Southwest Tweets
Southwest Airlines is a company that was always excelled in the PR and corporate communications world, moreover they make it clear that customer satisfaction is their number one priority. The way the company communicates with their constituents has always been unique and ahead of the other major companies in their field.
Southwest started their blog “Nuts About Southwest” to interact with their stakeholders and build relationships. The blog encourages participation through comments, individual postings and sharing links. At times the blog ask their customers opinions about ideas they are thinking about, such as seating policy changes.
The blog then expanded to the use of Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Southwest has a Twitter account and posts updates about flight cancellations, weather delays, flight deals and news updates. Twitter is managed by one woman, Christi Day, so that she can build a relationship with the people she tweets with. Moreover, the best part is that company uses this social media tool to its fullest. The communication through Twitter is two-way by responding to customer “tweets”. For example, customers mentioned that their baggage was lost and they had a poor check-in experience, and in both cases the woman behind the Southwest Twitter account promptly responded. To the customer with issues about checking in, “So sorry to hear it! What don’t you like about the check-in process? Did your flight get off okay?”. It is just good to know someone cares, especially the company you are giving money to.
According to Christi Day at Southwest, ”We monitor those channels because we know these conversations are taking place there, and we can either watch the conversations or take part in them”.
This video gives you a little more information on Southwest Airlines and their use of social media, specifically Twitter.
If you want to get a feel for the Tweets, add Southwest.
Filed under: Case Studies, Corporate Use of Twitter, Twitter | 5 Comments
Tags: Corporate Communication, Southwest Airlines, Twitter
Southwest really seems to be ahead of the game with social media. They understand how important it is for them to be able to interact with customers at all times. I think the idea of using Twitter to announce flight delays and weather forecasts is brilliant. The video link you posted also did a great job of quickly highlighting just how involved Southwest is with social media. With all of the new technologies available for service-oriented businesses, striving toward optimum customers satisfaction should be the goal of more companies. I am curious to see how long it takes until it is commonplace for major corporations to actively use Twitter and other social media tools to better connect with their audiences.
I agree with Thomas, Southwest seems to be leading the pack when it comes to interacting with constituents through all levels of social media. (Facebook, Twitter, blogs etc.) They realize who makes up their audience and are doing what they need to get their messages across while maintaining customer support. I also agree with what David Perry, professor at UT Dallas, said about the “press one for….press two for…” when calling a company, it definitely is dehumanizing. Social media solves this problem. The customers have a face to go with the company and a better chance of developing a relationship with the face, and therefore the company.
Great video example! I have to admit that the newsman really got on my nerves when he began his segment with, “Social media is everything that is popular on the Internet.” And than he went on to talk about the trends and tools that we are learning about like he has the slightest clue as to what is going on. That is an example of what I have come to really dislike about certain forms of traditional the news. Aside from that, the clip did a good job of giving a brief overview of all of the ways that Southwest is reaching out to its customer base. I would guess that many of the viewers of the original program were as clueless as the newscaster about the significance of what Southwest is doing, in which case the segment could have changed lives!
Kelsey,
I was hoping that you would include Southwest in a post! I always choose to fly Southwest when it is possible and I have always had a great experience with them. The customer service representatives are very informative and easy to talk to, the flight staff is friendly and I have always had a smooth flight. In various class discussions throughout the years, I feel like Southwest has always been used as an example of a corporation that understands the importance of the customer. It makes sense that they would adapt their services to accommodate the changes in social media. I look forward to seeing what else they come up with. Also, it was a great idea to include the video that demonstrates how Southwest is using Twitter and other forms of social media. Although, I do agree with Thomas, the newsman was a tad bit annoying. Whoever wrote his copy should have researched the topic a little more before the segment.
I agree, I could have done without the reporter, but the information was too good to not use! Glad you all liked the Southwest topic.