What Students are saying about the Southwest Airlines Speaker

Contributing Writer:  Tashika Varma When the SMU PRSSA chapter announced that Linda Rutherford, vice president of communications and strategic outreach for Southwest Airlines, was coming to SMU to give a presentation on crisis management in the age of social media, many CCPA & CCJN students were very interested in hearing what she had to say. Rutherford gave a PowerPoint presentation titled “Nuts About Online Communication.” Rutherford talked about how Southwest Airlines had thrown itself into the social media as much as possible. As a company they realized that to be successful they had to move at the speed that society was moving. If most customers spend their time on Facebook and twitter, Southwest realized that they had to put themselves out there as well. Rutherford said that Southwest has been successful with its Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube account. Southwest’s social networking not only helped the company to stay more connected with customers, but the networking also helped Southwest handle crisis’s in a more efficient way. Rutherford gave examples of many of Southwest’s successes with crisis management including when one of its plane’s had to have an emergency landing. Using social networking proved to be so successful that the company encourages all of its employers to be involved with social networking as well. I guess being addicted to Facebook and Twitter eventually pays off in the communication world. Below are comments from students that attended the lecture.  "I thought Ms. Linda Rutherford was very engaging and interesting during her speech on Crisis Management.  Rutherford put the benefits of social media into a real life perspective that I thought was very interesting and useful."   ~ Shannon Smith Linda Rutherford gave a very informative and engaging speech at the PRSSA meeting. Southwest Airlines is known for its upbeat company culture and its excellent customer service. Ms. Rutherford taught us that social media networking is now an integral part in their efforts to maintain that image.  She explained that the most important thing to know is that you need to understand what messages are appropriate in each medium and in regards to crisis communications you have to respond in the same medium that the problem occurred. She gave great examples such as the "I'm too fat to fly" and "I'm too pretty to fly" scenarios.  Rutherford explained how being aware of the new communication tools is extremely important in the field of communication because you always need to know how to respond and deal with attacks on your company. She gave an engaging speech that made me realize that social media networking is more than just connecting with friends and Facebook stalking. It's about building and maintaining relationships."   ~ Caroline Boothe "I found her presentation extremely insightful and interesting as a woman with so much experience in practical problem solving through communication. I learned about the dramatic impact twitter has had in dealing with a crisis and the way it has really helped Southwest Airlines stay afloat.  It was surprising to hear how personal Southwest makes their social media outlets. It shows how truly transparent they are and how they want to foster a personal relationship with the customer, that is something that I think makes Southwest stand out leaving airlines like Alaska and Jet blue in the dust."   ~ Kellie Spano "Ms. Rutherford emphasized the importance of companies being connected in all realms of the media in order to stay up to speed with the world around them and to make sure their customers are happy.  I found it interesting that twitter played such an important role in Southwest's communication with customers, and I can't wait to see what they do next in the online world in order to keep their customers informed."   ~  Lauren Scheinin Currently I am the President of PRSSA and I am proud of the many speakers we have hosted throughout this year. Linda Rutherford's lecture was wonderful! It is an honor for our chapter to host such a distinguished executive that would give up her valuable time to speak to students. I think my favorite example that she gave was where social media and crisis communication reached an extremely complicated point. The example involved a famous Hollywood individual who felt that he had been kicked off a Southwest flight because he was "too fat to fly", when he actually had refused to comply with regulations and began delaying the flight. What made this case so interesting was that he carried many followers in the social media arena and he escalated the situation immediately, but through his irrational ranting he actually, for lack of a better word "hung" himself. The lesson Linda Rutherford taught me was that social media can be used as a tool for creation and destruction, it can build a reputation or destroy it. Great lecture! I hope she will be inclined to share more of her wisdom with us in the future. ~ Cari Perez