USING YOUR CONTENT AS A CURRENCYSession Hashtag: #FreeHobbyAirport
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The Evolution of Storytelling
Cave Drawings Stone Tablets Papyrus Rolls
Pen & PaperTypewriterComputer
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How Media Has Changed
40% social media users on their mobile phone
Over 55 y/o driving the growth of social networking
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Social Media Awards & Recognition
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Where We’ve Been
April 06: The “Nuts About Southwest” Blog is launched, picking up where Airline left off.
December 06: The Southwest Airlines Marketing Team uses YouTube to host a “Wanna Get Away”video submission contest
February 07: A media buy is used to launch a Facebook page to host a basketball bracket game.
Summer 07: Southwest begins a YouTube channel. And joins Twitter!
May 07: A Social Media integration team is created between Communications and Marketing.
May 08: The Nuts About Southwest Blog get a makeover!
Aug 08: The Emerging Media Team is developed within Communications and includes 4 full-time Social Media employees.
Sept 09: The Emerging Media Team is converged with the PR and Employee Communication team
July 09: The Social Media crisis response is tested when Flight 2294 makes an Emergency Landing.
Oct. 09: Southwest Airlines streams a press conference announcing ECP service.
Jan 10: The Social Media Council and The Rapid Response teams are created.
March 10: The Employee Blog launches.
Jan. 11: Social Media Policy and Handbook are created.
May. 11: Social Media Customer Relations Specialists are hired to help manage online CR issues.
June 11: Employee App created.
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Southwest Social Fans
1.3 Million Followers
2.2 Million
Fans
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Fan Page created: March, 2007Nearly 2.2 million fans
Facebook is a hub for Customer interaction!
Using Facebook, we link to a Southwest page (typically, Nuts About Southwest or southwest.com).
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Twitter is a tool used to share short (140 character) updates to anyone who chooses to follow your updates.
On Twitter, SouthwestAir has more than 1.2 million followers!
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• Monitor:We monitor keywords regarding the industry and Southwest.
• Respond: If necessary, we respond to questions and concerns.
• Live Tweet Events: From plane pulls to city openings – we provide real time updates to followers.
• Behind the Scenes Glimpse: Followers love to see what’s going on behind the scenes at SWA.
• Connect with Reporters/Bloggers:We respond to media or put them in touch with a spokesperson.
• Create Buzz:We alert followers to sales, giveaways, or news announcements.
• Crowdsource: We ask our Followers for what they would like to see (Gary’s Halloween costume, a headline on a press release, how we should celebrate our Millionth follower).
• Emergency Notifications: we’ve used Twitter multiple times to share information regarding emergencies or incidents.
• Sharing our Story! Southwest has a long history or being FUN, friendly, and outgoing. Twitter takes that persona and brings it to the Internet. For example, singing flight attendants, LUV couples, and the best inflight/gate agent humor are all shared via Twitter.
Top Things We Do on Twitter
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Our Hub Where we Showcase:• Stories From Around the System• Company News• Contests
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Blog BasicsStory Submission Sheet
• Idea: the storyline• Multimedia: the elements• Timeline: when to expect it• Misc.: what we can do to help
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Content Sharing
• Our Digital Presence Enables Us to Broadcast Our Story to Millions
• Once a Particular Story is Crafted and Sent Through Corporate Accounts, it is then Shared by Others, to Others (Domino Effect)
• Media Sees the Initial Story, or the Buzz Surrounding it, and Covers our Story
• What this looks like…
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We browse for content everywhere.
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Holly’s Story
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• Using WiFi, Rowland comments on our Facebook
Page.
• Rowland asks us to appreciate Holly somehow, vows to sign contract saying he’ll only fly Southwest .
• Marketing Employee Matt J. sees comment, alerts us & PHX Inflight Supervisor Stephen D.
Holly’s Story
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• Flight lands, Rowland is escorted off plane with Holly.
• Holly is presented with a sash and “cookie cake of appreciation”
Holly’s Story
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• And, of course, we had Rowland sign the contract.
Holly’s Story
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Identifying Content
• Employee-Generated Content
– Events/News Items Around the System
– Unsolicited Submissions
– Internal Stories that Warrant External Publicity
• Customer-Generated Content
– Social Media Mentions (Direct & Indirect)
– Customer Relations/CS&S Phone Calls
– Emails
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Employee Content
• Field Employees Are:– Pitchers
– Facilitators
– Reporters
• Why Southwest is a Natural Fit– Established Internal Communication
– Education in Storytelling & Policy
– Empowerment (Confidence in Your People)
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It’s a lot easier to catch a story when you’re ahead of it.
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Employee Content: ATL at Last
• Know Your Plans- Have you accounted for everything?
• Know What’s Visual- Are you in a position to capture the best elements?
• Know Your Timeframe
- Is the content time-sensitive, or evergreen?
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Customer Content
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Customer Content
Every Tweet or Facebook Post is a Story Idea
– Evaluate: is it worth pursuing?– Engage: Contact People Involved, get the
whole story• Multimedia• Who else was involved? (Should you contact
them?)
– Determine: is this better as a first-person account or third-person account?
• Options: Customer, Employee involved, or Blog Team Member
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Customer Content
The Customer often tells the story, but in most cases,
Employees write it based on their actions.
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Customer Content
Customer Content not only benefits the Customers involved, but also the Employees involved. When relatable content is shared, our audience is also affected.
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Editorial Calendar
The editorial calendar helps us stay organized, stay full, and
determine timeliness.
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Repurposing Content
SWA Stew• Weekly Top 5• Decided by Google Analytics• Talk Soup‐esque
One Report• Annual Effort• Showcases Leaders
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Franchises
• Content You Can Rely On• Ideally Never‐ending• Conditions User Habits
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Questions?@brooksethomas