I had the pleasure of participating in a “Social Networking in Aviation” video panel last month at AOPA Summit in Long Beach, hosted by Rod Rakic of the MyTransponder aviation networking site. Others on the panel included Lynda Meeks of Girls With Wings and recent CFIs of the Year, Max Trescott and Jeffrey “MossY” Moss.
For those interested in social networking tips and perspectives from people actively engaged in using it, see the video here.
Hi Greg,
I saw this video from the AOPA 2010 summitt regarding social media and aviation and it really made me think about what REALLY needs to be done to create and effective social media campaign whether it is for your business, or, in my case, a succesful advocacy effort for the Prescott Municipal airport ( http://www.flyprescott.com ) .
Bottomline, regardless of technology, it takes alot of work and dedication. As “Greg Brown” the writer already knows, it takes alot of time reading and researching topics and materials for an audience. Moreover, people, and pilots, (pilots are people as it just so happens) are fickle and therefore the “denizens” are always looking for what’s new.
Why is this all so important is because social media is all about relevant content in order to get the discussion going. The days of placing an ad in the local paper or national magazine are coming to and end. The fact that AOPA just took a poll and found that over 75% of of all people acquire their aviation info from online coupled with the fact that AOPA Flight Training and AOPA Pilot are now viewable online tells us not to be in the paper business ~ clearly the AOPA is seeing that trend. Therefore, today its all about “PLAY to PLAY” which is the new paradigm of social media and internet marketing and not “Pay to Play” which is the legacy form or marketing and advertising.
I hear people toss around things like “My Twitter Account” and “My Facebook Page” without really knowing what it takes to make one of these tools work properly for them. Quite frankly, for me, my audience views more Facbook, Blogs and Electronic Newsletters, Twitter seems to be more of an afterthought unless you really know how to conduct a proper search on Twitter for the specific content your looking for. You better know your audience is the lesson here.
Moreover, people forget, Email is still one of the most powerful tools out there in terms of dissimenating important info and passing on links.
Then there’s the old saying, “If you can’t measure it, it doesn’t exist.” All these people out there talking about what they are doing to promote this or that, but never talking about how they are measuring it. For me, and alot others who are more hooked on the backend metrics than they are the front end social aspect of it, use Google Analytics to measure their ROI (Return on Investment) — Who is reading what, when and how. Such info helps you cut out the bad content and replace it with what people want to read and are reading. Combine that with some Pay Per click ads in Google and Facebook and you may just have an effort with some considerable traction.
Finally, and most importantly, is the human factor. If for example, you are attempting to promote a local airport or nonprofit cause, you had better do your homework and get your political ducks in a row. Nothing can substitue a phone call and a gesture of good will. You have to give both socially and politically if you want to create any sort of message and effort which soar and take on a life of its own.
Greg, you’re not only AZ’s best CFI and AOPA’s best columnist, but you’re one of Arizona’s biggest aviation advocates! Keep up the great work and you better call me next time you’re on approach to PRC!!
From Experience,
Guy Roginson, FlyPrescott
Web: http://www.flyprescott.com
Blog: http://www.flyprescott.blogspot.com