SOUTHWEST AIRLINESNUTS ABOUT COMMUNICATION

April 2012@brooksethomas

USING YOUR CONTENT AS A CURRENCYSession Hashtag: #FreeHobbyAirport

The Evolution of Storytelling

Cave Drawings Stone Tablets Papyrus Rolls

Pen & PaperTypewriterComputer

Storytelling in 2012

How Media Has Changed

40% social media users on their mobile phone

Over 55 y/o driving the growth of social networking

Social Media Awards & Recognition

Where We’ve Been

April 06: The “Nuts About Southwest” Blog is launched, picking up where Airline left off.

December 06: The Southwest Airlines Marketing Team uses YouTube to host a “Wanna Get Away”video submission contest

February 07: A media buy is used to launch a Facebook page to host a basketball bracket game.

Summer 07: Southwest begins a YouTube channel. And joins Twitter!

May 07: A Social Media integration team is created between Communications and Marketing.

May 08: The Nuts About Southwest Blog get a makeover!

Aug 08: The Emerging Media Team is developed within Communications and includes 4 full-time Social Media employees.

Sept 09: The Emerging Media Team is converged with the PR and Employee Communication team

July 09: The Social Media crisis response is tested when Flight 2294 makes an Emergency Landing.

Oct. 09: Southwest Airlines streams a press conference announcing ECP service.

Jan 10: The Social Media Council and The Rapid Response teams are created.

March 10: The Employee Blog launches.

Jan. 11: Social Media Policy and Handbook are created.

May. 11: Social Media Customer Relations Specialists are hired to help manage online CR issues.

June 11: Employee App created.

Southwest Social Fans

1.3 Million Followers

2.2 Million 

Fans

Fan Page created: March, 2007Nearly 2.2 million fans

Facebook is a hub for Customer interaction!

Using Facebook, we link to a Southwest page (typically, Nuts About Southwest or southwest.com).

Twitter is a tool used to share short (140 character) updates to anyone who chooses to follow your updates.  

On Twitter, SouthwestAir has more than 1.2 million followers! 

• Monitor:We  monitor keywords regarding the industry and Southwest.

• Respond: If necessary, we respond to questions and concerns.  

• Live Tweet Events: From plane pulls to city openings – we  provide real time updates to followers.  

• Behind the Scenes Glimpse: Followers love to see what’s going on behind the scenes at SWA.

• Connect with Reporters/Bloggers:We respond to media or put them in touch with a spokesperson.

• Create Buzz:We alert followers to sales, giveaways, or news announcements.

• Crowdsource: We ask our Followers for what they would like to see (Gary’s Halloween costume, a headline on a press release, how we should celebrate our Millionth follower). 

• Emergency Notifications: we’ve used Twitter multiple times to share information regarding emergencies or incidents.  

• Sharing our Story! Southwest has a long history or being FUN, friendly, and outgoing.  Twitter takes that persona and brings it to the Internet. For example, singing flight attendants, LUV couples, and the best inflight/gate agent humor are all shared via Twitter.

Top Things We Do on Twitter

Our Hub Where we Showcase:• Stories From Around the System• Company News• Contests

Blog BasicsStory Submission Sheet

• Idea: the storyline• Multimedia: the elements• Timeline: when to expect it• Misc.: what we can do to help

Content Sharing

• Our Digital Presence Enables Us to Broadcast Our Story to Millions

• Once a Particular Story is Crafted and Sent Through Corporate Accounts, it is then Shared by Others, to Others (Domino Effect)

• Media Sees the Initial Story, or the Buzz Surrounding it, and Covers our Story

• What this looks like…

Content Sharing

We browse for content everywhere.

Holly’s Story

• Using WiFi, Rowland comments on our Facebook

Page.

• Rowland asks us to appreciate Holly somehow, vows to sign contract saying he’ll only fly Southwest .

• Marketing Employee Matt J. sees comment, alerts us & PHX Inflight Supervisor Stephen D.

Holly’s Story

• Flight lands, Rowland is escorted off plane with Holly.

• Holly is presented with a sash and “cookie cake of appreciation”

Holly’s Story

• And, of course, we had Rowland sign the contract.

Holly’s Story

Identifying Content

• Employee-Generated Content

– Events/News Items Around the System

– Unsolicited Submissions

– Internal Stories that Warrant External Publicity

• Customer-Generated Content

– Social Media Mentions (Direct & Indirect)

– Customer Relations/CS&S Phone Calls

– Emails

Employee Content

• Field Employees Are:– Pitchers

– Facilitators

– Reporters

• Why Southwest is a Natural Fit– Established Internal Communication

– Education in Storytelling & Policy

– Empowerment (Confidence in Your People)

It’s a lot easier to catch a story when you’re ahead of it.

Employee Content: ATL at Last

• Know Your Plans- Have you accounted for everything?

• Know What’s Visual- Are you in a position to capture the best elements?

• Know Your Timeframe

- Is the content time-sensitive, or evergreen?

Customer Content

Customer Content

Every Tweet or Facebook Post is a Story Idea

– Evaluate: is it worth pursuing?– Engage: Contact People Involved, get the

whole story• Multimedia• Who else was involved? (Should you contact

them?)

– Determine: is this better as a first-person account or third-person account?

• Options: Customer, Employee involved, or Blog Team Member

Customer Content

The Customer often tells the story, but in most cases, 

Employees write it based on their actions.

Customer Content

Customer Content not only benefits the Customers involved, but also the Employees involved.  When relatable content is shared, our audience is also affected.

Editorial Calendar

The editorial calendar helps us stay organized, stay full, and 

determine timeliness.

Repurposing Content

SWA Stew• Weekly Top 5• Decided by Google Analytics• Talk Soup‐esque

One Report• Annual Effort• Showcases Leaders

Franchises

• Content You Can Rely On• Ideally Never‐ending• Conditions User Habits

Questions?@brooksethomas