5 Travel Brands Winning on Social Media for the Week Ending August 1, 2014

Airlines drove most of the gains on social media this week, while campaigns that heralded the joys of summer travel as experienced by bloggers and members of their community and important announcements garnered the most engagement.

Each Friday, we call out travel brands that have stronger than usual activity on social media. Using SkiftIQ, we’re able to track current performance versus past (60-day averages, unless otherwise noted) as well as notice spikes in activity that demonstrate a brand either has a viral hit on its hands, or a public relations mess to clean up.

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The latest social activity on SkiftIQ for the week ending August 1, 2014:

1. TAM Airlines on Facebook and Instagram

Kelly Framel is a stylist based in New York who is also a fashion blogger that writes for The Glamourai. This website has 50,000 Page Likes on Facebook. The photograph of her taking a shot of the storied Iguazu Falls in Brazil was uploaded to Facebook on July 24 was the only notable post on its Facebook page that had a considerable amount of engagement. Whether or not the airline’s partnership with the blogger had residual effects on TAM Airline’s Followers is not certain, but nonetheless, its acquisitions rose by 180% from 2,000 Followers/Day Average to 5,600 Followers/Day from July 27 to July 30.

On Instagram, it featured two photos from noteworthy members of its community. Their experiences during their travels shared a little history and class. Among the chosen photographs were taken by Daniel Pellegrino. These photos doubled its Instagram followers for two days.

2. British Airways on Instagram and Twitter

The #BestSummerEver campaign continues to resonate with British Airways’ audience. It posted the winning photo of the Mediterranean Sea taken by Allan Edward Hinton, as well as its Last Call collaborators’ miniatures of travel bloggers — Josh and Chris of Urban Travel Blog — in Amsterdam. For two days, its Instagram Followers grew by 115% gaining 600 more new fans.

On Twitter, it gained roughly 1,000 Followers for three days straight resulting in a 90% increase. British Airways’ sponsorship of Rooftop Film Club brought a noticeable follower increase from the cultured and urban set. The brand was thanked in sweet company, with ice cream and chocolate purveyors. The organizers of the weekly screenings congratulated the winner of a trip to Prague courtesy of the airline and a hotel.

Thanks for the treats this weekend, @British_Airways, @icecreamunion and @HotelChocolat! pic.twitter.com/y3j7mhQmHa

— Rooftop Film Club UK (@rooftopfilmclub) July 27, 2014

3. JetBlue on Instagram

Excitement about JetBlue’s 87th destination was directed to Facebook. Although, there was no mention of this milestone on Instagram, that’s where the activity appeared. For two days, Followers roughly rose by 300, a 100% increase of it Daily Followers/Day Average.

4. KLM on Instagram and Twitter

It has been two weeks since the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash and KLM’s solidarity is visible on Instagram. Although only three photos have been posted during this period, the appreciation for how their airline has responded to the tragedy was strong. Instagram Followers continued to rise at a notable and steady pace, it grew by about 90% again from last week.

5. Air New Zealand on Instagram

This airline returns again from last week, with a solid five-day gain in Instagram Followers. Each day its community grew and closed with a total of 475 new fans a 68% daily increase from its 56 Followers/Day Average. Sir Peter Jackson, the famed director of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit announced The Hobbit Fan Fellowship Contest, in conjunction with Tourism New Zealand, Air New Zealand, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, New Line Cinema, and Warner Brothers at Comic-Con.

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