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Delta and GOL Highlight Social Media Potential at 42nd ABAV Expo

Airlines hosted panel discussion on social media’s business enhancement opportunities for travel, tourism professionals


ATLANTA and SAO PAULO – WEBWIRE

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and its Brazilian alliance partner, GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, both renowned for their innovative customer interaction through social media and other related technology applications, led a panel discussion on the impact of social media on the travel and tourism industry at the 42nd Brazilian Travel Agencies Association (ABAV) International Tourism Expo.

The panel discussion, titled “Social Media: Risk and Opportunity”, was moderated by Luciano Palumbo, Editor of Mercado & Eventos and featured blogger Silvia Oliveira from www.Matraqueando.com.br; Marlise Rodrigues, Planning Manager for RIOT; Lilian Santos Farias, E-Commerce and Digital Marketing Manager for GOL; and Fabio Mendes, Delta’s Marketing Manager as speakers.

“It is important to have a plan to properly participate in social media. Travel agencies must define goals and strategies to successfully engage in any social media channel and keep up its dynamics,” said Fabio Mendes. “From the costumer’s point of view, image is key to keep an audience’s attention. The task of an airline’s marketing department is to engage the costumer in a genuine manner, listening and responding to their needs.”

The expert panelists shared social media best practices when engaging travel and tourism industry customers. Mendes spoke about Delta Air Lines’ own implementation and adaptation of its global and regional branding strategy for Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer channels, as well as its strategy for the implementation of media partners with the integration of multiple communication channels and sales support programs.

“Social media is not only Facebook or Twitter; this is only the beginning. Travel agencies must create opportunities to link to other tools, such as travel blogs. This will help travel agencies to sell by influencing their audience with credible third parties,” said Silva Oliveira from the blog Matraqueando.

“Customers will talk about you anyway, if you are on social media or not. In this case, if airlines and travel agencies are participating in customer’s conversations they can generate strong brand connections and genuine loyalty,” said Lilian Santos Farias, GOL’s marketing manager.

For nearly a decade both GOL and Delta have been participating in multiple platforms to engage customers and share a common passion for travel by offering promotions and travel tips, as well as providing an inside look at the airlines and their culture.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is working to become the best U.S. airline in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its achievements have been recognized with two top distinctions by Latin Trade’s Best of Travel Annual Awards 2014, leading the categories of “Most Improvement Overall” and “Best Partnerships and Alliances”, and being the only U.S. airline in this year’s rankings.  Delta was also recognized with the Best Airline to North America award by Prêmio Destaque Companhia de Viagem, by Grupo Companhia. Delta continues to grow in Latin America through its long-term exclusive alliances with GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, Aeroméxico and Aerolíneas Argentinas, and is committed to building a solid regional footprint thus enhancing its global network and offering a better overall experience for its customers. Delta provides service to 28 countries and 46 destinations in the region offering over 1,100 weekly flights between Latin America/Caribbean and the U.S. Delta customers can receive real-time, on-the-go travel assistance in Spanish and Portuguese through Twitter channels @DeltaAssist_ES and @DeltaAjuda from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST. Brazilian customers can also access Delta´s dedicated Brazil Facebook page, visiting http://www.facebook.com/DeltaAirLinesBrasil.

Delta Air Lines serves nearly 165 million customers each year. This year, Delta was named the 2014 Airline of the Year by Air Transport World magazine and was named to FORTUNE magazine’s 50 Most Admired Companies, in addition to being named the most admired airline for the third time in four years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 323 destinations in 59 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a newly formed joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta, Facebook.com/delta and Delta’s blog takingoff.delta.com

For further information: Delta Corporate Communications 404-715-2554 news archive at news.delta.com



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