MSC CRUISES REACHES 2 MILLION FANS ON FACEBOOK

The Mediterranean way of life appeals to a growing number of people

Geneva, 27 January 2014 - As part of the company’s fast-growing online and social media presence, MSC Cruises announced that it has just reached more than two million fans on Facebook around the world.

MSC Cruises Corporate Social Media Manager David Arcifa pointed out: “This number represents a hundred per cent increase in fans over a one year period, and the engagement rate with the audience is also excellent. The growth in popularity of our company is such that we are now in the TOP10 Worldwide Travel Facebook Pages in terms of number of fans. These numbers mean that we’re good at engaging diverse online communities about the unique travel experience that cruising provides.”  

Jan Rezab, CEO and co- founder of Socialbakers, the world’s leading social media analytics company, said: “It’s becoming increasingly more important for travel brands to focus on social media as consumers turn to Twitter and Facebook for information, recommendations and help whilst travelling. With a simple and efficient analytical approach, MSC has done an outstanding job of understanding what kind of content resonates with their core audience to increase engagement whilst also leading the way in social customer care.”  

One year ago MSC Cruises also launched a global YouTube channel to inspire people who may never have considered cruising before with creative video content, sharing MSC’s uniquely Mediterranean way of life with a broader audience. Today, MSC Cruises ranks among the top three cruise companies with its YouTube channel in terms of views, with more than 4.5 million views for the various videos in several languages that are available. 

“Recent research from Google” added Arcifa “shows that 89% of leisure travellers and 93% of business travellers watch online videos, with the number using these videos in their travel planning increasing from 14% in 2009 to 21% in 2012 for leisure travellers, and 17% in 2009 to 26% in 2012 for business travellers, so it is incredibly important for cruise lines to produce and effectively share online video content”  

MSC Cruises is also proactive on other social media channels. For instance, the rate of followers on Twitter is also growing steadily, and MSC Cruises now has more than 98,000 followers on the social medium on a global scale. More than 5,000 followers were reached on Instagram, a year after the creation of the company’s profile.  

Instagram is the perfect medium to engage many more travellers and share the MSC experience and values, interacting with followers through user-generated content, dedicated hashtags and various photo competitions.