It is hard to believe that Twitter didn’t exist a few short years ago. Communications platforms like Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Facebook are appearing out of nowhere and totally redefining how we talk and relate to one another. Photos, videos, quick chats, and updates can be uploaded in real time. They show the world, very quickly, what's happening everywhere. There is no doubt in my mind that we are in the midst of a total communication Revolution. This certainly isn’t a slow gradual progression or refinement, this is utter Revolution.

Well, we at CAK love Revolution! We strongly embrace new technology, new products, and new ways of doing things. So, we jumped into Web 2.0/3.0 with both feet last year; and what began as an experiment has quickly transformed into a key strategic priority for our airport. If you’d like to see what we are doing become a Facebook fan and/or follow our tweets on Twitter. Clearly, you already follow my blog (thanks by the way).

Social media is really cool. It is cost free and a very effective way to build a lasting relationship with customers and partners. Airports have never really had the chance to build lasting relationships with our customers (airlines, car rental companies and other partners hold the data and therefore the power to connect one-on-one), so this is revolutionary for us too.

Because we are kinda becoming experts at this stuff, I have a few best practices to share with you before you jump in.

1. Define your market and know who you are trying to reach
2. Think strategically about how to best communicate with your target audience and which platform(s) best fits your needs
3. Think about your social media plan as a way to engage customers in a totally new way
4. Make it interactive
5. If you are a control freak, this stuff will drive you nuts

Most of all, you must be committed for the relationship to last. If you’d like to know more about what we are up to, I will be staring in a webinar hosted by WorkSmart emarketing on June 24, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.