Embarking on a digital journey through the clouds can be difficult if you haven’t tested the waters. In a world where visibility reigns supreme, read along to explore the profound impact of social media and its utilisation using the right marketing strategies. Step into the cockpit of digital transformation as we uncover 5 key things to keep in mind when starting to develop a digital marketing strategy in the airlines industry.
Taking it to the Skies with Social Media
Social media is evidently no longer about posting flashy announcements, or considerable changes. It’s all about visibility. There’s a funny slang in Hindi, ‘Jo dikhta hai voh bikta hai’ which loosely translates to only what is seen is sold.
If nobody knows about you, how would you begin to attract attention? You’d put it up on social media, you’d talk about what makes you different from those who already operate in the market, and why your audience should choose you. In doing so, you make your target audience aware of your company, of the credibility you’ve earned, and how beneficial you can be to them. It’s akin to setting up shop, no matter how big or small your company might be – it puts you out there, ensures that you’re seen.
But that’s not all that social media does. It goes a step further and helps keep customers informed on a real-time basis. If you’ve made changes to your flight schedule, a quick tweet would help you inform hundreds of those who would have been scrolling through social media while on their way to the airport. In times of crisis like COVID, social media can quickly turn from secondary to a primary means of real-time communication.
Omnichannel marketing: the latest norm
‘Go where your customers are,’ is valuable advice often given to every marketing and sales professional. When your customers utilise 20 different channels and 10 different platforms to obtain information, you need to be ready to respond.
For airlines, it is important to consider that people tend to carry multiple devices while traveling, from mobile phones to laptops, smart watches to tablets. While they would prefer to book their tickets via website through a PC, they would then want to check-in via the app on their mobile phone and double-check times on their smart watch.
To keep up with the demand for constant communication, airlines need to adopt an omnichannel marketing approach where they are present across different platforms in different forms.
Keeping it real
What you say on social media has the capability to make or break your sale. As an airline services provider, if you can engage with your consumers using meaningful content it can turn out to be a key differentiator between your competitors and you. It can be something as small as a testimonial, a customer journey, or a quick repost on social media – anything that offers real insights and adds value to your existing brand image.
To enhance relationships and connections with your consumers online, an optimised marketing strategy can go a long way in developing a people-friendly narrative.
Contactless: the new way to travel
When airlines promote the concept of traveling contactless – it is certain to apply all the way through. Right from early mobile check-ins to baggage pick-ups from home, there’s a contactless version of everything – and the easiest way to sell it is through smartphone-friendly communication strategies.
We’re all living in a world where you’d be living under a rock if you didn’t own a mobile phone. After COVID, the importance of owning one has increased manifold. From navigation to digital wallets, there’s an app for everything. And so should be the case for airline companies that wish to keep up with growing technological advancements. It’s crucial to have an interactive app, or a fully mobile-friendly website that can resolve every FAQ and support customers during their journeys.
Mobile apps are also a great platform to promote other ancillaries as they tend to be easily accessible and familiarity with the application always keeps them coming back for more!
Strategies to serving customers digitally
When talking about customer service strategies, airlines might not be the first sector you may think about, but you’d be surprised at the various touchpoints that already exist. From chatbots that answer FAQs to multilingual over-the-phone support, the international aviation industry has a combination of all of these included in their marketing strategy. Rightfully so, considering the potential problems that consumers might face and supporting them in a way that they would want to be supported can do wonders for the reputation of your brand.
With a marketing strategy that focuses on the consumers rather than airlines, you can give your company just the push it needs to fly above and beyond!
With an in-house team of aviation marketing experts, we can provide tailored marketing support based on your niche. Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss how we can help.
