Understanding the Value of Social Media at Airports for Customer Engagement (2014)

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14 chapter four THE VALUE OF SOCIAL MEDIA Measuring the value of social media is possible within the framework of an airport operator’s mar- keting and business goals and objectives. The value of social media to an airport’s overall marketing plan and business strategy can be determined using key performance indicators (KPIs) for social media platforms such as the number of views, impressions, new and returning visitors, interactions, and comments on key channels and blogs. For example, one objective of an airport’s marketing and business strategy may be to educate the community about new airport projects and the economic impact of those projects on the community. The success of a social media marketing campaign focused on sharing content about airport projects could be measured in terms of the number of views and com- ments on social media platforms. Figure 3 presents examples of marketing and business objectives that could be the basis for a social media campaign, including enhancing reputation, economic develop- ment, or education. This chapter identifies selected KPIs that may be useful to airport operators to estimate the value of social media campaigns and provides estimates of the value of selected social media campaigns at airports. IDENTIFYING KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS The number of KPIs for social media platforms is considerable, many of which are not meaningful for airport operators. Based on the interviews conducted for this Synthesis and a review of airport social media platforms, the three most meaningful measures of social media for airport operators are engagement, reach, and mentions. Engagement Engagement on social media platforms can be defined in different ways depending on the platforms used and the underlying goals and objectives; however, the key element is that individuals see your message and interact with your brand. Based on the interviews conducted for this Synthesis, engage- ment also is a conversation that is authentic and relationship-oriented and creates a forum for mul- tiple voices. Answers to the following questions may help to examine the level of engagement on one’s social media platforms. 1. Are conversations happening about your airport when you release content? 2. Are fans liking or commenting on your Facebook page? 3. Are users pinning images, retweeting tweets, or sharing YouTube videos? Reach Similar to engagement, social media reach can be defined in different ways including the size and growth rate of a social media audience and the number of people reached on a particular post (num- ber of views). Although the size of your social media audience is important (in terms of total fol- lowers and fans), increased emphasis is being placed on the audience growth rate for evaluating marketing efforts over time and the performance of selected social media campaigns in comparison

15 with the overall audience growth rate. Answers to the following questions may help measure one’s total reach on social media platforms. 1. What is the size of the audience viewing your content over all of the social networks in which you participate? 2. Is this audience growing or shrinking and at what rate? 3. How many people view your posts related to particular social media campaigns (compared with the number that like or comment)? Mentions A mention on a social media platform is the primary metric for understanding the conversations taking place about a particular airport, in addition to the comments posted on an airport’s social media pages. Typically, a mention is defined by key words such as “ABC Airport” or “ABC,” which are monitored on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, a blog, mainstream news with an RSS (Rich Site Summary) feed, a forum/board, YouTube or Pinterest, or by using social media management tools described in chapter two. The significance of mentions is that the number of people who choose to take an action to create or share content is an important indicator of engagement, compared with the number of people who have simply seen (or could have seen) that content. Based on the interviews conducted for this Synthesis, airport operators also monitor mentions of similar airports or local busi- nesses on social media platforms as a way of benchmarking their social media performance. ESTIMATING THE VALUE OF SELECTED SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS The value of a social media campaign can be estimated using the KPIs discussed in the previous sec- tion in relation to an airport’s overall marketing plan and business strategy. The following sections summarize KPIs and the marketing and business objectives for selected social media campaigns, including detailed summaries for the opening of the new Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at Los Angeles International Airport and Operation Golf Balls at Eugene Airport. In addition, over- views are presented for other selected social media campaigns. Opening of the New TBIT On September 18, 2013, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) celebrated the opening of the new TBIT. In preparation for the TBIT opening, LAX developed a social media campaign to fulfill the FIGURE 3 Social media return on investment. (Source: Brandwatch, “10 Ways to Prove the Value of Social Media Monitoring”: www.brandwatch.com.

16 marketing and business objectives of educating and engaging the LAX community and the public on the construction status and economic importance of the new terminal to the Los Angeles area, including: • Frequent posts about the new terminal, including photos of TBIT under construction, TBIT’s design plans, photos of TBIT before construction, and the opening of more than 60 premier din- ing and luxury retail shops at the new terminal (including 22 local Los Angeles brands). • Videos of a “Behind the Scenes” tour of TBIT construction and a three-dimensional (3D) passenger experience of the exterior and interior of the new terminal following completion, including views from the ticketing lobby to the Great Hall, the departing and arriving levels, and the renovated Cus- toms and Border Protection area, as well as views from LAX’s EarthCam construction cameras. • Invitations to the LAX community and public to participate in the opening of the new TBIT, including a contest for “out-of-the-box” ribbon-cutting ideas to create a spectacular, cost- effective grand opening and LAX Appreciation Day for a sneak peek of the new terminal and its 150,000-ft2 Great Hall. • Strategic partnership with the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board. As noted earlier, LAX’s social media campaign for the opening of the new TBIT included many ele- ments and the use of a number of social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The following sections summarize the KPIs for the terminal opening on LAX’s social media platforms. Facebook KPIs A key element of the TBIT campaign took place on opening day, as well as on the days immediately before and after. From September 17 through September 19, 2013, LAX posted three messages on Facebook (one each day) that together generated more than 112,000 views (individuals reached), as shown in Table 5. On average, more than 37,000 people were reached on Facebook each day, or 23% of LAX’s total Facebook fans (165,000). Facebook Key Performance Indicators September 17 Opening Day September 18 September 19 Total (3 days) September 17–19 Reach People reached on LAX’s Facebook page (number of views) 35,056 58,880 18,112 112,048 Engagement LAX's Facebook page and posts Likes 1,137 696 551 2,384 Comments 36 46 16 98 Shares 94 166 42 302 Subtotal—LAX 1,267 908 609 2,784 Other (non-LAX) Facebook pages and posts Likes 114 367 41 522 Comments 18 44 9 71 Shares 9 29 5 43 Subtotal—Other 141 440 55 636 Total Likes 1,251 1,063 592 2,906 Comments 54 90 25 169 Shares 103 195 47 345 Total engaged 1,408 1,348 664 3,420 Percent engaged on Facebook (total engaged/total views) 4.0% 2.3% 3.7% 3.1% Source: Los Angeles International Airport. TABLE 5 FACEBOOK KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR THE OPENING OF THE NEW TBIT LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

17 Of the 112,000 people reached, more than 3,400 engaged in the discussion about the opening of TBIT by posting likes, comments, and shares, both on LAX’s Facebook page and on other Facebook pages. During the three-day campaign, approximately 3.1% of the people who viewed these three posts responded to the content. Although average engagement rates vary over time, an engagement rate above 1.0% is generally considered a good value, based on available social media marketing data. It is also important to note that the cost of this three-day campaign was minimal; an estimated $2,000 or a unit cost of 2 cents per view. Twitter KPIs Twitter performance indicators provide another measure to estimate the value of social media cam- paigns. As summarized here, the reach on Twitter, in terms of 9.7 million potential impressions, is greater than Facebook alone and demonstrates that the use of multiple social media platforms can enhance the effectiveness of a social media campaign. • Twitter activity at LAX Twitter page (@LAX_Official) during and after the TBIT opening – 133 mentions – 75 re-tweets – 42 favorites. • Twitter activity 24 hours after TBIT opening – 81 new followers – 1,499 tweets with #FlyLAXIntl, #NewTBIT, #LAX, “Tom Bradley” – 9.7 million potential impressions. Instagram KPIs Instagram performance indicators included posts of photos and videos of the new TBIT opening, including a video of the ribbon cutting ceremony using an A30 aircraft and photos of the new conces- sions. New posts related to the new terminal opening included 26 posts at #FlyLAXIntl, 43 posts at #NewTBIT, and 32 posts at #TBIT. Operation Golf Balls On August 21, 2012, Eugene Airport (EUG) launched “Operation Golf Balls,” a campaign with the primary marketing and business objective of announcing new nonstop service from Eugene, Oregon, to Palm Springs, California. The creative element of the campaign included placing 2,000 golf balls, including the winning orange ball, on tees in four separate locations in Eugene and neighboring Springfield. After the golf balls were placed, four clues were posted on Facebook between 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., with an announcement of the winner posted by 1:00 p.m. The campaign was con- ducted exclusively on social media; no information was posted at the Airport’s website. Although EUG’s campaign was conducted in a four-hour window, six posts on Facebook together generated 6,685 views (people reached), as shown on Table 6. On average, more than 1,100 people were reached on Facebook with each post, or 32% of EUG’s total Facebook fans (3,500). Of the 6,685 people reached, 79 engaged in the discussion about Operation Golf Balls by posting likes, comments, and shares on EUG’s Facebook page. During the four-hour window, approximately 1.2% of the people who viewed the six posts responded to the content. Although average engagement rates vary over time, an engagement rate above 1.0% is generally considered a good value, based on available social media marketing data. Overview of Selected Social Media Campaigns Table 7 summarizes the marketing and business objectives and KPIs for selected social media campaigns.

18 Facebook Key Performance Indicators Clues Winning Golf Ball Photo of Winner Total (6 posts) Ferry Street Bridge Ford Center Springfield Laurelwood Golf Course Reach People reached on EUG’s Facebook page (no. of views) 1,059 999 1,155 1,115 934 1,423 6,685 Engagement EUG’s Facebook page and posts Likes 5 4 5 7 4 27 52 Comments 4 6 6 -- 1 9 26 Shares -- -- -- -- -- 1 1 Total engaged 9 10 11 7 5 37 79 Percent Engaged on Facebook (total engaged/total views) 0.8% 1.0% 1.0% 0.6% 0.5% 2.6% 1.2% Source: Eugene Airport. TABLE 6 FACEBOOK KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR OPERATION GOLF BALLS EUGENE AIRPORT Airport/Social Media Campaign Marketing and Business Objective(s) Key Performance Indicator(s) Akron–Canton Airport LUV Lands at CAK To educate and excite fans and friends of CAK about new Southwest service and to welcome Southwest • 7,200 contest entries (the most ever for an airport-sponsored contest) • 359 new likes to CAK’s Facebook page Charleston Yeager Airport Sharing Unique Aircraft Sightings To share interesting content that fosters engagement with and by their fans • High customer engagement • Despicable Me blimp sighting with a one day total of 1,410 likes, 108 comments, and 590 shares Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport Check-in for Deals To increase the number of passengers visiting the airport’s concessionaires and promote nonairline revenue • 8,000 “check-ins” on Foursquare and Facebook places • 3,628 impressions on DFW’s Facebook page • 17,919 mentions and re-tweets on Twitter Edmonton International Airport jetSet Parking To increase EIA’s total parking market share by transitioning parkers from independent lots through low price leadership, proximity to the airport, and a wide service offering • jetSet’s Jackpot promotion received 748 bookings in under 14 hours • After jetSet’s JackPot was implemented on September 30, online reservations increased exponentially over the Jan-Sept monthly booking average Tucson International Airport Name the Tucson Traveler To increase Facebook followers and e-mail opt-in subscribers through an engaging naming contest • 13% increase in Facebook fan base (more than double the 2012 average monthly growth) • 3% increase in e-mail subscriber base Sources: Individual airports and social media pages. TABLE 7 OVERVIEW OF SELECTED SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS