It is no secret that digital marketing is fast making its way to being the most preferred and effective marketing approach worldwide and this calls for airlines to adapt.

Integrating digital trends to current airline marketing will not only give the airline a competitive edge but will also ensure that the airline is top of mind when a passenger is faced with a flight purchasing decision.

Here are the top five digital trends that airlines should consider:

1. Affiliate marketing

Influencer marketing is a great way to reach a wider audience and build awareness. Airlines can use this approach to introduce new products or simply increase sales of an existing product.

This would involve getting influencers to document their journey on social media using features such as video, images and live video streaming. These will, in turn, increase your brand’s exposure and persuade consumers to use that airline.

This can be coupled with shoppable posts that entice customers to purchase a flight ticket or even holiday packages sold by the airline.

2. User-generated content

Passengers can often be amazing storytellers through the pictures they take of their travel experiences. This can be leveraged by building a strong slogan or hashtag that users can make use of when posting their pictures, consequently encouraging organic word of mouth marketing for the airline.

These posts can include pictures or videos of:
  • passengers ordinarily capturing their memorable flight experiences
  • their first flight
  • going on holiday with friends
  • going on honeymoon, or
  • going on vacation as a family.
The airline can then reshare the special moments posted by passengers to show them that they are valued and appreciated. In addition, this authentic approach will automatically associate the brand with special moments and will have passengers thinking of the airline at the need recognition of their buying process.

3. Conversational messaging

Consumers have become more tech-savvy, with efficiency and convenience being at the top of their list when it comes to customer service shopping experiences. This calls for airlines to rethink the ways in which they engage with their consumers and employ new ways of serving their target audience.

One way of achieving this is by enabling a 'request for flight suggestions via DM' on social media. This allows passengers to request flight recommendations based on their desired travel times, destination and price.

The recommendation, which would be generated by a chatbot, would then include a click to weblink directing users to the confirmation and payment landing page, encouraging conversions through sales.

4.Co-branding

During the lockdown, brands around the world are seen innovating and finding ways to deliver efficient and convenient service to consumers. Airlines can employ this approach by co-branding with related brands to improve their customers' experience.

This would involve partnering up with other related services to improve their current service offering, like cab services, which can offer discounts to customers using the specific airline they have partnered with.

This can be further developed by allowing passengers to sync their airline app with the cab service app, so that their cab is automatically scheduled according to their flight times.

5. Passenger ratings

Interacting with passengers is a great way for airlines to determine their brand positioning. Airlines can implement this by engaging more with their customers through interactive posts, such as post engagement ads or polls that encourage users to post reviews and suggest areas of improvement.

Moreover, airlines should get passengers to rate the service received after every flight to determine their brand equity and perception through flight experiences.

This can be achieved through personalised emails or texts encouraging users to give the airline a 'thumbs up or a thumbs down' on social media platforms, while simultaneously encouraging them to follow the airline's page to grow the brand's online community.

To encourage participation in these surveys, a loyalty programme rewarding passengers with points for rating the airline's service can be put in place, where passengers can redeem the points for discounts when paying for flights and accommodation.

Improving on these touchpoints and finding ways to add value at each point will strengthen passenger engagement and build unwavering brand love and loyalty.

Integrating digital marketing in your travel business will not only give you a strong competitive advantage but it will also allow you to increase sales post the national lockdown and enable you to expand your market share in the travel industry.

For more information, visit www.arcinteractive.co or contact hello@arcinteractive.co. You can also follow Arc Interactive on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.