social media case study - itc welcomgroup leveraging social media to engage with guests
DESCRIPTION
A social media case study by Windchimes Communications that highlight how India's leading hospitality brand ITC WelcomGroup used social media to engage with its guests - existing and potential - in the online space.TRANSCRIPT
A Social Media Marketing Case Study
Objectives
How did we do it ?
Platforms Identified
Stage I
Reviving Presence
Restarting Conversations
Reviving interaction by sharing interesting information from the ITC – WG blog – WelcomZest
Making presence felt on Twitter
Connecting with Tweeple interested in the brand and the sectorTweeting interesting information to revive interest in the brand
and get the conversation started!
Customizations for ITC - WG
Testimonial Tab on Facebook
Fans interacting on Facebook Tabs
Leveraging celebrity power to communicate the popularity of ITC -
WG
Many comments received on the testimonials by fans of ITC - WG
Customizations on Twitter
Achieving uniform look and conveying common branding across social media platforms
Stage II
AwarenessInforming people about various events and
offers from ITC - WG
Leveraging Social Media Releases
Shared social media releases on unique offers by ITC – WG to spread awareness. Received over 1500 views in a month!
Creating Buzz around Welcomcuisine
Sharing regular information on food festivals & deals, helped increase walkins to the restaurants
Creating excitement around special food-led events
Fans expressed interest in the food festivals , with many saying that
they would visit ITC – WG hotels!
Fuelling fans’ imagination with stunning visuals
Effectively leveraged the power of visual imagery to capture fan attention & spark off conversations!
Riding on the celebrity quotient to create awareness for ITC WG - properties
Tapping into the power of Influencers
Engaged with top bloggers to experience ITC – WG hospitality and
write about it
International Influencer Engagement
Engaged with Nellie Huang, one of the world’s top travel bloggers, to stay at
ITC – WG properties during her visit to India, garnering major international
publicity in the process
Review of ITC Grand Central on Wild Junket
The post was retweeted by fans
Led readers back to ITC-WG website
Nellie highlights unique aspects of ITC - WG
Excellent reviews of the restaurants
Nellie brings alive ITC – WG hospitality for her readers
Highlights of the review
Nellie writes about the highlights of the properties visited by her – the architecture…
Highlights of the review
And goes on to give rave reviews on the spa
Nellie Huang, top travel blogger with 4500 followers tweets about ITC-WG!
Recommended restaurants at ITC-WG
Praised the hospitality shown by the hotel
Exchanged tweets about ITC-WG with fellow tweeple
ITC – WG Pictures tweeted by Nellie registered over 1000 views
Stage III
EngagementEncouraging & incentivizing audiences to respond
Responding to and addressing customer queries and issues
Contests to drive the popularity of events held at ITC-Welcomgroup Hotels
The contest was built around the idea that users first had to ‘like’ the page to register & also spread the word by tagging ITC - WG in their entries
Contest received over 70 entries in a week!
Using Polls on Facebook
Poll on Favorite Luxury Collection Hotel drew 242 votes
Users were asked to tag their favorite hotel in a
photo album
Customized Application to reinforce the connect between ITC – WG & its green initiatives
The results when published gave out the ITC low carbon footprint message
400 users of the application!
Addressing queries on Facebook
Facebook Fans now regularly ask queries regarding services and events of ITC-WG
Addressing queries on Twitter
Users regularly tweet queries which are answered immediately providing for enhanced customer experience
Engaging with Customers on Twitter
Searching for users talking about ITC-Welcomgroup & then engaging with them to learn about their experiences & give
recommendations
Stage IV
ParticipationParticipating in conversations online
Participating in conversations with guests over Twitter
ITC – WG guests on Twitter, impressed that ITC-WG is using social media to converse with its guests
Establishing the connect between online presence & actual experiences at the hotels
Engaged with an international guest tweeting about ITC-WG, & followed it up with a special welcome for him the next time he checked in
Converting a guest into a brand loyalist
Participating in Discussions
Took part in relevant conversations and informed interested travellers about options available at ITC - WG
Results
Increase in Fans on Facebook
A 100% increase in the no. of fans since March 2010!
Exponential jump in interaction levels on Facebook
Nearly 600% increase in the interaction levels
Phenomenal growth on Twitter
Over 300% growth in the number of followers
Thank Youwww.windchimes.co.in