5 Keys to JetBlue’s Social Media Engagement
Here are five of the ways they do this:
1. Understand the Brand Purpose
JetBlue puts people first and their social media interactions follow that approach. It is one thing to inspire travel in an effort to sell tickets, but it is another to make sure customers have a positive experience. By keeping their online conversations real and authentic, they strengthen those connections with customers.
Before shutting off his phone as the airplane door was closing, a passenger tweeted the he was sitting next to a pretty girl and wondered if he should talk to her. He didn’t see the response until he landed, but @JetBlue, along with his friends, were cheering him on and telling him to go for it. That builds a social media brand better than repeated tweets sharing the 800 number for lost luggage.
2. Maintain a Consistent Voice
A company voice is something that is not always apparent in business communications, but there is no hiding behind formal language in social media. In addition to being transparent and open about their communications, JetBlue wants to have fun. Travel can be stressful for passengers and if a light-hearted message can get a laugh while solving a problem, that’s the best of both worlds. The airline has even tweeted at competitors in this friendly manner. Connections to a brand feel more real when the brands act more like people. JetBlue gives their agents wide leeway on social media, so long as they keep the brand’s voice in mind.
3. Create Compelling Content
Yes, they run promotions. Yes, they sponsor posts to get wider reach. But if these messages don’t also educate and inform their online followers then they haven’t done their jobs. The JetBlue team wants to be culturally relevant with their content, but doesn’t want things to be too trendy. Content must be discoverable and shareable. If they don’t think that fans would “own” the content and share it themselves, they don’t publish it.
4. Be in the Right Places
Not all networks are for all companies and JetBlue focuses on limited channels. Twitter is primarily for customer service. Facebook is for promotions and sharing interesting content. They have an Instagram account (for the name), but they don’t have the resources to do it right. They would need commitments from people in every location to post cool photos on a regular basis to provide ongoing insight into life in the JetBlue world. That’s just not possible right now. The above photo is mine, by the way.
5. Try New Things
As more and more passengers started using Twitter to connect to JetBlue, the number of requests to re-book canceled flights increased. Rather than remain in the past mindset of requiring a high-touch phone call with an agent, they realized that one agent could serve multiple passengers at once. This shortened lines and hold times, plus presented the image of a forward-thinking brand that served its customers in the place where they were.
This post originally appeared on Salesforce Marketing Cloud blog.