Archive for July, 2009
Friday, July 31st, 2009
 Recently, we updated the website for our client, Panorama Flight Services. They added a Citation Mustang to their fleet of jets available for charter and wanted a new page devoted to this aircraft.
After creating the page, I suggested that just because they built the page, it doesn’t mean customers will find it on the web. They really needed to optimize their website to improve their ranking when someone does a search through Google, Yahoo or MSN for aircraft to charter.
Search Engine Optimization is an important tool in aviation marketing. At Aviation Marketing Consulting, we have become expert in optimizing websites for search engines. It’s a somewhat complex and ever-changing endeavor, as there are over 100 factors that contribute to how high your website will rank for a particular search term, and there are no hard and fast rules to follow. Sometimes a couple of simple elements will get you on page 1 of Google and other times it’s a long and laborious process.
However, with enough patience, expertise and follow-through, good (even great) results can be achieved, which can lead to more sales and customers!
FYI, if want to find out how well we did for Panorama, go to Google and do a search for “aircraft charter new york,” Panorama Flight Service’s aircraft charter webpage was ranked #1 in the organic search listings as of this posting.
Tags: Add new tag, aircraft charter, Aviation Marketing, google, Search Engine Optimization, SEO
Posted in Online Marketing, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
 What Are Your Marketing Goals This is the second of a series of posts, which referred to the question, “What is the one thing aviation companies can do to improve their marketing?” What I recommend the first thing an aviation business do to improve their marketing is to develop a marketing plan and went on to discuss that an effective marketing plan really addresses in detail your basic 5 interview questions: who, what, where, why, how, and in addition, how much.
In the first post, I already dealt with “who,” as in “who is your customer?” So let’s move on to “what”. What do you want your marketing to accomplish? What are your marketing objectives? And how do they align themselves with your overall business goals?
The quick answer might be, “I just want to increase sales.” But, I would challenge you to be more specific than that. By how much do you want to increase sales? 10%? 20%? And what type of sales are you looking for? Is there a particular product that you would really want to sell more of than another? Or do you have a particular service that you would want to promote more than others?
I help my clients establish goals for their marketing, and particular I like to set SMART one, which is an acronym for:
- “S” is for specific – be very specific about the goals you want to achieve.
- “M” is for measurable. Are these goals that you can measured and quantified?
- “A” is for attainable. You want to push the envelope, but you also want to be realistic in what you can achieve.
- “R” is for relevance. Of course your goals should be relevant to your business and your marketing objectives, or they will be of little of no value to your business.
- “T” is for time-bound. You want to be specific about when these goals are to be achieved. Set long-term deadlines as to when you want accomplish your objective. And in addition, set short-term, daily or weekly goals that are components of your larger objective so that progress is continually made over time. I’ve found that those that take action every day, however small, quickly and easily achieve what they set out to accomplish.
Tags: Aviation Marketing, goal setting, marketing goals, Marketing Plan
Posted in Marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, July 24th, 2009
 Bird strikes around airports are an under reported hazard Thousands of Canadian Geese are being rounded up around the parks and open spaces surrounding New York City’s two major airports. New York City officials gave the order to remove the flocks of geese after they forced down a US Airways jet into the Hudson in January.
Of course, animal rights activists are upset. But if you go to any large park or playing field in the Northeast, you’ll find flocks of Canadian Geese. What I don’t understand is how a bird that is so ubiquitous can be considered endangered and needs protection. As a soccer coach for my daughter’s team, I have to say that I find the birds to be a public health hazard. They are poop machines, defecating up to a pound of poop a day. Our soccer fields are covered with geese poops. It’s so disgusting the girls won’t play.
My solution is this: lets round them all up and serve them with some stuffing and gravy for the city’s hungry. Actually, cooked goose is a delicacy.
Tags: Canadian Geese
Posted in Commercial Aviation, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, July 10th, 2009
 Looks like the “Friendly Skies of United” are a little less friendly for musicians. Country singer Dave Carroll created a video regarding his less than “friendly” experience flying United Airlines
Carroll had his guitar broken by the airline’s baggage handlers and when he received no compensation with the airline, he took out his frustrations by writing a country song and created a music video about his experience.
The video has since gone viral and was featured on major American and Canadian news outlets. With all this unwanted attention, United Airlines recognized its error and has since contacted Carroll to make reparations. In addition, it has asked to use his video as part of its training.
Here’s the music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo
Tags: Aviation, Social Media, United Airlines, viral marketing, YouTube
Posted in Commercial Aviation, Marketing | No Comments »
Saturday, July 4th, 2009
The Flying Cloud Airport was built in 1941 when the United States Navy made arrangements with a local farmer, Martin “Pappy” Grill, to use his grass landing strip to train Navy pilots during World War II. The Navy Pilots flying from Wold-Chamberlain Airport, which is now Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, would use this field for practicing approaches.
Recently, the airport has undergone a $27 million expansion program, which included runway extensions, new taxiways, additional hangar facilities, and sewer and water improvements. The project will allow more efficient use of the airport, enhance safety and increase aircraft storage capacity and will enhance its importance in the Twin Cities airspace in Minnesota.
To promote the airport’s new face lift it turned to an unusual medium for airport marketing – YouTube. Kinda of a stroke of brilliance. It doesn’t cost anything to post a video on YouTube and our course it has the potential to be seen by many viewers. And of course other websites (like this one) can link to the video and expand its viewership.
Click here to view the video
Tags: Airport Marketing, Aviation Marketing, Social Media
Posted in Airport Marketing | No Comments »
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