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WestJet
Social Media Marketing
Plan
2017
Social Media Marketing Plan
Robert P. Baker, Ryan Roseberry, & Mariana Medakovic
August 5, 2017
WESTJET AIRLINES, LTD | 22 Aerial Place NE Calgary, Alberta T2E 3J1
Contents
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 1
Brief Overview................................................................................................................................ 2
Social Media Presence .................................................................................................................... 3
Competitive Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 4
Goals ............................................................................................................................................... 5
Strategies ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Target Market.................................................................................................................................. 8
Tools ............................................................................................................................................. 10
Platform-Specific Tactics and Tools ............................................................................................. 12
Facebook ................................................................................................................................... 13
Twitter ....................................................................................................................................... 14
Instagram ................................................................................................................................... 15
YouTube .................................................................................................................................... 15
Content Development ................................................................................................................... 16
Assignments .................................................................................................................................. 17
Monitoring .................................................................................................................................... 18
Tracking .................................................................................................................................... 19
Measuring .................................................................................................................................. 19
Measuring (Quantitative KPIs) ................................................................................................. 20
Measuring (Qualitative KPIs) ................................................................................................... 21
Evaluating.................................................................................................................................. 22
Social Media Monitoring Tools ................................................................................................ 22
Budget ........................................................................................................................................... 23
Return on Investment .................................................................................................................... 24
References ..................................................................................................................................... 25
1
Executive Summary
WestJet is an organization that has seen a notable rise in interest from consumers due to
their energy, enthusiasm, and their strategic efforts in appealing to travelers. Through this
engagement directed at consumers and utilized through various social media channels, WestJet is
in an ideal situation to generate positive brand recognition and awareness and to further grow
and expand their audience and business. Through the implementation of this social media
marketing plan, WestJet can make use of key features available on the social web and gain
ground on industry competitors. This plan focuses on appealing to two target markets with the
highest likelihood of growth: business travelers and the budget-conscious.
The primary focus of the campaign is to attract the attention of audiences and engage
with them in a manner that builds interest, communication, and trust in the WestJet company and
its various endeavors, including WestJet Vacations and WestJet Cares. From thorough research
and analysis, specific and actionable social media goals have been crafted and with
implementation can assist with WestJet meeting core business objectives.
The social media goals for WestJet include:
- Increasing the WestJet brand awareness & perception
- Driving word-of-mouth recommendations
- Utilizing the latest in electronic and informational technologies
- Producing new products and service destination ideas
- Improving and increasing overall customer satisfaction
2
To meet the above goals, strategies including listening and engaging with audiences,
creating relevant hashtag campaigns, utilizing newest social media features, and attracting
audiences through video and other content will be employed. These strategies and efforts will be
methodically tracked, monitored, and evaluated to ensure progress and that goals and strategies
meet expectations or are adjusted as necessary.
The budget for the campaign provides understanding of the necessary costs to implement
the plan and breaks down the costs with consideration of the current social media presence of the
organization. The social media marketing plan concludes with an analysis of the return on
investment that can be anticipated through the implementation of the plan. The individuals
responsible for the planning, overseeing, and creation of the plan include Robert P. Baker, Ryan
Roseberry, and Mariana Medakovic.
Brief Overview
WestJet Airlines is an airline company out of Canada that was founded in 1996. The business
started out as a cheaper alternative to the country’s big-name airline companies. The company
based its business model around being a low-cost carrier with a unique culture of care. This had
proven to be successful for a U.S. based airline by the name of Southwest Airlines (Cosh, 2015).
WestJet started out with three aircraft and five destinations. Through the mid-2000’s WestJet
expanded its flights from the western part of the country to covering all of Canada. The
expansion continued into major U.S. cities and by the early 2010’s the coverage included islands
in the southern hemisphere and Europe (Bachman, 2017). WestJet is now the second-largest air
carrier in the country and the ninth largest in North America the company now operates 139
aircraft to more than 100 destinations (WestJet, 2017h).
3
Social Media Presence
WestJet’s entry into social media began in 2008 when a Twitter account was started by an
employee to communicate with existing customers about seat sales. In 2009 the company took
over the account and opened a Facebook account after realizing the potential of social media
(WestJet, 2017b). This move proved to be beneficial for the company in a way that they
couldn’t have foreseen. In late 2009 the company moved to a new core IT reservation system
that turned out to be a disaster. This created a large customer relations problem causing some
existing and potential customers to be put on hold for hours. Thanks to social media, the guest
had a way to reach the company and get their issues resolved in real-time. Thanks to the
company’s presence on social media, customers gained a trust and sense that everything that
could be done, was done (Jang, 2009).
While the original usage of social media was to avoid a crisis, WestJet decided to embrace the
power of social media and used it to communicate and maximize its reach. By 2015, the
company had expanded its social media presence into six other platforms adding accounts to
YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Periscope, and introduced a WestJet Blog. West Jet now has
upwards of 250,000 followers on Twitter, close to 830,000 followers on Facebook, almost
20,000 followers on Instagram, and millions of views both on YouTube and the company blog
(Robertson, 2014). WestJet has now developed a social media strategy that encompasses
customer service, revenue support, and brand engagement. The social media concerning
customer service is based on minimizing response times for all comments, questions, and issues
that customers might have. Social media has helped with revenue support simply by selling
seats. The brand engagement through social media has helped to bring awareness to the brand of
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a caring culture. WestJet has been very well recognized for its award-winning use of social
media (Ibid).
• Best Customer Service 2013
• Best Viral Campaign 2014
• Best Activity Generating Brand Awareness 2014
• Best Activity Generating Brand Volume 2014
• Best Use of Social Media 2014
Competitive Analysis
WestJet has proven itself as a top contender in the airline business. However, to continue its
success, the company must identify what it does well, what it can improve on, possible
opportunities, and potential threats.
Strengths
• Lowest airfare in the country
• High employee morale
• Very strong brand image
• Non-union
• Excellent reputation
Weaknesses
• Lack of Trans-Continental flights
• Domestic class only
• Lack of amenities
Opportunities
• Strategic alliances
• WestJet vacations site
Threats
• Fluctuating economy
• Fuel costs
• International competition
5
WestJet has many competitive advantages. Obviously having the lowest airfare in the
country puts them at an advantage because everyone wants to save money. Being the recipient
of many awards including airline of the year, results in employee morale going up. The
company has a recognizable name in customer care and safety. By keeping unions out, WestJet
has a low risk of labor disputes and can keep costs lower. The company has an excellent
reputation because of its attention to customer care (WestJet, 2017c). Some of the company’s
weaknesses are that it doesn’t fly everywhere. The lack of some Trans-Continental flights puts
the company at a slight disadvantage. This airline only has domestic seating and while some
view that as a positive aspect, the company is losing out on extra revenue that a business class
would provide. The low cost comes at a price for customers who like the drinks, snacks and
entertainment that are included on other airlines (Ibid). WestJet has a couple of big opportunities
like forming a strategic alliance with other airlines to form a stronger network when it comes to
marketing and overall operations. WestJet can also utilize its vacation-planning site to open up
more opportunities that can put customers in the seats (Ibid). The threats that the company face
is an unstable economy that brings the demand down, increased fuel prices, and an increase in
international competition as the company expands (Ibid).
Goals
In consideration of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats observed and
researched of the WestJet airline the following have been concluded to be achievable social
media campaign goals. The goals stated are consistent with the organization’s history, its current
position, and its desired future. While these goals may change or be altered to better
accommodate the main objectives of the organization, the primary objectives of this social media
campaign are to appeal to new audiences and customers, build upon and maintain established
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consumer relationships, and strengthen and increase WestJet’s market share within the
commercial flight industry.
The following social media goals are designed to achieve these objectives:
- Increase brand awareness
- Drive word-of-mouth recommendations
- Utilize the latest in electronic and informational technologies
- Produce new products and service destination ideas
- Improve and increase overall customer satisfaction
Strategies
The WestJet organization currently has an active presence on social media networks and
an engaged audience through which to pursue its strategies related to the above stated goals.
WestJet will pursue the strategies and actions listed with a motivated spirit and with a critical eye
towards any necessary need for adjustment given the ever-fluctuating social media behaviors and
trends among audiences and social network users. With diligence and active, energetic
commitment of the WestJet staff and personnel, these strategies will assist with the successful
attainment of goals.
WestJet’s social media campaign strategies include:
- Listening to current conversations regarding the organization across popular
social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter. While the
organization is already present on multiple channels, assessing the status of
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relations is necessary for setting and maintaining the right tone with future
communications to audiences
- Engaging customers in dialogue related to their experiences with the airline. If
a guest has a poor experience with the organization, interacting and engaging
with the guest can assist in the efforts to improve and increase overall
customer satisfaction and become a point or reference for potential customers
to fly with the airline.
- Utilize hashtags to spark conversation about the airline, including its staff and
customers in a manner that allows for individuals to share memorable
experiences and push for others to gain a better understanding of the
company, its culture, and its operational processes that make it unique from
competitors.
- Creating a hashtag campaign effort on social media sites. Through hashtags
such as #MyWestJetExperience and #IWanttoFlyWestJet customers can post
their travel experiences with WestJet on all forms of social media, which
would in turn increase their brand awareness across all platforms of social
media.
- Making use of the newest social media features such as live streaming to
allow audiences a unique perspective of the WestJet flying experience. Live
videos are typically viewed more compared to those that are previously
recorded. WestJet can post live videos from inside the cabin prior to takeoff.
With the ability to now connect to Wi-Fi in airplanes, WestJet can also post
live videos as a plane is landing and taking off, or even while in the air.
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- Providing audiences with video and content that introduces them to key
personnel within the organization, such as CEO Gregg Saretsky, or many of
the pilots and copilots within the organization, including those that have been
with the organization from its inception. Through placement of personal
stories within content, audiences may be able to better identify with the
company as it is today and/or hopes to be in the future
- Promoting WestJet staff volunteering efforts and activities. Through
communications that highlight staff volunteering, individually or as part of a
group, outside audiences can learn of WestJet’s local community projects,
extensive charitable works, and recognize within the company attributes the
audience may personally identify with.
Target Market
Per the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) there are over 2.5 million commercial
airline passengers each day (FAA, 2017). The makeup of these travelers varies with each flight
taken. However, according to research related to the segmentation of airline customers there are
five main segments that comprise this customer group. These segments include the non-business
customers, the loyalty customers, the urgent travelers, the business travelers, and the travelers
that are budget conscious (Market Segmentation, 2017). Given WestJet’s propensity for offering
low-cost airfares to travelers, the target segments most likely to be of interest to the organization
will be individuals and families within the last two segments, the business travelers and the
budget conscious travelers. Business travelers are those that travel frequently for professional
purposes, can be male or female, and make up the largest proportion of airline travelers
consistently (Marowits, 2010). The budget-conscious travelers are those that travel sporadically
9
but when doing so choose the airline and flight that corresponds to their budget. These travelers
additionally can be male or female, however according to Emily Longmire, 65% of WestJet’s
flight bookings are made by women therefore a primary targeted gender for the campaign,
outside of business professional purposes, should be women (Longmire, 2014).
Given the aforementioned research, the target market audiences that will be sought after for
the social media campaign on behalf of WestJet will be those that meet one or more of the
following criteria:
Business Travelers (including travelers themselves and business administrators responsible
for travel arrangements):
- College-educated individuals, male or female, ages between 25-54
- Medium-to-high frequency travelers
- Small-to-medium sized business
- Loyalty program (frequent flyer program) subscribers
- Short- and advanced-notice ticket purchasers
- Individuals and organizations with a social web presence
Budget-conscious Travelers:
- Individuals, male or female, though primarily women, ages between 21-49
- Individuals with annual personal income between $35,000-$125,000
- Middle-to-upper middle-class income families
- Individuals without firm airline loyalties
- Individuals and families interested and/or make use of bundle specials (flight, car,
accommodations)
10
Tools
The core objectives of the WestJet campaign are to increase brand awareness, drive word-of-
mouth recommendations, utilize the latest in electronic and informational technologies, produce
new products and service destination ideas, and to improve and increase overall customer
satisfaction. With these objectives being the underlying focus of this campaign, and with
consideration being given to reaching the target audience mentioned above, the following tools
will be incorporated into the social media campaign generated for WestJet. Additionally, the
tools that will be used will focus on achieving a connection with the target market and further
seeking to build a connection or ongoing dialogue with the segment to allow for the message to
be properly received and acted upon by the audience. The tools that will be utilized are listed
below under the corresponding target market and include some specific ways in which the tools
will be implemented for the purposes of the campaign.
Business Travelers (including travelers themselves and business administrators responsible for
travel accommodations):
1. Facebook
- Give useful travel tips
- Post coupons or special deals for unfilled seats
- Share testimonials
- Ask questions or incorporate surveys
2. Twitter
- Tweet any updates on flight changes or delays
- Tweet about travel specials and deals
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- Pay for sponsored posts in our demographic
3. Instagram
- Post photos of new features that are offered on the aircraft, like inflight Wi-Fi,
for those who are constantly traveling for business
4. YouTube
- Videos focusing on business travel
- Videos focusing on convenience of making travel arrangements
- Videos focusing on low rates
Budget-conscious Travelers:
1. Facebook
- Post flight specials and savings for specific travel destinations
- Post pictures with interactive questions like “Where do you want to fly next?”
By posting interactive questions, this allows WestJet to see where their
targeted audience wants to travel. By doing so, WestJet can post deals and
specials to those specific destinations
- Post coupons or special deals for unfilled seats
- Run contests that require the use of like and share buttons
- Ask questions or incorporate surveys
2. Twitter
- Hashtag campaigns: including #MyWestJetExperience, and
#IWannaFlyWestJet which can reach WestJet’s target market by discovering
where their customers want to travel to next, as well as how their latest
experience was. This would ensure that WestJet either maintains their great
12
customer service or work on improving any area that may be a concern to its
customers.
- Tweet any updates on flight changes or delays
- Tweet travel tips for customers with appropriate hashtags
- Tweet about travel specials and deals
3. Instagram
- Posting photos of their most popular travel destinations along with
corresponding hashtags such as #IWannaFlyWestJet
- Post videos from inside the aircraft, or while taking off or landing
4. YouTube
- Videos focusing on customer care
- Videos focusing on low rates
- Videos focusing on bundle deals and specials
Platform-Specific Tactics and Tools
In development of the social media marketing plan for WestJet, it is crucial that selected
platforms consist of tactics that strategically further the overall goals of the campaign. The
tactics and tools that will be used will focus on achieving a connection with the target market and
seek to build a connection or further ongoing dialogue to allow for the messages to be properly
received and acted upon (Barker, et al., 2013).
The following platform-specific tactics and tools will be incorporated into the social
media campaign generated for WestJet:
13
Given that Facebook is currently one of the most popular social networking sites today,
its utilization within the campaign is a necessity. Facebook allows for the organization to
converse with its guests, promote itself in unique ways, and provide a means for WestJet to play
an active role in the ongoing consumer dialogues that shape their brand’s awareness and
perception.
The following are the key tactics that will be enacted on Facebook:
- Post flight specials and savings for specific travel destinations, such as with trips to Las
Vegas. Have offers that incorporate discounts at certain hotels or bundle deals when a
guest books their getaway with WestJet Vacations
- Give useful travel tips, including ways to save time at the airport, ways to ease travel
stress, and minimizing jetlag
- Post pictures with interactive questions like “Where do you want to fly next?”, which will
assist in determining future destinations, deals, and specials
- Post coupons or special deals for unfilled seats, free baggage checks, and/or priority
seating
- Run contests that require the use of like and share buttons, including discounts on airfares
to certain locations/popular destinations
- Share guest testimonials
- Post content throughout day, whether it be posts by organization or shares of positive
comments/images/videos WestJet guests have posted to the site
14
Twitter can be a very useful tool for WestJet to instantly communicate with consumers in
brief, direct, and/or playful ways. The networking site can assist in starting discussions and be a
source through which the organization can actively participating in conversations relevant to the
company and campaign.
The following are the key tactics that will be enacted on Twitter:
- Hashtag campaigns: including #MyWestJetExperience, and #IWannaFlyWestJet which
can reach WestJet’s target market by discovering where their customers want to travel to
next, as well as how their latest experience was. This would ensure that WestJet either
maintains their great customer service or work on improving any area that may be a
concern to its customers.
- Tweet any updates on flight changes or delays
- Tweet travel tips for customers with appropriate hashtags
- Tweet about travel specials and deals
- Pay for sponsored posts in our demographic
- Respond to questions and comments in a prompt and courteous manner
- Tweet between 10-12 times daily, which can include retweets of satisfied customers,
positive news coverage, and/or links to WestJet blog entries
- Post coupons or special deals for unfilled seats, such as free baggage checks and priority
seating
- Run contests or giveaways that require following the organization and sharing content,
but provide discounts on airfares to certain locations/popular destinations
15
Instagram is an excellent platform to engage the target audience from a visual
perspective. This visual content would include posting photos of popular travel destinations
along with corresponding hashtags and communications that can foster engagement of audiences
and spur dialogue.
The following are the key tactics that will be enacted on Instagram:
- Posting photos of their most popular travel destinations along with corresponding
hashtags including #IWannaFlyWestJet and #MyWestJetExperience
- Post photos of new features that are offered on the aircraft, like inflight Wi-Fi, for those
who are constantly traveling for business
- Post videos from inside the aircraft, or while taking off or landing
- Have giveaways for free flights or discounted tickets when visitors post pictures and
videos that highlight positive experiences with the airline
- Post new pictures or videos every 1-2 days that highlight the culture of the organization,
our team members, and/or those that fly with us
YouTube
With individuals increasingly desiring information and content that is visual, YouTube is
an important platform to be included in campaigns (Barker, et al., 2013). YouTube offers
synchronization with other social media platforms that can allow for messages and content to
spread to new audiences, and be a means through which WestJet can introduce, expand, and/or
more thoroughly cultivate its brand.
The following are the key tactics that will be enacted on YouTube:
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- Post videos every 2-3 weeks
- Tag videos with necessary keywords to ensure the spread and communication of content
to targeted audiences, as well as to optimize results from search fields
- Synchronize uploaded videos to also be shared on other social networking sites, including
Facebook and Twitter
- Post videos between 2-3 minutes in length that focus on customer care, our low rates, and
the WestJet experience that pertains to business travel
- Reply to comments daily in a constructive, positive, and professional manner
Content Development
To ensure that the content uploaded onto the various social media platforms meets the
standards of WestJet and furthers campaign goals, the following tactics will be executed. These
tactics place emphasis on developing and managing content in a proactive and professional
manner, and seek to allow for content that creates the most positive results for the brand and the
company.
Develop and/or acquire content
• In-depth analysis of each social media platform will be conducted to
ensure that the community of each platform is adequately marketed to.
Furthermore, the archival footage and stock inventory of the organization
will be explored and assessed to determine if previous images and videos
can be repackaged to meet the needs and intended messages of the current
campaign.
Manage content
17
• Content will be edited and critically evaluated prior to upload on various
platforms.
• Social media trends and communications will be monitored throughout
campaign to ensure that any messages/communications within the content
strike the right chord with audience and is not presented at an ill-advised
time.
Cross-utilized content
• To ensure that existing content is not over-utilized within the social media
forum and across various platforms, diligence will be given to the
perception and utilization of each marketing material deployed within
campaign.
Breaking Apart content
• Content will be divided into shorter clips, when necessary, to allow for
material to be easily consumable and shareable to audiences. Efforts will
be taken to ensure that key aspects and refrains of messages are well-
suited within shorter clips and across the social networks the content may
appear on.
Assignments
For the platform-specific tactics to be implemented and the content development to be
achieved in a successful manner, certain management roles and responsibilities will be assigned.
These roles and responsibilities given will be based on experience, availability, and overall
18
understanding of the core objectives of WestJet and the overall campaign. These assignments
will be executed through the leadership of key personnel currently within the organization or
who have done work with and for the organization previously with successful results (WestJet,
2017a).
The following personnel and their selected staffs will be involved in the implementation
of the social media plan:
• VP Communications & Community Relations: Richard Bartrem
• Communications Advisor: Kristin Papillon
• Manager of Public Relations: Robert Palmer
• Media Relations Advisor: Lauren Stewart
• Senior VP Marketing & Digital: Marshall Wilmot
• Senior Digital Advisor: Jag Sekhon
• Emerging Media Managers: Greg Hounslow & Kayley Gallagher
• Video Production & Editing Staff of Studio M Productions (Studio M, 2017)
Monitoring
In a social media marketing campaign, monitoring is a process that includes tracking,
measuring, and evaluating campaign activities to ensure objectives are met (Barker, et al., 2013).
To ensure that this campaign is meeting its objectives and is progressing in a positive direction
with regards to those objectives, the below sections provide the monitoring actions that will be
undertaken.
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Tracking
WestJet intends to implement a sustainable and actionable tracking plan that will identify
and monitor specific keywords and phrases relevant to the brand across the social web. This
tracking plan will utilize identified focus areas to narrow search results to information that is of
importance to the brand. Furthermore, the scope of this plan will be centered on social platforms
that contain the highest majority of the organization’s target markets. Through insights gained,
relevant keywords and phrases will be identified and, using Boolean operators, will serve as the
basis for the restriction or expansion of additional searches being conducted. This tracking plan
also, finally, will be amended and/or adjusted when necessary so as to ensure that search results
returned are of the most relevance to the organization and the social media campaign.
Measuring
The measurement of social media campaigns involves determining the volume of content
and the sentiment that is expressed by target markets related to the brand and/or organization on
the social web (Barker, et al., 2013). Quantitative and Qualitative Key Performance Indicators
(KPIs) are utilized to measure these different aspects related to a campaign. Quantitative KPIs
assess the information that can be measured within a numeric sense, including the likes, follows,
posts, shares, and tweets the organization has across its social media platforms. Qualitative KPIs
on the other hand, focus on assessing information that reflects the sentiment of consumers,
including the comments, dialogues, and reactions that relate to or are directed towards the brand.
Taking into account the goals and objectives of the brand and campaign, the below tables of
quantitative and qualitative KPIs are specified for the measurement of this campaign.
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Measuring (Quantitative KPIs)
Given the considerations above, the following are the quantitative KPIs selected to reach
the highest majority of the organization’s target markets and measure the progress of the social
media campaign for WestJet.
Social Media Platform Quantitative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the Next Year
Facebook • 30% growth in number of likes
(261,745 likes)
• 30% growth in number of follows
(251,165 follows)
• 40% increase in message response
time (24 minutes, response within
minutes compared to response within
hour)
• 50% increase in the number of
Facebook Places check-ins (6,307
check-ins)
• 25% increase in visits to
organization’s website from Facebook
ads and organization’s fan page
Instagram • 20% increase in number of posts (150
posts)
• 35% growth in number of followers
(33,390)
• 40% increase in average likes of posts
(600 likes)
• 25% increase in average comments
per post (5 comments)
Twitter • 20% growth in number of followers
(130,600 followers)
• 20% growth in average number of
likes (6 likes)
• 25% growth in average number of
retweets (10 retweets)
• 15% increase in visits to
organization’s website from tweet
links
• 10% increase in click-through rate
(CTR) of links posted in tweets (to be
determined)
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YouTube • 5% increase in number of videos
viewed (4.6 million)
• 20% increase in the number of
subscribers to the company channel
(12,456 subscribers)
• 50% increase in number of average
comments (7 comments)
• 20% growth in visits to organization’s
website from YouTube
Measuring (Qualitative KPIs)
Given the considerations above, the following are the qualitative KPIs that focus on
measuring the social media goals of WestJet for this campaign. Prior to the onset of the
campaign, benchmarks will be established for each metric to ensure progress can be measured
and recorded.
Social
Media
Goals
Key Performance
Indicators
KPI Formula KPI (One
Year)
Performance
Targets
Brand
Awareness
Sentiment Ratio
(SR)
SR = Positive: Neutral: Negative Brand
Mentions
Expenses
15%
increase
Word of
Mouth
Share of Voice
(SV)
SV = Brand Mentions / Total Mentions 20%
increase
Audience
Engagement (AE)
AE = Comments + Shares +Trackbacks
Total Views
20%
increase
Conversation
Reach (CR)
CR = Total People Participating
Total Audience Exposure
10%
increase
Customer
Service
Issue Resolution
Rate (IRR)
IRR = Total # Issues Resolved Satisfactorily
Total # of Issues
15%
increase
Resolution Time
(RT)
RT = Total Inquiry Response Time
Total # Inquiries
40%
increase
Satisfaction Score
(SC)
SC = Customer Feedback _
Total Customer Feedback
30%
increase
Generate
New
Service
Destination
Ideas
Topic Trend (TT) TT = # of Specific Topic Mentions
All Topic Mentions
25%
increase
Idea Impact (II) II = # of Positive Conversations, Shares,
Mentions
Total Idea Conversations, Shares, Mentions
15%
increase
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Evaluating
Upon the collection and measurement of social media activity data, analysis and
interpretation of this data will be conducted. This will be done to effectively assess the outcomes
of the program and where the program has succeeded or failed. This evaluation will also be
completed to determine what changes or adjustments can be made in the future. The main
objective of this evaluation will be to better understand what has been gained through the
activities implemented during the campaign and what strategies and tools used provoked the best
results in relation to the brand and the campaign’s objectives. Additionally, it is intended that
through this evaluation opportunities and threats, along with areas for improvement and new
avenues of action will be revealed for the further benefit and advancement of the brand.
Social Media Monitoring Tools
In selecting the social media monitoring tools that will be used for this campaign certain
criteria needed to be met to ensure the most adequate and reliable of services is obtained and the
cost in doing so fits within the proposed budget of the organization. Additionally, the tools
selected need to be able to place priority upon the marketing goals that have been laid out by the
organization and not be too complicated in terms of education and understanding for those tasked
with sifting through the compiled data.
Free monitoring tools including HowSociable, TweetDeck, Google Alerts, and Google
Trends will be utilized as a means for tracking, measuring, and providing data related to
quantitative metrics across the multiple social media platforms used in this campaign (Southern,
2014). These tools provide necessary assistance in discovering the reach the campaign is having
upon the target markets and in the case of HowSociable provide understanding as to which social
media platforms being used are meeting the organization’s expectations and which require fine-
23
tuning for results to meet objectives (Mindruta, 2013). The paid monitoring tool Radian6 is
recommended for the additional tracking and measurement of WestJet’s qualitative metrics. This
tool is recommended as it fits within the perimeters of the campaign’s budget and needs. Also,
the tool possesses the desired capabilities necessary for the size of the business and the intended
scope of the campaign (Barker, et al., 2013).
Budget
WestJet would fall under the advanced business maturity level, which allows a budget of
$1,364,000 (Barker, et al., 2013). Because the company has already established a social media
presence, the amount needed for social media will be 25%. This means that the budget for social
media will be $341,000.
Expenses Cost
Monitoring Tool $20,000
Community Manager $100,000
Design and Development Specialist $50,000
Content creation and Copyediting $50,000
Social Media Specialists $121,000
Total expenses for the year $341,000
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Return on Investment
A return on investment (ROI) is a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of
an investment or to compare the efficiency of many different investments (Barker, et al., 2013).
ROI measures the amount of return on an investment relative to the investment’s cost.
With the use of social media, it is difficult for marketers to calculate the standard ROI for
a company’s marketing investments. WestJet will use a Proxy ROI. A Proxy Return on Investment
is an estimate of the long-term impact of social media marketing investments using metrics
(Briody, 2011). Brand awareness and customer satisfaction are some of the common Proxy ROIs
for social media marketing.
Many of the social media goals for WestJet are not directly geared towards sales, they are
however, geared towards customer responses and interactions. Because WestJet’s social media
goals are not directly towards sales, the standard return on investment is not viable. By using
Proxy ROIs, this includes both quantitative and qualitative measures. These measures include:
the number of views on each of WestJet’s social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
and YouTube), an increase of tweets, videos and posts, increases in retweets and shares by
customers, customer response rates, satisfaction scores, as well as WestJet’s posting activity.
These Proxy ROIs will provide a significant way to monitor the anticipated return for investing
in WestJet’s social media marketing plan.
25
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