MSC Cruises is celebrating becoming the world’s first cruise line to cross the threshold of 3 million fans on Facebook – a total reached in just three years.
MSC Cruises is fully committed to various major social channels, including YouTube, Instagram and Twitter, but it is through Facebook that the company has reached farthest, by opening a continuous two-way dialogue with fans of the MSC experience.
“A million fans a year is a great rate, and we’re thrilled to have surpassed the three million mark so quickly. It’s taken a concerted strategy to engage many different communities worldwide by projecting the company voice into every market” said David Arcifa, MSC Cruises Corporate Social Media Manager.
“We’re now focused on engaging even further with current and future fans, and consolidating MSC’s position as the world’s most social cruise line” he said.
In 2013 MSC Cruises launched a YouTube channel to inspire both experienced and would-be cruisers with creative videos boasting MSC itineraries, shore excursions and life on board. Today, MSC Cruises ranks as one of the world’s top cruise lines on YouTube with more than 6 million views.
The company’s Instagram follower-base is also rising fast, from 5,000 in 2013 to almost 12,000 today. Instagram is the optimal tool to engage MSC travellers by sharing their holiday snaps and experiences using the hashtag #MedWayofLife, which is also used on Twitter. MSC Cruises’ 18 different national Twitter profiles have more than 100,000 followers.
Another strand of MSC Cruises’ social media strategy involves reaching out to worldwide travel bloggers, who sample and review MSC’s many global itineraries and onboard experiences. Blogs, like social media, friends and review sights, are frequently where people turn to for tips, recommendations and insights when making travel plans.
“We were an early adopter of this approach, and MSC is still an extremely blogger-conscious cruise line. We sponsor the biggest international travel blog events, and pursue an active outreach programme. A glowing write-up by a popular travel blogger can be as powerful, if not more so, as traditional journalism. Blog followers feel personally engaged with their bloggers, and therefore tend to have real confidence in their opinions” David Arcifa added.
SOURCE: MSC Cruises