The Tulip and the Maple Leaf

As nations with a historical kinship, it’s fitting that the social media of these two national airlines (KLM and Air Canada) have so much in common – posts of lovely vacation spots, pictures of planes, and hundreds of comments from irate customers wondering where their luggage is. Both are happy to promote contests and general awareness of their brands, and both are tactical about publicly engaging their customers. While both airlines ably manage their social media, it’s best to consider their collective (and respective) strengths and weaknesses:

• Lack of integration in their social media
• Brand Voice
• Generating Interest

Communication Integration

If Air Canada and KLM both lack for something in their handling of social media, it’s a lack of integration. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for both companies are devoid of cross-promotion and some effort to synergize their social media. In the case of Air Canada, their Instagram ran an effective contest for posting loved ones consumers wanted to see over the holidays, but not even a mention of it appeared on their Twitter or Facebook. KLM and Air Canada alike tend to repost content from one social media outlet to another, but actual promotions suffer a conspicuous absence of cross-promotion across social media accounts. While Air Canada’s individual social media accounts tend to engage their customers more directly, albeit without integration, there is a reason (and a price) for this.

Voice of the Nation

Air Canada’s tone and the presentation of its brand on social media seems to begin with the second word in its very name. Unlike KLM which comments on the higher-profile goings on of the Netherlands, Air Canada is happy to congratulate every Canadian athlete’s achievement, post vistas of the sprawling True North, and even sports the hashtag #flytheflag. The laser focus on Canadian customers comes with campaigns and promotions targeted at various regions in Canada, and the appeal to patriotism is present in nearly all of Air Canada’s social media activity. KLM’s more international presentation, focusing more on mascots, company colours, and planes in general, is professionally presented but attempts to inspire loyalty to a brand, rather than riding the coattails of loyalty to a country. Underhanded, but undeniably more reliable.

Interest: Advantage Ottawa

Ultimately, where the Air Canada’s social media triumphs over that of KLM’s is in its engagement of the interest of its consumers on a more personal level – not merely in customer support over social media which both airlines provide, but in contests and promotions that target the communities and locales of their consumers. KLM had no equivalent to Air Canada’s Hospital Transportation Program, a charity that acted as an effective counterweight to the otherwise ever-present negativity of commenters asking where their luggage was. While KLM might be a more internationally successful and perhaps overall more effective airline service, it could learn a thing or two from Air Canada in seizing the attention of its consumers on social media.