Social Media is vital part of Etihad strategy

“We focus on engaging the guest and developing genuine 'social' conversations, which allow us to bring our audience closer to the brand and also to help us respond quickly to any questions or concerns.”

 

This year has been huge for Etihad Airways in terms of social media. It launched its global twitter account (@EtihadAirways), passed the 100,000 and 200,000 fan milestones on Facebook and introduced its “Why?” TV commercial on YouTube, resulting in more than four million views.

 

The next steps include rolling out an Arabic social media offering and launching a Google+ profile.

 

It will also be running competitions and campaigns to offer its followers more value from their social connections.

 

Baumgartner added: “We have concentrated on providing quality content and a space where customers can interact with each other and Etihad Airways in a genuine and interesting way.

 

“Through both Facebook and Twitter, we have sought to provide the same high level of customer service that our customers are accustomed to receiving offline and when travelling with our airline.”

 

Etihad has also developed initiatives exclusively for its social media audience and leveraged its sponsorships to provide a range of ways to engage and get involved with the Etihad brand.

 

For example, it offered a competition around the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which saw one lucky participant receive complimentary entrance to the race and exclusive access to areas like the pit lane.

 

“We have a wealth of content, including destination features, special fare offers, product updates, service features and exclusive social incentives and competitions,” said Baumgartner. “This range of consumable content provides a variety of ways to engage with Etihad Airways and its social community.

 

“Our responsiveness, I believe, is a key driving factor in growing our following and keeping them engaged. Thoughtful and attentive service is a keystone of our brand, so this must carry over into our social media presence.”

 

Etihad has enjoyed high levels of engagement in recent competitions. Its recent “Why Etihad?” campaign, focusing on its new integrated advertising campaign, had more than four million views on YouTube.

 

Social media followers were encouraged to share the reasons why they love Etihad Airways, resulting in user-generated content that could then be shared with a wider audience of followers.

 

It has also run smaller scale competitions tailored to individual markets throughout the year and continues to see a high level of interaction around these.

 

For example, competitions offering prizes from Manchester City Football Club, of which Etihad is title sponsor, garnered participation from a significant number of UK followers.

 

“The most important social media tool we have at Etihad Airways is not a single platform or service, but the range of tools we use to monitor conversation and develop our social media following and strategies,” said Baumgartner.

 

“Before engaging in any new social media network, we conduct an extensive audit – understanding what is being said about us, how well social media users understand our brand and what they would like to get out of their engagement with us.

 

“The insight we can gather from these audits is really important to how we approach social media as a brand. Using this information, we can design our product and service offerings with our guests’ needs in mind, developing campaigns that will resonate with our followers and enhancing our online and offline customer service.

 

“Our guests are turning to social media in growing numbers to ask questions or raise concerns, so this is a hugely-effective customer servicing channel for us. Our activity on social media is designed to serve both our guests and our business development, which in turns serves the guest again.”