Expert address by Shashank Nigam, CEO of SimpliFlying.com, at the LCC World Americas Summit in Miami, FL on 30 June 2009. The presentation details why social media is important to LCCs and how they can use it immediately for customer service, sales and more.

1. LCC 2.0
How can LCCs leverage social media
to engage the customer?
Low Cost Airlines World Americas 2009
Miami, FL
June 30, 2009
Shashank Nigam
Founder & CEO, SimpliFlying
Global Head ‐ Brand Strategy, ACA Associates, Inc

3. Aviation :: Branding :: Technology
Practitioners
Singapore and NYC based

4. Key take aways...
P.S: Good news! This is the wordiest slide in this presentation...

5. Key take aways...
What is social media and why airlines need to embrace it?
3 myths about social media, debunked!
How are airlines around the world leveraging on social media?
3 steps to get started with social media in the next 3 weeks
Who will implement the strategies?
What are the risks involved in this approach?
Simply, how social media can help YOU fill more seats
P.S: Good news! This is the wordiest slide in this presentation...

6. READY?

7. What’s Web 2.0?
Community || Collaboration || Content || Co-Creation

8. 55%
of consumers want ongoing conversations
with companies and brands
89%
said they would feel more loyal to a brand
if they were invited to take part in a
feedback group

9. Of these 89%,

10. Of these 89%,
43% would like to see companies offering
customer service through social media

11. Of these 89%,
43% would like to see companies offering
customer service through social media
41% would like companies to solicit feedback

12. Of these 89%,
43% would like to see companies offering
customer service through social media
41% would like companies to solicit feedback
37% would like companies to provide new
ways to interact with the brand via social media

13. What does that mean for
the airline?

14. THE NEED TO BE PART OF THE
CONVERSATION

15. 3 MYTHS
about social media, debunked

16. Social media is free...
... free like a puppy

17. Social media is like a BBQ cookout...
... not a flea market

18. If I build it...
... they will come

19. How to do it?

20. Interaction without interruption

21. A community for common interests

22. A community for a specific target group

23. A community for potential customers

24. A community in another community

25. Co-Creation

26. Customer often knows best

27. In the end, it’s the involvement that matters

28. But first...
Airlines need a Personal!ty

30. Airline food, anyone?

31. Embracing the
accidental spokesperson

32. Empowering the common man

33. Empowering the common man

34. Empowering the employees

35. A Holistic Strategy?
Interaction without interruption
Co-creation
Having a personality

36. JetBlue Airways
blogging...

37. JetBlue Airways
on Twitter...

38. JetBlue Airways
on eBay...

39. Great ideas.
Now what?

40. $
The thing about ROI

41. Need not be just about money

42. To capture a specific market...
Go where the customer is.

43. It can be about engaging the employees

44. The key is to have a quantifiable measure of success beforehand

45. How to get started?

47. !"#$%&'
+&&,-&.%' (&)*)%'
3 steps to get started with social media in the next 3 weeks

48. One person/team, supported by Subject Matter Experts

49. 1. Give ownership to one person or team
2. It’s OK to start small, but do it well
3. It may require a long-term approach to succeed
4. Success metrics may be different from other efforts

50. Risks? What Risks?

51. How to tackle risks?
How to give up control?
Recognize - What can go wrong?
Prepare - To involve the community
Be Resilient - Bounce!

52. In Conclusion...

53. Airlines need to be a part of the
conversation about their brands...

54. Using the latest technology tools to
listen & engage allows...
Interaction without interruption
Co-creation
Building of a personality
Firm implementation

55. It’s not the strongest of the species that
survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the
one that is most adaptable to change.
Charles Darwin

56. Questions
Email: shashank@simpliflying.com
Twitter: @simpliflying