Keys to success in Social Media Marketing (SMM) – Prospects for the German airline industry

Abstract

The continuous growth and economic contribution of Germany’s commercial aviation industry are directly linked to the implementation of new marketing practices. Especially in light of challenging market conditions and fierce competition within a highly segmented industry, new marketing paradigms assist airlines to overcome difficulties in order to promote their brands, products and services more effectively and in a circulated manner. In this regard, Social Media Marketing provides German airlines with a powerful set of marketing tools and multiple platforms to digitally gather, communicate, collaborate and share content with its customers. Despite a growing public awareness, an extensive review of current and relevant literature revealed that consumer perceptions on German airline organisations’ Social Media practices have not been examined. This paper aims to address this.

Social Media Marketing Strategies: Air Arabia as a Study

“…The international airlines' industry is one of the most significant and rapidly rising fields, having lately scored an expansion of approximately 5% through the past 20 years (Knoblich, Martin, Nash, Stansbie 2015). Nowadays, airline companies are one of the most active accounts on social media platforms.…”

“…Managers use marketing strategies both directly in the field and through the mass media. Such social networks as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are widely popular among a vast number of people; therefore there are many opportunities to convey specific information about the company and its services through them (Seo & Park, 2018). The company produced creative commercials that influenced the decision of customers to use its services.…”

“…The company was effective in communicating with followers across all social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Knoblich, Martin, Nash, and Stansbie (2015) contend that a company's effectiveness in communicating with customers can be assessed by checking the number of likes, the number of followers, and post replies because these factors provide information on the attractiveness of social media channels. Social media channels have enhanced involvement and engagement with the consumer, which in turn will boost the customer's loyalty, faith, allegiance, and friendliness.…”

Multivariate Data Envelopment Analysis to Measure Airline Efficiency in European Airspace: A Network-Based Approach

“…To do so, interaction and engagement are the most important functions of social media regarding the management of airlines. Social media had an important effect on companies' performance through a sustainable brand [38,42]. Given the increasing importance of social media in airlines, the necessary next step has to do with the integration of related indicators to assess the efficiency and performance of airlines.…”

“…However, in the above works, although the methodology applied to obtain conclusions is based on DEA, and they have brought about some important advances in gaining a better understanding of the functioning of the airline industry, they have not addressed airlines in Europe as an ecosystem, where other factors may be considered. As an example, in [38], the authors present a review specific to European airlines and social media research, which concludes that new information and communication technology has had a profound impact on airlines' delivery and consumption, increasing customer engagement, and loyalty in a technologically connected world [32,[38][39][40][41][42]. With this in mind, in this paper, we add analysis of social media indicators to a DEA-based approach measurement of the efficiency of airlines.…”