{"id":1216979,"date":"2022-10-05T14:41:45","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T14:41:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/10\/05\/if-you-want-savage-clap-backs-check-out-ryanairs-twitter-account\/"},"modified":"2022-10-05T14:41:45","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T14:41:45","slug":"if-you-want-savage-clap-backs-check-out-ryanairs-twitter-account","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/10\/05\/if-you-want-savage-clap-backs-check-out-ryanairs-twitter-account\/","title":{"rendered":"If you want savage clap backs, check out Ryanair\u2019s Twitter account"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

By James Bikales<\/p>\n

Last month, when a Ryanair passenger tweeted a complaint about the lack of a window by her exit row seat, she might have expected Europe\u2019s largest airline to offer an apology using language straight out of a customer service manual.<\/p>\n

But this wasn\u2019t British Airways or Lufthansa. It was a no-frills carrier that might best be described to Americans as the Spirit Airlines of Europe \u2013 if Spirit had the most savage Twitter presence of any brand in the sky.<\/p>\n

In response to the window complaint, Ryanair\u2019s account shot back, reposting the passenger\u2019s picture with a sloppy circle drawn around the tiny, round window on the exit door as if to say, \u201cthere\u2019s your window.\u201d <\/p>\n

According to a LinkedIn post by Michael Corcoran, the airline\u2019s head of social media, the reply racked up more than 55 million views, mentions in dozens of news articles and a shout-out from Jimmy Fallon on \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d.<\/p>\n

It was just another day for Corcoran\u2019s team, whose mission is to be the \u201cmost talked about brand on social media,\u201d Corcoran said in the post. At the core of their strategy: Don\u2019t sound like the other companies.<\/p>\n

A little Gen Z, \u2018a little bit bolshie\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, the company has endeared itself to millions of fans with its crude call-outs of British prime ministers, subtle digs at customers and general bucking of the typical corporate voice. <\/p>\n

\n

it’s called Harmony pic.twitter.com\/c70INzHBzF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ryanair (@Ryanair) October 5, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The voice of the account doesn\u2019t just sound human. It sounds like a hilarious member of Gen Z: fluent in the latest memes, ready to pounce on bad takes and eager to troll for likes.<\/p>\n

Felicity McCarthy, a social media consultant based in Dublin, said Ryanair\u2019s social media strategy revolves around being \u201cunapologetic\u201d and \u201ca little bit bolshie\u201d, a British word that Macmillan Dictionary defines as \u201cdeliberately creating problems and not willing to be helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

In many ways, McCarthy said, the airline\u2019s social media persona complements its business model \u2013 to be unapologetically cheap \u2013 as well as its bombastic CEO, Michael O\u2019Leary. Known for his combative personality and off-colour quotes, O\u2019Leary says his airline\u2019s business strategy was inspired by a drunken night in Dallas with Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher.<\/p>\n

Building on Southwest\u2019s model, Ryanair sells flights across the continent for as low as \u20ac10 (about R176), and O\u2019Leary says his goal is for the airline to eventually offer some flights free. <\/p>\n

\n

are you new here? https:\/\/t.co\/yr2ssGNoFd<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ryanair (@Ryanair) October 5, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Ryanair makes its money off expensive in-flight purchases and a bevy of fees for everything from carry-on bags to changing the name on your reservation. O\u2019Leary once famously floated the idea that Ryanair would charge passengers for using the bathroom.<\/p>\n

The airline bets it can convince passengers to ignore its service shortcomings when fares are cheaper than a train ticket or the cost of gas. <\/p>\n

The gamble has paid off \u2013 Ryanair revolutionised Europe\u2019s aviation industry and now carries more passengers than any other airline on the continent.<\/p>\n

Kerry FitzGerald, another social media consultant in Dublin, said O\u2019Leary\u2019s \u201cmaverick approach\u201d to business \u201cseeps down\u201d to the company\u2019s marketing and PR departments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably a bit astonishing in the States because you don\u2019t know Ryanair,\u201d she said. \u201cThey just seem like this crazy brand\u2026Here, we\u2019re just like \u2018ah, typical Ryanair\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evolution of trolling<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ryanair was later than many of its competitors to social media, claiming in 2009 that it would spurn traditional networks like Facebook and Twitter.<\/p>\n

When it eventually did join those sites, its early marketing approach amounted to \u201cany publicity is good publicity,\u201d but that has matured over the years by incorporating humour, McCarthy said. The airline also bifurcated its Twitter presence to focus its main account on marketing, while directing customer service inquiries to a separate account, @askryanair.<\/p>\n

Ryanair declined requests to interview a member of its social media team. However, Corcoran offered insights into the company\u2019s strategy in a webinar with the software company ContentCal last October. <\/p>\n

At the time, he said there were six members of his team who divide their work between planned marketing campaigns and reactive content, replying to other posts and joining viral trends.<\/p>\n

The social media team is given rules on \u201cspaces to stay away from,\u201d Corcoran said, but is otherwise empowered to create and post without the sign-off of higher-ups. This allows them to vary their content, jump quickly on trends and use the \u201cbrazen nature and tone\u201d the company has become known for.<\/p>\n

Corcoran said taking a self-deprecating tone is a direct appeal to Gen Z\u2019s sense of humour. Off-limits is \u201canything that feels too corporate\u201d or \u201cblandish,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen it comes to what is considered traditional content, we will avoid doing \u2013 it is a no-go for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

While much of Ryanair\u2019s banter on social media is aimed at competitors with higher fares or passengers who complain about its service, the company sometimes takes aim at figures and issues unrelated to the aviation industry.<\/p>\n

In recent months, Ryanair\u2019s Twitter has trolled tennis player Novak Djokovic\u2019s anti-vaccine stance, former British prime minister Boris Johnson\u2019s parties during Covid lockdown and embattled current Prime Minister Liz Truss.<\/p>\n

Building a \u2018human connection\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jumping on existing trends positions Ryanair as part of the human-to-human conversations that are already happening online, McCarthy said. <\/p>\n

She pointed to a campaign over the summer in which Ryanair tweeted consistently about Formula 1, jumping into niche social media trends that only racing fans would know about.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps them to connect with different audiences on more of a deep basis,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cIt builds that human connection or that sense of the brand having personality \u2013 that brand being a person on social that people can almost feel that they\u2019re getting to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because the posts feel casual, like another social media user produced them, consumers continue the conversation on their own, often boosting the viewership of the airline\u2019s original post into the millions. For the airline, it\u2019s essentially free publicity.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Social media is) not just a dumping ground, it\u2019s a place where you can actually really connect with future audiences and beyond in a way that traditional platforms will never, never do,\u201d Corcoran said in the ContentCal webinar.<\/p>\n

!function(e,t,r){let n;if(e.getElementById(r))return;const a=e.getElementsByTagName(\u201cscript\u201d)[0];n=e.createElement(\u201cscript\u201d),n.id=r,n.defer=!0,n.src=\u201dhttps:\/\/playback.oovvuu.media\/player\/v1.js\u201d,a.parentNode.insertBefore(n,a)}(document,0,\u201doovvuu-player-sdk\u201d);<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Risks of roasting<\/strong><\/p>\n

McCarthy said there were other organisations in Ireland taking a similar approach in using social media in \u201chumanising the brand,\u201d including the Irish National Police and sports betting company Paddy Power, where Corcoran formerly worked in marketing.<\/p>\n

It also follows a broader trend of official accounts bringing more voice and personality to their social media. Even the White House has started to get more feisty on Twitter; recently hired deputy director of platforms Megan Coyne popularised the state of New Jersey\u2019s Twitter with snappy, dry humour.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore and more brands are realising that if you can get that human (voice) right, you get a lot of popularity from it,\u201d said Adam Fisher, a content editor at MediaFirst, a communications training company in the UK.<\/p>\n

Still, he said, moving away from a typical corporate voice on social media can be risky, especially with social media users quick to \u201ccancel\u201d a brand for any misstep. Fisher pointed to Burger King UK\u2019s since-deleted International Women\u2019s Day tweet, \u201cWomen belong in the kitchen,\u201d as an example of how attempts at humour can go wrong.<\/p>\n

FitzGerald said other airlines had started to try to follow in Ryanair\u2019s footsteps on social media, but she predicted they will ultimately be reined back because they \u201cdon\u2019t have the cojones to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fisher said brands must ask, \u201cDoes that humour fit with your brand identity?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt fits with Ryanair quite well,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cIf (British Airways) were suddenly to go down the same route, would it fit? Probably not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the latest issue of IOL Travel digital magazine here.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n