Hi all,
After reading the Sysomos’ slides that Prof Yasemin shared and the lesson about communications, I learnt the importance of listening into chatters in social media and coming up with memorable and shareable message so as to communicate effectively to the audience. An good example that I recently chanced upon would be M Live, a real time command centre designed by Marriott to track conversations, performance, marketing campaigns and brand reputation across social media platforms. M Live is also an important platform for Marriott to identify opportunities to engage with guests around cultural moments that are relevant to what they are actively conversing on online. Instead of creating content themselves, they leverage on experiences online that are relevant and shareable between a sizeable number of guests.
One of the recent example cited in the article was how M Live identified a New Zealand backpacker and influencer who travels around the world with his Lego figurines and recorded their adventure on social media. Marriott then approached the owner and hosted him at AC Hotel Ciudad de Sevilla. As a result, content for the AC Hotel was being amplified through Lego’s social channels and it captured an additional 370,000+ social followers into the conversation. Though I agree the use of influencers would help generate buzz around relevant content that are meaningful to the audience. Marriott needs to vet the influencers carefully to ensure their messages and style blends well with Marriott’s brands and cater to their target audience.
Another interesting example cited was how M Live uses geo-fencing technology to uncover untagged social conversations that guests are having at Marriott properties and identifies opportunities to improve their experience. M Live discovered a tweet online and improve his guest experience through surprising him with Marriott Rewards points. This led him to share this experience on Twitter and create user generated content for the Autograph Collection brand and hotel.
Overall, I believe it is a good initiative for Marriott to listen to the chatter on social media. This is especially so because travellers are increasingly digitally savvy and connected. Through this command centre, Marriott can engage more personally with their guests and generate effective marketing messages online.
You may visit this Facebook page to find out more about the Lego adventures:
https://www.facebook.com/thelegobackpacker/
Marriott International launches M Live Europe, the Company’s fourth Global Marketing Real-Time Command Centre: