Unfortunately, what isn´t old news though, is examples of companies rushing into this space, without a clear notion of how best to go about it. Below, is an excerpt from an excellent post on Hubspot  titled Five Big Brand Case Studies that Every Marketer Should Know.


Southwest Airlines: Personalize your brand

Southwest Airlines has effectively used social media to highlight what makes their company unique.  From promoting a viral video of a rapping flight attendant on YouTube to informing customers of flight delays on Twitter to uploading customer photos on their blog, Southwest Airlines has developed their image into a friendly, unique, and personable brand, with which customers can build a long-lasting relationship.

Southwest encourages emoployees to be creative! David Holmes, Southwest's famous rapping flight attendant became famous after rapping the safety instructions one day. A customer filmed David and put it on YouTube. Southwest thought it was fun as well as a good branding opportunity, so it promoted the video on its traditional and social media channels. 

Since the video was published, David has been on Oprah and Leno, representing Southwest. Here's the original rap:

Southwest is a fantastic example of a company that does not limit its social media activity and community engagement, regardless of the company's large size. (You can follow Southwest on Twitter @southwestair.)

VP of Inbound Marketing Mike Volpe sat down with Paula Bergs, Manager of Emerging Media to ask her a few questions. Below is her interview.

At Southwest, the Emerging Media team manages the company's social media presence. Each person owns a particular channel and decides how they can best vocalize Southwest's messaging to fit the channel. 

Nothing is regulated by the corporate legal sector. Instead of discouraging employees with rules and regulations, Southwest empowers employees to represent the company well.