Take change
In an interview with Skift, Michael O'Leary reveals the secret to Ryanair's viral success and gives us two no-no topics.
gordon smith
Michael O'Leary doesn't understand TikTok. He's not in X and you definitely won't find him sharing vacation snaps on Instagram. But the Ryanair CEO is proud to describe himself as “one of the founders of social media”.
In a conversation with Skift, O'Leary describes online platforms as “a way to reach a lot of people for free,” but that's only half the story. The real social media magic comes when you add the second element.
“All you have to do is scream. Whether you're charging for a bathroom, standing cabin, whatever, you're making noise. “Social media seems to highlight that senseless crap.”
Although it won't work for most brands, there's no denying that O'Leary's approach is very effective.
His stunt created a stir on social media and was reported by top media outlets. From Time Magazine worrying about urinating on airplanes to ABC News mulling over the concept of upright seating.
TikTok is ‘unintentionally trash’
Court controversies and the free publicity that followed have been a hallmark of Ryanair since the early 2000s. But recently, the airline has fine-tuned its social media strategy.
In what O'Leary called a “clever move,” the budget airline has invested heavily in its social media team to create original content.
“We hired a group of kids under the age of 25 and sent them in and said, ‘Write whatever you want on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok.’”
“I don’t understand TikTok. Don't follow. Never proceed. To me it's pointless crap, but millions of people around the world follow Ryanair's account. I think we’re now one of the biggest companies on TikTok.”
How does Ryanair compare?
Although the airline still has a long way to go to catch up to ESPN or Netflix, Ryanair has 2.2 million followers on TikTok alone. The number of likes reached over 36 million.
The airline's somewhat harsh tagline on TikTok, 'Catch the flight, not your emotions' (followed by the obligatory nail polish emoji💅), is a departure from the airline's usual customer-friendly slogan, 'Cheap fares, great care'.
For context, Ryanair's biggest rival, easyJet, has 262,000 followers on TikTok. Another major low-cost competitor, Wizz Air, has just 61,000 seats.
Elsewhere online, you can find the personal accounts (usually maintained by in-house teams) of many global airline CEOs. A famous example is Virgin Atlantic's Shai Weiss, who regularly shares insights with her 359,000 followers on Instagram.
More traditional airline leaders have found a social media niche. Delta's Ed Bastian boasts more than 275,000 followers on LinkedIn, while United's Scott Kirby has more than 185,000 followers.
How does Ryanair use X?
At X, Ryanair has adopted a two-pronged approach. Memes and Vicious repression by Irish politicians. The airline has been using the platform formerly known as Twitter since 2013.
Kids getting ready to sit behind you on a plane https://t.co/9Fj3t2BYNi
— Ryan Air (@Ryanair) January 16, 2024
Passenger inquiries will be sent to a separate ‘@askryanair’ channel. This offshoot account has less than a tenth of the followers of Ryanair's main handle.
This may be partly due to the fact that X is not the customer service asset it used to be.
Flying to Ibiza and returning home https://t.co/pJwRRF5979
— Ryan Air (@Ryanair) March 7, 2024
Since last summer, users have had a post pinned to the top of the @askryanair page that reads, “Customer service via direct message is not available on this network.” Passengers will be redirected to Facebook Messenger or a separate help page hosted on the Ryanair website.
Ryanair’s youth appeal
Ryanair's social media team was able to turn previous negative comments into a cult frenzy.
Passengers flock to protest 11A ‘window seats’ Actually there are no windowsThe airline's social media team saw an opportunity.
In the space of a few tweets and clips, they were able to flip the narrative and give 11A cult status once ridiculed through the creation of the #11Aclub.
Ryanair has now even claimed that savvy social media types are trying to get it to pay for the windowless wonder.
We get paid to tweet about it #11A Club https://t.co/hidmO7VTEr
— Ryan Air (@Ryanair) March 13, 2024
It's not just a weird seat. O'Leary ensured that the airline's social media experts had almost complete autonomy to do and say what they liked.
The Ryanair CEO's two social media taboos
When asked whether a lack of vigilance could ultimately prove counterproductive, the Ryanair CEO was pragmatic. “There are always going to be arguments, and some of them can be counterproductive.”
But despite the laissez-faire attitude, O'Leary reveals two restrictions that apply to the social media team.
If “I will never fly Ryanair again” was a person https://t.co/b81gsRKi7H
— Ryan Air (@Ryanair) January 11, 2024
The first is to “play it safe.” This is considered too sensitive a topic for an airline that can proudly claim to be one of the safest airlines in the world.
Safety has been a non-negotiable issue since the airline's founding, but O'Leary said the second set of rules only came into play in September 2022.
“When the Queen died we jumped in and said, ‘Don’t blame the damn Queen. She said, 'Don't try to come up with something funny about it.' But other than that, they have carte blanche to say and do whatever they like.”
Read more of Skift's sit-down interview with Michael O'Leary here.