We identify ten of the most active and influential individuals operating in social media in the sporting and sponsorship area, and find out a little of what excites them in terms of what they do. Today we sit down with Paul Buckley, the man behind the Aer Lingus Social Media accounts…
Who is Paul Buckley and what do you do that has secured your place as a Social Media Maven for 2016?
My position as Head of Social Media at Aer Lingus means that I’m collaborating on a daily basis with a variety of teams across the airline – not least our Sponsorship and Marketing teams. This year, in recognition of our work with Irish Rugby, Aer Lingus won Best Sports Team or Athlete Sponsorship at the Irish Sponsorship awards.
The win was a testament to the great work that’s put in by many people across the airline. Social has a key role to play in bringing the sponsorship to life, but it’s only possible to tell great stories on social when the roots of those stories run deep within the business. This is truly the case when it comes to Aer Lingus and Irish Rugby. As the airline that brings players and fans to away games in Europe and beyond, we’re helping to create that sense of #HomeAdvantage wherever we play. It’s hard to manufacture that level of brand synergy. We’re always excited to see the extent to which social media users have got behind the Aer Lingus / IRFU relationship.
What is your personal favourite Social Media Channel?
It’s hard to choose. Channels will only be successful if they can fill a gap in people’s online identities. By that token, each will present a different offering. For me, Twitter is the archetypal social network. It can be whatever you want it to be. It’s open, authentic and accessible. It’s the pulse of the world. But watch out for Snap – the company that owns Snapchat (which has surpassed Twitter in daily active users). They’re about to IPO, and they’re only getting started.
Read the thoughts of the others to feature among our Social media Mavens for 2016
What do you think is the best thing about being able to communicate directly to fans or customers?
When it comes to brands, and particularly service brands like airlines, telcos, banks etc., social is a quid pro quo. We earn the right to broadcast our brand messages provided we’re being responsive and useful on the flip side – when our guests and customers need us. Provided we’re getting that right for a majority of our guests, social will be an incredibly effective and personal way to reach the hearts and minds of the people we want to reach. There’s also huge value in the immediate feedback loop that comes from the availability of social metrics.
How much a part of your overall approach to marketing is geared towards social?
Every campaign cycle, social is coming more and more to the fore. While other channels remain key within the mix, social has its feet firmly under the marketing table at Aer Lingus.
Broadcasting or engagement, if you had to pick one which is the most important?
I love the engagement side of what we do. When brands are comfortable and confident enough to allow the people behind the profile picture to express themselves (while staying on-brand, of course), I think there are huge opportunities to grow the brand, and even to achieve a wider PR boost in a way that’s organic and authentic.
What are three social media accounts that you enjoy following?
On Facebook, Irish Times understand the platform quite well and I find their content valuable.
The parody tweets of @ADWEAK always give me a chuckle.
On Instagram, (and this is cheating) I’d like to nominate all of my friends and family. As people are withdrawing a little from oversharing on Facebook, Instagram has stepped up to become a window into people’s lives and has helped me keep up with friends and loved ones around the world.
Finally give us a social media post that you were pleased with the response to…
In the context of our IRFU sponsorship, it’s got to be our friendly war-of-words with Air New Zealand. It was great fun to be a part of and I think it made a lot of people’s smiles even broader in what was a great week for Irish Rugby.
Congratulations @FlyAirNZ and @AllBlacks. A deal is a deal. #AirlineChallenge #IREvNZ pic.twitter.com/a6HcvQxwrH
— Aer Lingus (@AerLingus) November 19, 2016
You can see the full exchange including some cool photoshopping of airports here…
