Vacationers are Relaxing Instead of Engaging on Social Media
Few experiences are more blissful than letting out a relaxed sigh on a chaise lounge at your favorite destination resort. Luxury customers escape to Ritz-Carltons, Hyatts, and Four Seasons hotels across the world to bring zen into their otherwise busy schedules.
However, the social media teams of these companies aren’t just kicking back with a daiquiri from their hotels, they’re hard at work. For luxury hotels, it is key that social media managers diligently keep their channels up to date with interesting content. Resort should be able to follow and engage with their favorite brands online to keep up to date with news, share pictures, ask questions, and provide feedback.
There is intense competition among the top global resorts. So how do the social media channels of luxury resorts compare? The graph below shows the levels of online engagement garnered by The Ritz-Carlton, The Hyatt, and The Four Seasons.
This chart demonstrates that among these three hotel chains, the Hyatt and the Four Seasons Hotel have roughly the same share of voice- 43%, while The Ritz-Carlton only has 14% share of voice.
Contrary to their google share of voice, The Ritz-Carlton appears to have the largest and best social following at first glance. The Ritz-Carlton has 30% more followers on Facebook alone. The Four Seasons has the largest following on both Twitter and Instagram, but The Ritz-Carlton still has the most followers in total. The Hyatt has the least number of followers on all three social platforms.
Savvy social media marketers understand that social media success is not just about obtaining the most followers in your industry, it’s about engagement. In order to best use social media, brands should strive for high-levels of engagement from followers on each post. I calculated the brands’ percentage of audience engagement as a point of comparison. Recommended measurements for levels of social media engagement rate are below, as defined by Michael Leander.
By this system of measurement, it is clear that none of these three brands are achieving a high level of engagement overall. Vacationers seem to be too busy relaxing to engage on social media. The numbers reflect that the Four Seasons has an average amount of engagement, but significantly higher engagement than the other two resort chains. Interestingly, both The Ritz-Carlton and the Hyatt social media accounts see similarly low percentages, around 0.22%. On average, The Ritz-Carlton sees twice as much engagement per post than the Hyatt does. Even though The Ritz-Carlton has twice the amount of followers than the Hyatt does, their average rate of engagement is equivalent.
It should be noted that the number of times brands post on social media can skew their effectiveness too. Below is a chart that demonstrates how often these three luxury resorts post online. Because The Ritz-Carlton posts so frequently on twitter they may be getting less engagement per post, lowering their total average audience engagement.
Although The Ritz-Carlton may constantly be ranked the #1 most luxurious resort chain, today they are being ranked second to the Four Seasons in social media. The Ritz-Carlton and the Four Seasons have nearly the same amount of social followers, but engagement is what really matters. The Four Seasons has the highest amount of engagement overall, and highest percentage of engagement compared to the number of followers.
Cheers to your social media team, Four Seasons, for creating excellent content and driving engagement!
This post was created as part of the Global Luxury Management Program at the NC State Poole School of Management. All thoughts and opinions are my own. John Andrews Four Seasons Lodge #NCStateGLM #LuxeMarketing #SocialMedia #
