Founded in the year 1996, WestJet is the second-largest airline organization in Canada. The company started as a more affordable alternative to Canadian’s large airline businesses. WestJet’s business model was centered around cost-effectiveness and distinctive organizational culture of care. Having started with only three aircraft that flew to and from five destinations, WestJet, over time, expanded its operations from the western parts of Canada to operating customers anywhere in the country. The expansion furthered into the US, and by early 2010s saw the company covering islands in Europe and the Southern hemisphere. Like a y other organization that wants to survive and thrive in the modern highly volatile business environment, WestJet must keep updating and adapting its marketing strategy to continue attracting, winning, and retaining customers. Among the critical components of such a strategy is social media marketing, which WestJet delved into in 2008. This report discusses and analyzes the evolving social media efforts of WestJet Airlines.
- How has WestJet’s social media efforts evolved and assisted with being a corporate voice and customer relations platform?
The entry of WestJet into the social media world started in the year 2008. This entry came about as a result of an employee of the company created a Twitter account to communicate with the company’s existing customers about the sales of seats. In the year 2009, WestJet assumed the control of the Twitter account and went ahead to create a Facebook account, upon realizing the capabilities of social media. This resolve yielded the company unanticipated but welcomed benefits. Towards the end of the year 2009, WestJet migrated to a new core system of IT reservation that failed miserably. This eventuality resulted in customer relations troubles that caused both potential and existing customers undue delays. The customers reached out to the company through social media to express and have their issues resolved in real-time. Thus, social media is an essential customer service tool at WestJet.
While the initial intention of social media and its usage was to avoid and confront crisis at WestJet, the company resolved to embrace the power bestowed to the different social media platforms to communicate to potential and existing customers, and consequently maximize reach. By 2015, social media was part and parcel of WestJet’s corporate voice through six platforms; YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Periscope, and WestJet blog, Twitter, and Facebook. The company’s social media strategy circumscribes customer service, brand engagement, and revenue support. The social media concerned with customer service is founded on the minimization of response periods for all questions, comments, and issues that the customers may have. Brand engagement is facilitated by bringing awareness of the brand’s caring culture to both potential and existing customers. Revenue support is seen through my social media campaigns to sell seats. These have seen WestJet being recognized as a winner in the use of social media through the bagging of awards in Best Customer Service in the year 203, Best Viral Campaign in the year 2014, Best Activity Generating Brand Volume in the year 2014, Best Activity Generating Brand Awareness in the year 2014, and the Best Use of Social Media in the year 2014.
- Should Bardem and Hounslow opt to launch WestJet channels on Snapchat or Pinterest? NOTE: Research each platform and determine how well each could serve WestJet’s corporate voice and be consistent with its current branding
The decision as to whether Bartem and Hounslow should choose Snapchat or Pinterest to launch WestJet channels is determined by various factors such as popularity, user base, and demographics. According to eMarketer (2020), Snapchat was Surpassed by Pinterest as the third largest social media platform in the year 2019, in the US. It is estimated that Pinterest will continue to lead the way for Snapchat in the foreseeable future. In 2018, Pinterest was edged by Snapchat, which had 75.8 million users as compared to 75.5 million for Pinterest. These numbers prevailed despite Snapchat losing users as a result of a significant change in design. In 2019, Snapchat rebounded with a hefty 80.2 million users following the rolling out of a successful Android application, and the introduction of fresh virtual reality filters. However, in the same year, Pinterest edged it with 82.4 million users, following a successful IPO in April. Recording growth of 9.1% in the year 2019, Pinterest made strides to achieve 86.0 million users in the year 2020 compared with 83.1 million users on Snapchat. The gap between the user bases of the two platforms is estimated to keep growing up to the end of eMarketer’s forecasting period in the year 2023.
The audience at Snapchat is young, whereas that of Pinterest is more interested in more universal appeal, something that has enabled its making of significant gains in multiple age groups. The representation of users on Pinterest is more even across all age groups and as a percentage of the aggregate population. On the other hand, users of Snapchat are more from the younger age brackets. It is estimated that the users of Pinterest will constitute 41.1% of all social network users in the US in the year 2020, as compared to 39.7% from Snapchat. Going by this metric, Snapchat is expected to stagnate in the year 2021, while Pinterest will grow. It is recommended that Richard Bartrem and Greg Hounslow consider Pinterest for WestJet’s social media strategy as it would best fit the company both in the short and long run.
- Research and describe one interesting new social media platform that is on the horizon (less than two years old). Should WestJet be actively exploring new arrivals like this new service or waiting until a platform is accessible and proven before investing in it?
New and exciting social media platforms keep on getting developed and launched every other year. One such platform that might interest WestJet is Lasso, a subsidiary of Facebook. Launched in the year 2018, Lasso has recorded over 70,000 downloads in the US. As a direct competitor of TikTok, Lasso can be used to make and post short videos and music overlays, with filters. Lasso may be getting started but bear massive potential by its mere association with Facebook, meaning it could benefit from the user base, financing, and technological resources of Facebook. With no detailed demographics, yet, and with a small user base, Lasso maybe Facebook’s attempt to appeal to the younger audiences such as Gen Z and even millennials, and people who are interested in creative and visual fields such as entertainment, fashion, and publishing. WestJet, just like any other organization that seeks to thrive in the modern business environment, must be on the lookout for platforms such as Lasso but it would be advisable to carefully consider the opportune time to invest in them so as to reap maximum benefits.
- What best fits WestJet’s short and long term social media goals? What are the criteria for success?
A blend of all the six social media platforms (YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Periscope, and WestJet blog, Twitter, and Facebook), and the incorporation of Pinterest is ideal for WestJet’s short and long term goals. The criteria for success are a timeframe to meet specified business goals through social media, specific numbers (sales) that need to be met by the end of the specified timeframe, and setting of measurable goals.
- What decision option best fits WestJet’s decision criteria and can be sustainable in the short and long term within the economic constraints provided in the case?
The decision option that best fits the decision criteria for WestJet and one that the company can sustain in both the short and the long term of its business and within the prevailing economic constraints is seamlessly incorporating Pinterest into the social media strategy. To add value to the strategy using Pinterest., the company must create captivating content. On Pinterest, visuals make a whole lot of difference – design pins that deliver all fronts, including vertical imagery, text overlay, descriptive copy, good storytelling, and tasteful branding. This should be complemented by consistency and pinning content that is right for the prevailing season. Further, WestJet should integrate the Pinterest strategy with the strategies of the other social media platforms to ensure uniformity and consistency, including making the seat purchasing process easy for pinners. To ensure that the company works within its budget limits, the existing content creators can be assigned extra duties to oversee the goals of Pinterest, obviously with effective training for the same.
- With a budget allowance of $0 CAD, will WestJet be able to build a serious presence on its selected new social media platforms while maintaining its existing ones? Serious can be defined as adding value to revenue generation, customer service, and brand engagement goals (i.e., through social media platform selection and the respective rollout plan, how can this strategy/adoption of a new platform pay for itself).
By using the existing staff to help the Pinterest strategy rolling and to see that it yields results, WestJet will operate on a $0 CAD budget, without interrupting the existing social media platforms. But, more value will be added because there will be more value from the overall social media strategy because of the additional sales, improved customer service, and more brand engagement on the Pinterest platform. A part of this added value can, over time, be set aside to cater to a team specially dedicated to Pinterest’s strategy.
Conclusion
In summary, the social media strategy of WestJet Airlines has continued to evolve over the years. Having been kick-started by an employee on the Twitter platform, the social media strategy of the company has expanded to the point of incorporating a seventh social media platform. The chosen platform will help the company to further push its social media agendas of enhancing customer service, supporting revenue, and improving brand engagement. There are two viable options (Snapchat and Pinterest) from which one platform will be chosen. Facts point to the reality that Pinterest is a giant under the company’s conditions and circumstances, as compared to Snapchat. Pinterest’s strategy is actionable without interference with the budget of the company.