Qantas Social Media

Introduction
This report will consider the social media usage of two airlines: Qantas and Regional Express. This will include target audience, tactics, influence and mentions, content, tone, and crisis response. The report will show that Qantas has an effective and cohesive social media strategy. In contrast, considering its footprint in regional markets, Regional Express’ social media usage appears ad hoc, inconsistent, and inadequate. In a crisis scenario, both organisations need to improve their responses through social media channels. Recommendations for strategies to improve social media execution will also be discussed.
Target Audience
• Qantas markets itself as a premium brand ‘targeted at business and premium leisure customers who value the full service

• In 2011, Qantas grounded its entire fleet in response to ongoing industrial disputes, stranding customers both domestically and worldwide (ABC 2011). In the days after, Qantas was criticised for its corporate, impersonal and ‘wooden’ social media announcements and responses that were perceived to lack empathy (Moses 2011). Social media analytics showed Qantas had received over 37,000 negative social media mentions, resulting in the company changing tact by personalising their responses through Twitter and using more emotional appeals (Burrowes 2017).
• In March 2017, a Regional Express flight to Sydney was forced to make an emergency landing after one of its propellers detached mid-flight (Sturmer 2017). Furthermore, a further five planes were grounded after subsequent investigations (Coote 2017). The company’s response over social media was minimal – three impassive updates were tweeted linking back to media releases from 19 to 22 March (Regional Express