Social Media Roundup: April 25, 2017

By: Eddy Goldberg
Published: April 24th, 2017

Marriott Debuts Snapchat Campaign
To Attract New Generation of Travelers

In an effort to attract younger travelers to its properties (and compete with Airbnb), Marriott has enlisted four social media "influencers" to record their experiences at four popular Marriott destinations in New York City, Dubai, Seoul, and Berlin. The campaign, "Six Days, Seven Nights," kicked off April 1 and will air regularly on Marriott Rewards Snapchat, Facebook, and YouTube channels. Each installment in the series is partially recorded using Snapchat Spectacles. Instead of a standard 10-second Snapchat video ad, Marriott has created 3-minute "snapisodes" to promote its Marriott Rewards program, writes Nikki Gilliland on Econsultancy. She notes that in 2016, almost half of Airbnb users were reported to be between 18 and 34, while only 28% of hotel guests who booked with Marriott online were Millennials. The next 3 installments will premiere roughly a month apart.

4 Mistakes You Might Be Making with Your Marketing Personas

Marketing personas, those imaginary customers every brand targets, are more important than ever in a data-driven world where competition for mindshare keeps escalating. So how do you make your brand stand out to your target customers in a cluttered, time-starved online world? Not by making these 4 marketing persona mistakes, writes Hally Pinaud on Marketo's blog:

1. Creating personas in a vacuum. Talk to your customers, not just your team.
2. Not sharing. You may have created the ultimate, most accurate buyer persona on the planet, but have you shared it with your team and your customer-facing colleagues?
3. Fixating on cute details. Don't get distracted by interesting minutiae; focus on what will drive business outcomes.
4. Not updating. Do this every quarter or two. Customer tastes are changing faster than ever -- and so is the competition.

How To Market Your Brand Using Facebook Stories

Facebook Stories, the online giant's short-form video format, is proving to be a popular tool for brand marketers. Similar to apps from Snapchat, Instagram, or Messenger Day, stories on Facebook disappear 24 hours after posting, writes Julia Bramble on Social Media Examiner. Bramble provides ample screen shot examples in her article as she provides advice on how to: 1) create a Facebook Story; 2) edit a Facebook Story; 3) see who has viewed it; 4) respond to replies; and 5) market with Facebook Stories. She also has a section called "Key Considerations for Marketers."

New Survey Examines the State of Chain Restaurants - and their Future

A wide-ranging study of 1,000 consumers looked at how frequently they plan to dine out in the next 12 months; how they view and engage with technologies such as loyalty programs and mobile; meal delivery preferences; wage hikes for employees; and growth prospects and challenges by type of restaurant. Some interesting findings include:

• 57% of respondents plan to dine out the same number of times in the next 12 months as in the previous 12, the same percentage as last year.
• Average spending per meal for the past 12 months, $15.38, was the highest in the 9-year history of the survey; over the next 12 months respondents plan to spend $15.43 per meal.
• This year's survey also uncovered anticipated cutbacks, including among coveted higher-frequency diners. For example, diners who patronized fast-food and fast-casual establishments at least twice weekly intend to reduce their visits by 8% and 13%, respectively, over the next 12 months.
• Among those who plan to dine out less in the coming 12 months, the most-cited reason (of 16 available) was "saving money," chosen by 50%; 44% cited "want to eat healthier."
• More than twice as many Millennials as Baby Boomers (42% vs. 18%) said they find technologies "very" or "extremely" influential to their decision to dine out.
• Mobile technologies appear to be slow to catch on: 42% of respondents reported that they've never used mobile technology for dining out.
• Online ordering and free Wi-Fi inside the eatery remain the top two tech influencers for diners, chosen as being "very" or "extremely" influential by 40% and 35% of respondents, respectively.
• Loyalty programs, digital and otherwise, show slow consumer adoption. Only 19% of respondents said loyalty programs are "very" or "extremely" influential in their decision of where to dine out. However, this represents a 5 percentage point increase over last year.

For more results on the annual survey by AlixPartners, as well as details on delivery and growth prospects, click here.

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