Airports Take Off On Twitter

A few airports have found a niche in keeping their travelers engaged through Pinterest, which acts as “a virtual pin board” to post or “repin” images found elsewhere on the Web. San Diego Airport uses Pinterest to “repin” travel-related images for followers to view, some of which include: “Travel Books and Inspiration,” “Places We Wish We Flew To,” “Travel Tips,” and “Travel in Style” to name a few. Incorporating visual diaries like Instagram or Pinterest are on the increase.

When considering whether your airport wants or should have a Twitter account or a more indepth social media presence, it’s useful to audit how other airports are using Twitter and other social media. But due diligence is essential and clear goals on what you want your Twitter account and tweets to accomplish should be established.

Just as with any marketing effort, a well-developed strategy is essential to manage the effort and the investment. Sometimes that can be done internally, but other times it may be best to hire professionals to help with setup and management.

It is clear that as consumer requirements for real-time information seeking continues to increase, successful airports can look at how best to meet their expanding communication needs and take advantage of the new opportunities.

About the author

Agnes Huff, PhD, has more than 25 years of experience providing specialized strategic public relations, marketing, crisis management, and business consulting to a diverse group of clients in the aviation industry. In 1995, she founded Agnes Huff Communications Group (AHCG), an integrated marketing and PR consulting firm headquartered in Los Angeles. Clients include national and international airports and airlines, government entities, travel and tourism organizations, and transportation companies, among other high-profile industry clients.She welcomes feedback and will respond to comments at ahuff@ahuffgroup.com. More information on AHCG is available at www.ahuffgroup.com.