Southwest Airlines has become the first airline to log one million fans on Facebook.
The Dallas-based airline is offering fans a special Rapids Reward promotion for one day only to mark the
achievement. Facebook fans of the airline can earn triple Rapid Rewards credit on all flights purchased on Dec. 1 for travel Dec. 1-31.
With this promotion, members can earn a free flight
after just three roundtrips. Registration is required through the airline's Facebook page. Fans who are not yet Rapid Rewards Members can join and receive a special enrollment offer of up to five
credits and become eligible for the triple credit promotion.
This promotion is offered exclusively through the airline's Facebook fan page, which has added more than 21,000 fans to the one
million mark as of early afternoon Dec. 1. In comparison, JetBlue had 428,387 Facebook fans at press time, United Airlines had 163,160 and American Airlines had 96,546.
The airline has been
involved in social media for five years, says Linda Rutherford, Southwest Airlines vice president of communication and strategic outreach. "Through this effort, we've identified what our customers
want, what we're doing well, and how we can improve," she says.
The airline has been ahead of the curve on social media for many years, Southwest Marketing VP Kevin Krone told attendees of a
National Retail Federation conference in September. Even before Twitter and Facebook, Southwest embraced new media very quickly.
Southwest's Twitter account reached 1 million followers in
January and the airline offered a similar promotion. The company also has a YouTube page and a very active company blog.
Southwest has two teams working on social media, Krone told the NRF
audience. The PR and communications team engage customers in dialogue. Meanwhile, the marketing team looks for ways to monetize social media and also responsible for the look and feel of the sites.