In order to better its guest engagement strategy, Westin Hotels & Resorts has implemented a new social media application called “What’s Popular Right Now”. The social application or ‘sapplet’ as it is being termed has been developed jointly by Buddy Media and Bazaarvoice. This application will enable enables Westin Hotels to not only boost customer engagement but also forge deeper relationship by bringing customer conversation about the hotel’s services into its social media campaigns. The application is on facebook.com/westin, which will be showcased at upcoming Social Media Week in Singapore.
Talking about this new digital initiative, Clay Cowan, vice president, Digital, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, said, “Building on Starwood’s successful launch of ratings and reviews, we’re expanding the program to our social channels like facebook.com/westin. Individually, the Bazaarvoice and Buddy Media products have been powerful tools, and combining these services was an organic fit for Starwood’s guest engagement strategy.”
The application allows companies to seamlessly integrate Bazaarvoice customer-generated content into their Buddy Media-powered brand pages and social media campaigns. Bazaarvoice is leading solution provider that focuses on bringing the voice of the customer to the centre of business strategy, and Buddy Media is a social enterprise software company. “The Buddy Media social marketing suite is built specifically for brands to power connections with their customers and fans. In this case, the capabilities of Buddy Media and Bazaarvoice aligned perfectly to build a unique product. This solution helps brands like Westin build their business and provide a better experience for their online communities. Creating the ability for people to communicate with each other at scale is what social media is all about,” said Michael Lazerow, CEO of Buddy Media.
With “What’s Popular Right Now” sapplet the brands can first define the category of products or services to feature in their campaigns. The most popular products or services – based on customer conversations such as ratings, reviews, comments and shares – are then promoted within the sapplet, encouraging consumers to scroll through and interact with the brand’s Bazaarvoice content and share their experiences with their friends and across their online networks. In addition, fans clicking through the sapplet are directed to the specific brand destinations, increasing traffic to the brand site. “Our solution enables our clients to create authentic conversations with their consumers, scale the reach of those conversations throughout the purchase path, and uncover and act on valuable insights. As brands strive to make the most of social networks, we’re enthusiastic to partner with Buddy Media to generate greater product awareness on social networks, deeper engagement with fans and followers, and increased conversions from social media,” said Mike Svatek, chief strategy officer, Bazaarvoice.
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