Social Media Storytelling – What the Airlines Can Teach Us
Social Media Storytelling: What the Airlines Can Teach Us
Social Media
It’s been one crazy week for the major airlines in the world of social media. What can the airlines teach you about social media storytelling? Let’s look at the events of the last week:
- American Airlines received a threat from a Dutch girl that required them to call in the FBI.
- US Airways accidentally tweeted porn (this link is safe).
- Southwest Airlines had a flightattendant give hilarious safety speech.
Given the choice, which of these major airlines would you like to represent on social media? Southwest Airlines – and it’s an easy decision. Outside of the fact that we all wish we had a safety speech that memorable every time we flew,
What makes the Southwest Airlines story perfect?
It’s an entertaining story. As we discussed in Social Media Storytelling, stories are one of the most important things that you can share. Is her performance only tangentially related to the airline itself? Yes, but the video also generated close to 8 MILLION views on YouTube which makes the airline look good regardless of whether or not it was official.
It’s very shareable content. You love the SWA video, and your mom, grandmother and everyone at the office will love it too because it’s relatable and it’s safe for work–unlike the US Airways tweet we mentioned earlier.
It doesn’t take itself too seriously. She’s an employee of the airline, but she’s willing to freestyle when it comes to content. The fact that she’s willing to color outside the lines of a normal deliverable makes her interesting and fun. The audience loves it, and they’ll love your content too as long as you don’t take it too seriously.
So get out there and have a little fun interacting with your customers. As long as you keep it above board you’ll be fine.