Porter Gale

Be it for social media marketing or mobile web services, Virgin America is one organisation which stands out for its proactive approach.

The group believes being direct, transparent and getting information out quickly is paramount to communicating with users.

In order to evaluate how a travel company should embrace digital technologies, EyeforTravel’s Ritesh Gupta spoke to Virgin America’s vice-president marketing, Porter Gale. Excerpts:

Late last year, an executive from the airline Virgin Atlantic Airways told me: for brands, social media is primarily about test and learn at the moment. It is better for a brand to be in these spaces listening, engaging and responding than to underestimate the power of this platform as a new outlet for customers. At Virgin America, how do you assess the participation of brands or companies as far as these "conversations on the web" is concerned?

Porter Gale: At Virgin America, we’ve moved from just listening to actively engaging with our social media fans. A two-way dialogue, via social media, is beneficial on a number of levels. We’ve used the medium to discover and resolve guest service issues, to engage our loyal followers, to promote offers and special fares and more. We view our social media fans as an “advisory panel” and have even implemented their product suggestions.

Brands come across as more human in social spaces and consequently they can be more fallible, too, so it's vital that everyone within the organisation knows the guidelines. Airlines have had bitter experiences especially with their employees, too, voicing their opinions. How do you think companies can be clear on a framework for engagement in social spaces?

Porter Gale: We have a cross-functional social media team that consists of Corporate Communications and Marketing teammates. We have one primary point of contact reviewing all posts, but we take into consideration viewpoints and input from a variety of departments before answering some posts. For example, if a guest tweeted about a delay we may ask our Operations Team for additional information before responding.

We have also advised teammates that if they post comments in social media environments they should identify themselves as Virgin America employees.

It is acknowledged that the real benefit can be derived by aligning a company's social networking strategy with that of company's brand and then integrating social elements into the fabric of everything you do online. What do you think are the major challenges in doing the same?

Porter Gale: The major challenge of social media is the “real time, 24/7” nature of the medium. In addition, posts and messages can amplify and go viral very quickly. As a result, companies need to dedicate resources to monitor the space, develop content and consider the long-term strategies needed in maintain presence in a rapidly evolving space.

Do you think predicting user preferences is the biggest unsolved problem in online travel? How do you assess the integration of social search into online travel?

Porter Gale: Many online travelers are communicating user preferences by opting in to email lists, fan pages, twitter pages and more. As far as predicting user preferences, we feel being direct, transparent and getting information out quickly is paramount to communicating with users. It’s still up to the user to communicate needs rather than for us to guess their preferences. However, with social search some companies are data mining for keywords and route preferences or keeping dashboards to track comments and preferences. At present, we look more to our database for user preferences than to the social media landscape.

Do you think semantic search has a long way to go?

Porter Gale: We’re strong believers in semantic search and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Natural Search. There are constant advancements in this space and with any business strategy; the more you focus on it the better your results will be. With semantic search, it’s all about keywords, relevance and site optimisation. We’re focused on this space – but there is always room for improvement and site optimisation.

This year, we have already seen a couple of significant moves from Apple and Google towards mobile advertising. How do you foresee the impact on search and social media via mobile phones on the travel industry?

Porter Gale: As the mobile space because more competitive and defined, we feel there will be a shift and increase in social media usage and search on mobile devices.

In addition, companies like FourSquare that are maximising social gaming linking social gaming and GPS devices will change the space dramatically. In the near future, it’s possible that you may wave/scan your mobile devices with a person sitting next to and know how many “friends” you have in common.

Airline mobile web services have centered on making available flight schedules, fares, plus destination and airport information for all mobile phone users. How are travelers typically using airlines' mobile web services and what are transaction-related opportunities? What new trends have you witnessed in this arena?

Porter Gale: Travellers are using mobile web services to purchase, manage and check on their flights. However, at some airports, you can scan your boarding pass barcode from your mobile phone for gate access. Mobile phones will help us reach a paperless society when applications and infrastructure catch up to the existing technological advances.

Virgin America’s vice-president marketing, Porter Gale is scheduled to speak at the forthcoming Social Media Strategies for Travel USA 2010 Conference. The two-day conference will take place in San Francisco (March 24-25). For more information, click here: Social Media Strategies for Travel USA 2010 Conference

Gina Baillie
GM, EyeforTrave
+44 (0) 207 375 7197
Reuters Events (former EyeforTravel)

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