Engaging and Managing Online Communities at Qantas Airline - Report Example

Name Unit Title Introduction QANTAS Airways limited is the Australian flag carrier airline. The airline was founded in 1920 and has become the largest airline in Australia and started their international flights in 1935. The airline has their headquarters in Winton, Queensland. The airline has invested in technology throughout their operations with their aircrafts installed with entertainment options. The investment in technology shows the commitment that the airline has in the changing technology. In 2010, Qantas through their Qantas Frequent Flyer announced that they would start using the social media to connect with the customers. This was in bid to learn about the reactions of the consumers on in engaging with the aircraft though online communication. The airline partnered with communispace who were supposed to help in building a platform which the participants were to be by invite only. The company aimed at getting the customers response on the issues which influence them to be engaged online. This strategy helped the company build a strong public media engagement platform (Communispace, 2009). This report will look at the way Qantas Airline engage and manage online communities and how this relates to the public. The report will then compares and contrast Qantas Airline with Virgin Australia on engaging and managing online communities. Engaging and managing online communities Qantas Airline have been able to give the public a voice in their operations though online engagement. The company has been able to gain reputation as one of the world leading airlines participating in long distance airline. The company customer’s service, reliability and safety have also been cited as excellent. Due to rising competition and evolving communication platforms through technology, Qantas Airlines have started an engagement with customers online. This was also due to fact that most of the consumers in the market interact with the brand online (Communispace, 2009). The initiative to engage with the public online had three main objectives. The initiative was supposed to give the public a louder voice which would lead to influencers being able to advertise the brand. There was also a chance that the company would be able to optimize their marketing strategy that would enable them to reach the consumers who prefers social media for engagement (Ruth & Joseph, 2000). The initiative was also supposed to check on the email responses that the customers would drop on the system. The system that was developed collected the public data which consisted of language, age and the type of membership that the customer was. This was meant to enable them learn on what the public expected of them on their online community (Communispace, 2009). In a period of one year, the airline had received more than 13,000 responses on the discussions. This enabled the company to make a strategy on how to reach the customers more easily. Through this, the airline was able to learn that using an intimate community online would help them a lot in sharing ideas. The group had been able to contribute more than three times of what the facebook group which was much larger was contributing. Following the discovery, Qantas airline started to adjust their social media presence. This made the company online engagement to be more effective and conversational (Communispace, 2009). Qantas have been able to make sure that any social media effort has been fully resourced. This is due to fact that the public is more intent in making a closed loop discussion (Van der Merwe, Pitt & Abratt, 2005). The customers’ issues have to be dealt with fast to avoid such situations. This means that the there must be a management team that have to deal with the customers complaints. At Qantas, the complaints of the customers are dealt with in a fast manner through their complaint management procedures. Once a complaint is received through their social media, the complaint management team responds to it and looks at its authenticity. This is followed by solving the issues immediately and on time (Communispace, 2009). The online community at Qantas is managed in such a way that they feel special. This leads to the members becoming attracted to the community and more contribution. In the online community, there is a need to understand that the members comes from different backgrounds and diverse cultures (Wickham, 2006). The group consists of high class individuals as well as students and parents. To make them engage to each other and feel special is a task that requires involving of discussions that will lead to vibrancy and also strengthen the community ties. At the beginning, Qantas had to look for the common trends between the online members. This was followed by engaging the members in a community building activities which created a bond between them (Alfonso & de Valbuena Miguel, 2006). Qantas airline community engages each other through offering advice on trips and sharing important information as well as travel photos (Communispace, 2009). For the online community to be active, they need to have a reason which brings them together (Jenny & Diane, 2003). Qantas airlines manage to make the public have a reason to be part of the community and participate in discussions. This was done by making the members have a sense of security and a community purpose. The online community has to be satisfied with the community objective (Porter & Sallot, 2003). For Qantas airlines, the group has well defined objectives and the participants feel the urge to participate in the discussion. The management of the online community that is practiced by Qantas has led to the group being lively. For the online group to be successful, there is a need for cooperation between all involved (Seltzer & Mitrook, 2007). The entire group that is under Qantas who includes the Jet Star is viewed as a single group under the online community. The Qantas management team on the online activities made this a must to ensure that there was a fast and efficient community that included all the members of the group. Qantas created a group to manage the online community. The group which is referred to as the Qantas Digital Working Group is composed of all the groups under Qantas airlines. The group is tasked with ensuring that the online community is managed to the best standards and the responses to the queries are given immediately (Communispace, 2009). To manage the online community, there is need to know the social sites which they favor, the type of content they like and the way they like to interact. This will enable the company to structure a platform that will be active. Failure to recognize the needs of the customers online can lead to disastrous results (Jo & Jung, 2005). This is how Qantas airlines were able to establish their online community and engage them in discussions. Online community management involves all the stakeholders in the community to support the research and the company to invest in the required interactive infrastructure (Ana, 2011). This is well demonstrated by Qantas airlines. The company has also utilized other special media platforms to engage the public. This involves the use of facebook, twitter, blogs and instagram which enables them to be closer to their customers. The social media use in the company to engage the public have been utilized fully (Communispace, 2009). The public relations of the company have improved through the positive benefits of the social media (Galushkin, 2003). Twitter and other social media platforms have become important assets in the airline communications. Relating the focus to a particular public Internet has created a global village in which the public can give their voice any time and at any point in the world (Rowena, 2011). The internet has the capability to support a true democracy if internet is provided to all the public (Hiebert, 2005). The public has benefited by accessing the airline information with transparency and on time. Online communication has been voted to be the best channel that public relations should utilize in disseminating their information (Galloway, 2005). The public have benefited from direct communication with the airline. Public relationship involves managing the relations between an organization and the public (Sarah, 2011). This implies that the initiative by the airline to develop an interactive community was able to strengthen the relationship the public had with the airline. The creation of the group helped in boosting the public trust with the airline (David Phillips, 2006). The involvement of the public through the social media helped in enhancing the strength of the public in the management of Qantas airlines. The public were able to voice their concerns and views more easily. It’s important to note that the public has the power to voice their concerns which in sometimes are aimed to express their discomfort (Heider, 2006). For example, after a massive strike in Qantas Airlines which led to grounding of their entire flight, the twitter debate attacked the airline management. The company had tried to engage the customers positively in a debate after the strike. This turned to be a bad experience for the airline that had to face the frustrations messages as the customers claimed to have been failed by the airline. The backlash showed how the social media have been able to empower the public (Deuze, 2006). Comparing and contrasting with Virgin Australia Similarities Qantas Airlines have been able to gain popularity of its use of social media platforms in engaging the public. This trend has also been followed by Virgin Australia. Comparing the two companies, they have both used several platforms to engage the public. The platforms used by both companies are Twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Flicker and Blogs. The platforms have been used to collect the public views, suggestions and complaints. Through the social platforms, the two airlines are able to respond to the public in a timely manner (Virgin Australia Airlines, 2014). The social media presence of both companies is used to help the public to stay in touch with the company staff. There is direct communication between the staff and public in social media services that are offered by the two companies (Communispace, 2009). Another similarity is the fact that both companies have departments that deals with social media. The airlines companies manage the social media departments professionally using individuals who are well versed with technology. The groups are active and ensure that they engage the public in a manner that does not cause conflict (Virgin Australia Airlines, 2014). Contrasts For Qantas airline, their social media presence has been more vigorous as compared to Virgin Australia (Communispace, 2009). The company initiated their research before they embarked on social media platforms making them more oriented towards satisfying their customers by giving them what they need. This has been illustrated by the fact that Qantas Airlines engaged communispace before they launched their social platform (Virgin Australia Airlines, 2014). Another contrast that exists is that Qantas have utilized a private online community to communicate with their customers. This is in contrast to Virgin Australia who has utilized the public social sites for their communication. Qantas Frequent Flyer is a private community on the Qantas airline that has effectively helped the airline to communicate with the customers. The community is by invite only hence making it to have only the active customers of the airline (Communispace, 2009). This group has proved to be more effective for communication between the airline and the public. According to the survey, the group was able to give three times the responses as opposed to face book though it had fewer members. Virgin Australia mostly relies on the public social websites to engage their customers. Though the method has been successful, it cannot be compared to the success that has been achieved by Qantas airlines community (Dewdney & Ride, 2006). Conclusion Qantas airlines have been able to successfully utilize social media in engaging the public. This is through creation of their online community which is Qantas frequent Flyer. The airlines customers are able to express their views and complain to the company. The company also utilizes other social media platforms such as Twitter, facebook and instagram to engage the public. Over the years, Qantas airlines have been able to use the online platforms to satisfy their customers. Its through use of digital media that the company is able to gain insight of what the customers are proposing as well as their views on services offered. Compared to Virgin Australia, both companies have managed to engage the public appropriately through social media. The major contrasts where Qantas airlines prefer to use the private community more than the public social sites as opposed to Virgin Australia. Qantas have also been more successful in their social media usage. This report shows that using the social media appropriately, an organization can manage the public and improve their relationship. References Alfonso, G.-H., & de Valbuena Miguel, R. (2006). Trends in online media relations: Web-based corporate press rooms in leading international companies. Public Relations Review. 32, (1), pp.267-275. DOI 10.1016/j.pubrev.2006.05.003 Ana Tkalac Verčič, (2011). Digital natives and social media, Public Relations Review, 39(5), pp.600-602. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.12.004 Communispace (2009). Communistudy. Social Media Engagement Takes Flight At Qantas. Pyrmont NSW 2009-Sydney: Australia. Retrieved from http://www.communispace.com/uploadedfiles/clients_section/clients/case_studies/casestudy_qantas_aus.pdf David Phillips, (2006). Towards relationship management: Public relations at the core of organizational development, Journal of Communication Management, 10(2), pp.211-226. DOI: 10.1108/13632540610664751 Dewdney, A. & Ride, P. (2006). The New Media Handbook. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 0415307112, 9780415307116 Deuze, M. (2006). Global Journalism Education. Journalism Studies, 7(1), pp. 19-34. DOI: 10.1080/14616700500450293 Galloway, C. (2005). Cyber-PR and ‘dynamic touch’, Public Relations Review, 31, pp. 572-577. DOI:10.1016/j.pubrev.2005.08.018 Galushkin, I. (2003). Text messages: a potentially rich medium in distributed organizations. Prism Online PR Journal 1 (1), 123-144. Heider, D. (2006). Editorial. Journalism and Mass Communication. Educator, 61(1), 330. Hiebert, R. (2005). Commentary: new technologies, public relations, and democracy, Public Relations Review. 31(1), 1-9. DOI:10.1016/j.pubrev.2004.11.001 Jenny P. & Diane M. K. (2003). Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Publishers, pp.596-620. ISBN:0-8058-3838-4 Jo, S. & Jung, J., (2005). A cross-cultural study of the world wide web and public relations. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 10, 24-40. DOI: 10.1108/13563280510578187 Porter, L. & Sallot, L. (2003). The Internet and public relations: Investigating practitioners’ roles and World Wide Web use. Journalism and Mass Communications Quarterly. 80, pp. 603-622. doi: 10.1177/107769900308000308 Rowena L. Briones, (2011). Keeping up with the digital age: How the American Red Cross uses social media to build relationships, Public Relations Review, 37(1), pp.37-43. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.12.006 Ruth L. Williams & Joseph Cothrel, (2000). Four smart ways to run online communities, Sloan Management Review, 10(3), 20 - 24. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2004.tb00229.x Sarah S., (2011). Unlocking Social Media for PR, PR Newswire Association LLC. Seltzer, T., & Mitrook, M. (2007). The dialogic potential of weblogs in relationship building. Public Relations Review. 33, 227-229. Van der Merwe, R., Pitt, L. & Abratt, R. (2005). Stakeholder Strength: PR Survival Strategies in the Internet age. Public Relations Quarterly. 50, 29-39. Virgin Australia Airlines, (2014). Social Media, Our Guidelines, Viewed 12 May 2014, http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/about-us/social-media/guidelines/ Wickham, K. (2006). Online journalism/reporting and producing for digital media. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator. 61, 90-93. Read More

This is due to fact that the public is more intent in making a closed loop discussion (Van der Merwe, Pitt & Abratt, 2005). The customers’ issues have to be dealt with fast to avoid such situations. This means that the there must be a management team that have to deal with the customers complaints. At Qantas, the complaints of the customers are dealt with in a fast manner through their complaint management procedures. Once a complaint is received through their social media, the complaint management team responds to it and looks at its authenticity.

This is followed by solving the issues immediately and on time (Communispace, 2009). The online community at Qantas is managed in such a way that they feel special. This leads to the members becoming attracted to the community and more contribution. In the online community, there is a need to understand that the members comes from different backgrounds and diverse cultures (Wickham, 2006). The group consists of high class individuals as well as students and parents. To make them engage to each other and feel special is a task that requires involving of discussions that will lead to vibrancy and also strengthen the community ties.

At the beginning, Qantas had to look for the common trends between the online members. This was followed by engaging the members in a community building activities which created a bond between them (Alfonso & de Valbuena Miguel, 2006). Qantas airline community engages each other through offering advice on trips and sharing important information as well as travel photos (Communispace, 2009). For the online community to be active, they need to have a reason which brings them together (Jenny & Diane, 2003).

Qantas airlines manage to make the public have a reason to be part of the community and participate in discussions. This was done by making the members have a sense of security and a community purpose. The online community has to be satisfied with the community objective (Porter & Sallot, 2003). For Qantas airlines, the group has well defined objectives and the participants feel the urge to participate in the discussion. The management of the online community that is practiced by Qantas has led to the group being lively.

For the online group to be successful, there is a need for cooperation between all involved (Seltzer & Mitrook, 2007). The entire group that is under Qantas who includes the Jet Star is viewed as a single group under the online community. The Qantas management team on the online activities made this a must to ensure that there was a fast and efficient community that included all the members of the group. Qantas created a group to manage the online community. The group which is referred to as the Qantas Digital Working Group is composed of all the groups under Qantas airlines.

The group is tasked with ensuring that the online community is managed to the best standards and the responses to the queries are given immediately (Communispace, 2009). To manage the online community, there is need to know the social sites which they favor, the type of content they like and the way they like to interact. This will enable the company to structure a platform that will be active. Failure to recognize the needs of the customers online can lead to disastrous results (Jo & Jung, 2005).

This is how Qantas airlines were able to establish their online community and engage them in discussions. Online community management involves all the stakeholders in the community to support the research and the company to invest in the required interactive infrastructure (Ana, 2011). This is well demonstrated by Qantas airlines. The company has also utilized other special media platforms to engage the public. This involves the use of facebook, twitter, blogs and instagram which enables them to be closer to their customers.

The social media use in the company to engage the public have been utilized fully (Communispace, 2009). The public relations of the company have improved through the positive benefits of the social media (Galushkin, 2003).

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