The Fairmont Empress is "twitter-ific" to us

I love it when companies have fun with their social media promotions.  It’s easy to toss out a special price or discount code, but it takes some creativity and imagination to create a themed approach to reward your fans and followers.

And did I find a good one this week, from the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria B.C. Many of you might be familiar with the beloved luxury hotel for its daily “High Tea” service or as one of the featured hotels for those taking a quick trip up via the Victoria Clipper.  But they are quickly becoming known for their fun in social media land!

To celebrate their recent accomplishment of 2,000 followers on Twitter, the hotel created some ” Twitter-riffic specials” to share with their fans – big deal, right? But what was notable was the wisdom in understanding their clientele well enough to offer a variety of rewards AND to give them fun names – that’s good marketing!

Here are the Empress’s Twitter-rific specials:

•$200 for a Fairmont Room. Limited to 2,000 rooms at this price ~ Ask for the Twitter-rific Rate!
•$200 for Afternoon Tea for Four. Pinkies up ~ Ask for the Twitter Tea!
•$200 for Willow Stream Signature Pedicure for two guests, each with a complimentary bottle OPI polish to take home. 60 minutes of pure bliss ~ Ask for the Twitter Toes!
•$200 for Farm to Fork Table d’Hote menu and wine pairings for two plus our Royal Table service in The Empress Room. Exquisite food, impeccable service – you are worth it ~ Ask for the Twitter Table!

Not one special deal – but four to choose from! You’d expect the common room-rate special, but have you ever seen a company offer a Twitter Tea, Twitter Toes and/or Twitter Table special?!  I didn’t think so!

I just had to check in with the hotel’s Director of Sales & Marketing, Angela Rafuse-Tahir, to find out how they came up with such fun out-of-the-box specials.  And it was her attentive knowledge of their clientele that led to the catchy – and already popular – promotion.

“This is our third Twitter special but the first with spa, and food and beverage offerings,” she explained. “Since the hotel and I have created a big local following, the room rate offer would not necessarily attract them, so I had the idea to add these components. Already, the message has gone viral and I’m delighted at the outcome!”

Not only does Angela have a great property to promote, but she’s become a social media activist in her own right. She attends the Social Media Club in Victoria and participated in Victoria’s first Twestival.  She frequents many local Tweetups and is considering hosting her own version at the hotel on June 30, in celebration of Mashable’s declared “Social Media Day.” And last but not least, she created a special “Poutine-off” (a celebrated French-Canadian dish) competition last month with a rival hotel, and used Twitter to promote the one-of-a-kind event. She’s my new hero!

I’ve always felt that social media works extremely well with a couple of my favorite interests, food and travel, so I asked Angela “what’s in it” for a hotel on Twitter and Facebook.  She noted four major ways that social media helps the Fairmont Empress:

  • Changes people’s paradigm of our hotel
  • Offers us a venue to showcase our unique product and services
  • Allows us to create partnerships and friendships
  • Creates a viral avenue to demographics we may not have been able to reach or know how to reach

I’d say she accomplished all that – and a plate of Poutine!  What cool, creative, catchy promotions have you seen used on Twitter?  Share them with us below!

For more info on the Fairmont Empress Twitter-ific specials, click here