Airlines Should Focus on Quality of Social Media Engagement Over Quantity, Study Finds
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APEX Insight: The detailed results of a new study on the e-reputation of Emirates, Etihad, Qatar and Saudia show how important it is to monitor sentiment on social media. By doing this kind of analysis, airlines can achieve far deeper insight into their offering and how it’s perceived.
Toulouse Business School and BrandsEye recently conducted a study of four Middle Eastern carriers – Emirates, Etihad, Qatar and Saudia – to investigate their online brand reputations. After analyzing 22,028 mentions between March and May 2017 the researchers found that each of the airlines received the most mentions on Twitter, more than on either Facebook or Instagram.
Although Emirates was the most talked about airline, it was ranked the second most popular airline of the four based on sentiment, after Qatar. Emirates’ April Fool’s Day post received the most engagement overall.
Emirates’ April Fool’s Day post received the most engagement overall.
Researchers looked at 11 major topics in the airline industry, and aesthetics and in-flight amenities were the most discussed on social media, alongside ethics (each subject accounted for about 10% of the total data). The least discussed topics were pricing and special offers and promotions, which is why the researchers encourage posting content that delivers educational value, emotional connection or entertainment for maximum success.
Also, some posts have more weight than others. Whether the comments are good or bad, people listen to celebrities. The report states that posts by public figures such as Kevin Pietersen complaining about Emirates received a lot of attention, while model Halima Aden’s tweet thanking Etihad Airways for a tour of Abu Dhabi generated 585 positive engagements.
Whether the comments are good or bad, people listen to celebrities.
Speaking of Kevin Pietersen, there’s a justified reason airlines sponsor sport so heavily: People love to talk about it on social media. The study claims, “The size and quality of sports-related partnerships appeared to have a strong correlation with the overall e-reputation of the airlines.”
While baggage handling was middling in terms of the number of mentions, the study showed over 75% of mentions concerning it were negative. Response time was another area of discussion with much the same problem.
The results emphasize the need for quality over quantity on social media. According to the study, a few years ago the main key performance indicator (KPI) of a brand’s social media activity was its number of followers, but the implementation of a ‘pay-to-play’ policy by most social media networks means brands can no longer reach most of their followers without money changing hands.