I have written before about Akron-Canton’s social media efforts, and how I think they’re miles ahead of other airports in this area. The Ohio airport has taken things a step further by unveiling it’s latest effort, called Social CAK. Akron-Canton uses a bunch of social media tools, and this new page puts all of them in one place, which is very smart. But CAK also expanded some other social media efforts at the same time, which I find the most interesting. Continue reading ‘Akron-Canton Unveils Social CAK’
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I’ll say it: I love Akron-Canton International Airport. No, I’ve never flown there, but their team does a stupendous job.
The focus on airport-airline relationships always seems to be how much the airport will charge airlines to fly there. And while that’s certainly a huge factor, and Akron-Canton has very low costs for the airlines, the airport has added something else to the mix with its efforts in social media. The airport is always tweeting about its airlines, and I wrote about its Facebook promotion with AirTran a couple of weeks ago. Moves like these tell airlines that CAK cares about them and wants to make sure they succeed.
But in addition to social media, CAK was one of the few airports exhibiting at NBTA, and I was able to interview Kristie Van Auken, who is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. She’s awesome. 
You can grab the audio here.
Brett Snyder aka Cranky also wrote about CAK, and you can find his thoughts here.
If there’s one airport that puts a lot of energy into social media, it’s Akron-Canton in Ohio. The airport has launched the following offer for Facebook fans:
Kristie VanAuken, who is the airport’s Chief Marketing & Communications Officer (and a social media goddess), told me that the airport’s number of fans has increased over 50% since the promotion was launched – nice.
CAK also advertised the promotion on other websites – I just love the headline!
Anyway, this is just a great way for airports to show that they really want their carriers to succeed, and kudos to AirTran for participating.
Kristie and other representatives of CAK will be at the NBTA conference in San Diego in a couple of weeks, and I’m hoping to grab an interview about the airport’s social media efforts then.
I think the airlines that have been tweeting successfully have received plenty of coverage of late, so I wanted to look into some of the airports that have been doing so. I really haven’t seen much coverage in that area, except for this excellent post on Fish’s blog.
Anyway, out of personal curiosity I sent e-mails to three airports, and three of them were actually ones that Fish had talked to as well: Richmond (RIC), Harrisburg (MDT), and Akron-Canton (CAK). These three, I think, are some of the best on Twitter.
Basically, I asked these airports – why use Twitter? I think that it makes more sense from a marketing perspective for the airlines than it does for the airports, simply because there’s more competition going on between the airlines. Sure, some airports compete with others in terms of traffic, but I don’t think it’s as competitive as two national carriers competing.
But, after thinking about it and talking with the airports, I’ve found a few reasons why airports should consider using Twitter:
#1 – Enhance the Airline-Airport Partnership
On numerous occasions, I’ve seen airports tweet news about carriers that serve the airport. Kristie VanAuken of Akron-Canton told me that one of the main goals of the airport’s Twitter usage was to “promote our partner airlines.” I think that this small, but very low-cost gesture shows that the airport is making an effort to help ensure that its airlines find success.
#2 – Attract Passengers from Other Airports
I didn’t really expect this to be a big reason, but apparently it is. Twitter “puts a face and personalization on us, a medium-hub, regional airport, that helps to set us apart from the impersonalized approach of our neighboring and competitive airports,” according to Stephanie Gehman of Harrisburg. Troy Bell of Richmond says that “we have noticed some customers tweeting from or about RIC who have bypassed airports more closer to their homes or businesses,” but also noted that “Twitter is part of the mix, but not likely a top influencer at present.”
#3 – Reach New Groups of Passengers
This is another one I didn’t expect. Kristie from CAK also told me that the airport uses Twitter “to connect with tech savvy, younger travelers,” as members of this group “tend to be college educated, have a higher household income and love to travel.”
#4 – Spread Information Quickly
I think this is one of the best uses of Twitter, personally. Stephanie from Harrisburg wrote that Twitter “enables me to get condition reports (weather, airport delays, roadway/traffic updates, etc) out to [a] mass audience quickly. That’s not to say that it’s the only vehicle by which I do that, but it’s a great complement to the tools in my online and offline toolboxes.”
#5 – Communicate with Passengers
Kristie from CAK wrote that one of the airport’s goals for Twitter is to “interact in real-time with our customers.” I found Stephanie’s response to be the most interesting, as she told me that Twitter allows her to “respond in a quicker, more personal means as opposed to a letter or email.” I get the quicker part, but who knew that being limited to 140 characters can bring a more personal response? But, I can see how it works – a quick response shows that someone at the other end is really listening and ready to have a discussion.
#6 – Get Customer Feedback
I think that this is one of the best reasons for an airport to start using Twitter. Stephanie from MDT says the services allows her to ”see at times unfiltered feedback to how MDT and the airlines serving us are perceived and operating.” Troy from RIC put it very well when he wrote: “Customers will tweet about everything…Collectively, dozens/hundreds of 140-character broadcasts from airport customers provide good insight into what is working and where there is room for improvement.” (Emphasis mine)
I think it’s a great idea for airports to utilize Twitter, just for the sake of monitoring feedback if nothing else. The service can provide very useful information to airports – for free! And, if the airports use it well, they can take advantage of Twitter to help improve communication with passengers.
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