“Brace yourself, math is coming” -House Stark
Warning: there is math in this post.
Regardless of your feelings towards mathematical processes, the chart below is fairly simple to understand. Listed at the top of the table are the three vacation accommodation options that I’ve chosen to compare in regards to their social media engagement. The three social media platforms that I’ve chosen to use are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These platforms are arguably the most popular outlets that are available.
The first cluster of social media metrics are the total number of followers from each platform and then a final sum of the three numbers. The second cluster contains the total number of engagements from the last ten posts that were created by the businesses in question. For the purpose of this table, engagements for Facebook were original comments, likes, and shares. Twitter engagements included likes and retweets and Instagram engagements that were counted were total comments and likes.
Lastly, “Average” and “Percentage” are listed and this is where the real fancy math comes in. Average is the average number of engagements per post. To compute this number the total number of engagements must be divided by the number 10 due to the number of posts that were measured. Or more simply, move the decimal place over to the left one space. Percentage was achieved by dividing the average number of engagements per post by the total number of followers across the three platforms and then multiplying that quotient by the number 100 to calculate a percentage. This is the number that I would like to focus on. Also, leave a comment and tell me that I sounded incredibly smart using the word “quotient” if you haven’t already fallen asleep during this quick arithmetic lesson.
Marriott Hotels are recognizable around the world and have over 2.7 million followers across these platforms. However, their level of engagement is only at .06%, the lowest out of the three compared. Low levels of comments, likes, and shares on Facebook resulted in this lower percentage (via Facebook.) Keep in mind that any interactions on the companies corporate Facebook page were mostly complaints from angry customers. Hotel valets giving the wrong cars to the wrong guests, concierge services breaking through hotel windows to unlock doors, and price transparency were all topics of discussion in the comments section and roughly 80% of the time, Marriott responded with efforts to correct the situations. Snaps to you Marriott for pulling an Olivia Pope and handling it.
W Hotels have branded themselves since 1998 as an escape where iconic design and contemporary luxury set the stage for exclusive and extraordinary experiences. Their target market includes the affluent and the socially involved, which explains why their social media engagement is running circles around Marriott. With an engagement percentage of 6.94%, this level can be considered B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Facebook engagement alone was 79x that of Marriott (via Facebook) and Instagram engagement was 2.5x that of Marriott (via Instagram.) Posting photos of fashion models, gay pride events, and popular artists not only proves that fact that sex sells, love wins, and free concerts are awesome but also that W Hotels not only knows their market, but also knows how to reach them.
Airbnb was included in this research because of the fact that it is the largest accommodation provider in the world and does not actually own any real estate (via Techcrunch.) Airbnb also has over 5.4 million followers across the board — almost 2x that of Marriott, the worlds largest hotel accommodation service. Instagram engagement is highest for Airbnb bringing their average engagement per post to over 19.9k per post (via Instagram.) This comes as no surprise since the whole process of booking an Airbnb is completely social and internet-based. Airbnb also boasts a massive target market since their accommodation’s range in prices from completely affordable to “maybe when I win the lottery.” This allows for increased traffic across the social media pages by all ages and all income levels.
Bringing to light that there is major room for error within this topic, it is important to remember that these numbers do not solely dictate who is doing better or worse than the other. The metrics simply measure levels of engagement. However, engagements are not always positive, worthwhile, or even from humans. Internet trolls, social media robots, and those pesky pornographic Instagram users come from the depths of the Internet and can seriously skew the data that we see.
This post was created as part of the Global Luxury Management Program at the NC State Poole College of Management. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
