How to create the perfect content for social media: a case study of Ryanair

For better or worse, social media is a part of our lives. People spend an average of almost 2.5 hours a day on social platforms and an estimate 80% of smartphone users are online within 15 minutes of waking up. The minute someone turns their phone on, notifications start popping up; they’ve just been tagged in a post on Instagram, a YouTuber they follow has just uploaded a new video, TikTok has found a new video they might like, and that’s all before they start scrolling aimlessly through their feeds looking for something that piques their interest. Any business wanting to create content and engage with would-be customers on social media often finds that doing so in a meaningful way isn’t easy.

Ryanair are a fantastic example of a social media strategy being planned and executed well. Ryanair have something of a negative public image for the most part, known for bad customer service and cost-cutting. It has been rated the ‘worst airline’ for seven consecutive years by Which? and it was even revealed that they were considering charging customers to use the toilet on their flights. Yet, despite the turbulence, customer numbers have grown from 75.8m in 2012 to 148.6m in 2020.

It’s a similar story on social media where they have built a TikTok following of almost 1.5 million – 64 times more than their closest competitor EasyJet. They outlined their social purpose; to entertain. They picked the most suitable platform for their audience; young travellers and chose their preferred medium; video. And it’s working.

Choose the right content for social media

Authenticity is a word thrown around all too often when it comes to social media, especially considering that the most seemingly authentic accounts are carefully curated and planned. While social media often gives the impression of candidly captured shots and easy wit, the reality is often hours upon hours of work behind the scenes to make it look so effortless. One of the most common mistakes people make is focusing too much on selling. Instead, Ryanair’s focus is on entertainment above all. It makes people want to see and engage with their content and that gives it freedom to be bold, saying and posting things that would make other brands shudder.

And this is probably one of the more conservative posts!

Choose the right tone and message for social media

Anecdotally, my 17-year-old niece is planning her first holiday with friends and they already plan on flying with Ryanair because, in her words, “they make really funny TikToks.” The approach of entertaining and not selling has created a connection between corporation and would-be customer. They might not be looking to buy right now, but when they are they already have a positive view of Ryanair as a company.

Looking at Ryanair’s approach, they rarely post anything on their social media channels that has a sales message. Rather than posting ads saying you can fly to Malaga for £9.99, they post irreverent, funny videos. While I certainly don’t share my niece’s fondness for Ryanair’s TikTok output, that’s likely intentional. As a business, they’ve identified their customer personas and are creating content that appeals to them rather than trying to be all things to everyone – an impossible task on social media!

Choose the right social media platforms

It’s far more effective to focus on one social media platform and be generating meaningful engagement and valuable returns than it is to try and cover multiple platforms and not have time to create suitable content. Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer to the question “what social platforms should I use.” The answer depends on who your audience is and where they hang out online, as well as they type of content you want to create. A good way to make your decision is to look at platform demographic data. TikTok, for example, sees most of its engagement come from 15–25-year-olds whereas Facebook now skews much older. Another important factor is the platform's USP. If you don't have a lot of video content or resource to create it then TikTok probably isn't for your business. Ryanair have made a conscious decision with their strategy to target a younger audience with video content and have chosen the right platform to focus on. It’s better to have one social media account and be creating valuable content that gets great engagement than trying to cover multiple platforms that don’t benefit your business in any meaningful way.

Do Ryanair’s customers care what it thinks of the government? Probably not, but each time a tweet goes viral or the name Ryanair appears in the newspapers, it reminds people that Ryanair allows them to fly short haul for a low price - just as long as they don’t mind wearing all their holiday clothes on the plane to avoid the add-on fees.