The COVID-19 pandemic’s resulting economic consequences for airports, employees, service providers and airlines have been well researched in the meantime. What remains open, however, are clear communication strategies for dealing with future health crises and pandemics and to develop possible preventive measures. It is of particular interest what type of content and what messages should be used by airlines to maximize interactions, and the popularity and engagement of their publications. Since airlines have successfully managed to encourage passengers to fly with them again once travel restrictions were lifted, the following research question has emerged: How can international airlines use social media for effective crisis communication during global health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic?
The aim of the thesis is to analyze international airlines’ crisis communication on social media in the spring of 2020, specifically on the platform Instagram, with their target groups in terms of crisis response strategies, publication frequency, content and mes-sage types. The study provides further insights to the existing research on social media crisis communication bringing forth potential risks, but also opportunities and measures that will enable the airline sector to emerge stronger from critical situations in similar circumstances. The research results enable communication managers to better understand airlines crisis response strategies during public health crises. By providing practical implications that resulted from the content analysis, it will be useful in future decision-making in the area of strategic crisis communication on social media, and in upholding the company’s reputation.
In order to understand and evaluate the crisis communication of airlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, the first subchapter introduces the most important definitions, terms, theories and strategies of crisis communication research. The following two subchapters deal with social media and the platform Instagram, as well as an analysis of the relevance of social media in crisis communication, highlighting the opportunities and challenges of using social platforms as an instrument for crisis communication. Once the crisis communication and social media literature has been covered, the study takes a closer look at crisis communications in the airline industry and what can be learned from past events.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Research problem
- Aim and structure of the study
- Theoretical background and literature review
- Crisis, crisis management and crisis communication
- Definition organizational crisis
- Crisis typologies
- Crisis phases
- Crisis management
- Crisis communication
- Crisis communication theories and strategies
- Social media and the social network Instagram
- Definition social media
- Goals and success factors of social media for organizations
- Airlines and the use of social media
- Instagram as a corporate communication channel
- Social media and crisis communication
- Opportunities and risks of social media in crisis communication
- Elements of successful crisis communication on social media
- Crisis communication in the airline industry
- Particularities
- Best and worst practice examples
- The COVID-19 pandemic and the aviation industry
- The difference between the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises
- The impact of COVID-19 on the aviation industry
- Empirical study – the content analysis
- State of the art and research gap
- Research question and hypotheses
- Methodology and approach
- Pre- and re-test
- Data sample and analysis process
- Results of the content analysis and discussion
- Crisis response strategies used by the airlines
- Communication strategy by posting frequencies
- Communication strategy by content type
- Communication strategy by message type
- Informative, emotional, promotional, or entertaining
- Reference to COVID-19 or no reference
- Conclusion
- Implications and recommendations for the airline industry
- Limitations and further research
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This study analyzes the effectiveness of crisis communication on social media, particularly focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aims to identify the communication strategies used by international airlines on Instagram during the initial phase of the crisis, and their impact on audience engagement. The study explores the following key themes:- Crisis communication strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic
- The role of social media in crisis communication for airlines
- The relationship between content strategy and audience engagement on Instagram
- The effectiveness of different content types (e.g., videos, images) in crisis communication
- The impact of emotional messaging and references to COVID-19 on audience engagement
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Chapter 1: Introduction
- This chapter introduces the research problem, focusing on the effectiveness of crisis communication on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- It outlines the study's aim and the structure of the thesis.
- Chapter 2: Theoretical Background and Literature Review
- This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of crisis communication theory, including definitions, typologies, phases, and management strategies.
- It explores the role of social media in crisis communication, particularly focusing on Instagram as a corporate communication channel.
- The chapter discusses the specific challenges and opportunities of using social media in crisis communication for airlines.
- Chapter 3: Empirical Study – The Content Analysis
- This chapter details the methodology and approach used in the content analysis.
- It describes the research question, hypotheses, and data collection process.
- Chapter 4: Results of the Content Analysis and Discussion
- This chapter presents the results of the content analysis, focusing on the crisis response strategies employed by the airlines.
- It examines the relationship between posting frequencies, content types, and message types with audience engagement.
- Quote paper
- Alexandra Popp (Author), 2023, Crisis communication on Social Media, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1488593
