By May, the Mandarin Oriental Miami had reached 25,000 Instagram followers, up from 13,000 the previous year. To celebrate, the property launched a “25K contest” via Instagram, offering the chance to win a three-night stay at the 5-star property.
The 326-room property created a “hub account” to promote the contest away from the hotel’s main Instagram account.
The biggest learns? Influencers work, strong visuals were key, and don’t dumb down your campaign, says Sharazade Kirton, the property’s digital marketing manager who also oversees social media.
“People on Instagram will participate and follow detailed instructions in order to be eligible to win a prize that is very attractive to them,” Kirton says. “Having a hub?account where everyone could go and enter to win helped streamline the process. Our Instagram account created one dedicated post as a promotion which also received a ton of engagement.”
(Miami-based Mandarin Oriental Miami was one of six winners in HOTELS 2018 Social Hotel Awards for Best Instagram, Property)
Budget: Prize package of over US$2,500
Goals: Retain and acquire new followers
Target audience: Those who value?luxury travel and lifestyle, particularly women, with a total reach of 5.8 million followers. The majority of the accounts/influencers who participated in promoting the contest had a heavy travel, lifestyle and hospitality target audience.
ROI: After the five-day contest, followers grew from 25,000 to over 27,000 over a five-day period (including a 100-person drop-off)
Judges?
Jennifer Wesley (director of travel, Google): Mandarin Oriental Miami launched a compelling and engaging contest to celebrate its evangelists and loyalists, leveraging Instagram’s scale to expand its reach and resonance.
Runner-up: Moxy Chicago