A lot has changed in the 15 years since airlines first started marketing themselves on social media.
While some carriers will put up photos of destinations they fly to every once in a while and call it a day, others have become known for their innovative and creative social media strategies. European low-cost carrier Ryanair (RYAOF) , in particular, has managed to enchant a younger generation with posts that are both self-deprecating and make fun of difficult passengers.
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“Ryanair passenger core: bag that exceeds all the allowed dimensions,” the airline wrote in an Oct. 9 Instagram (META) post about its more restrictive baggage policy.
This is how this airline earned its spot as the world’s most-followed
While Ryanair has 1.5 million followers on Instagram and 2.4 million on TikTok, the airline with the biggest social media presence is actually luxury-focused Qatar Airways. The title was granted by Indian aviation news site Aviation A2Z after crunching follower numbers across different social media platforms.
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Boasting over 47 million social media followers across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, the “most followed” title recognized the leadership of longtime CEO Akbar El Baker (in November 2023, Badr Mohammed Al-Meer was appointed as the new CEO after El Baker’s retirement.)
While the airline puts up photos of videos of its aircraft (often Boeing 777 (BA) and Airbus A380 (EADSF) ) and pretty shots of its home base in Doha, a lot of its social media success came from digital campaigns around events like the FIFA World Cup and its delivery of medical materials during the COVID-19 outbreak.
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The value of directly reaching customers cannot be overstated
Despite the social platform's declining use in many countries, Meta’s Facebook is by far Qatar Airways’ most popular social media platform with over 30 million followers — a jump from the 20 million it recorded in 2020.
“The fact that we have grown by four million followers during the pandemic speaks for the credibility and resilience of our airline,” Qatar Airways senior vice president of marking and corporate communications Salam Al Shawa said in a statement. “The importance of social media to Qatar Airways as a way to directly reach our passengers cannot be overstated as we keep aiming to create quality content while actively engaging with our followers in a way they can relate.”
Airlines that came in close behind Qatar Airways in terms of followers include Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia, Singapore Airlines (SINGF) and Australia’s Qantas Airways (QUBSF) . All follow similar strategies of offering behind-the-scenes peeks into its planes and stunning photography of destinations it serves.
When it comes to North American and European airlines, Ryanair leads the way by far when it comes to the most explosive social media growth over the last five years.
“We hired a group of kids under the age of 25 and sent them forth and said ‘Look, write whatever you want on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,’” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said in a recent interview with aviation site Skift. “I don’t understand TikTok, don’t follow it, never gone on it. To me, it is mindless rubbish but millions of people around the world follow Ryanair’s account."
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