A social media experiment that worked. When the marketing folks behind Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott first hatched the idea for the Small Business Road-to-Success Challenge last year, they had no idea what kind of response they would get. All they knew was that they were going to use social media—primarily Facebook and Twitter—to get the word out about the contest that would result in a small business being awarded $20,000.
According to Shruti Gandhi Buckley, vice president, Global Brand Management, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, 300 companies entered the contest. From that group, 10 finalists were chosen. At the outset, each finalist had set up specific business goals. At the end of the Challenge, a panel of small business experts selected the one finalist most successful in achieving his business goals. Fairfield Inn & Suites helped the 10 finalists by giving each company 15 free nights at fa Fairfield property. They were required to use those nights over a three-month period beginning in September 2010. Ultimately, the 10 finalists ended up staying in 26 states.
During the Small Business Road-to-Success Challenge, the finalists shared the highs and lows of their journeys by blogging, tweeting and posting photos from the road. Recognizing the importance of social media in growing a small business, the finalists also competed in three social media mini-challenges that sparked ideas on how to increase their Twitter followers and Facebook friends, as well as engage with bloggers. As a result of the social media mini-challenges, the finalists increased their Twitter followers by more than 15,000 and fans on Facebook by 9,000 in less than three weefks.
Green Company Wins Cash Prize
Where is the green story here? The winner of the Challenge is a company called eCycler, Inc. eCycler is creating a new way to recycle by connecting people discarding cans, bottles and newspapers with those wishing to collect and sell them. The green social venture based out of Lake Forest, Ill., provides an alternative to the many U.S. households or businesses that are not offered curb-side recycling, or who have to pay for curb-side recycling. During the three month challenge, eCycler exceeded the business goals the company set by registering more than 100 new collectors and more than 600 new discarders. Timothy Laurent, co-founder of eCycler, found success by pairing the use of social media to open doors for in-person meetings with business travel at Fairfield Inn & Suites.
“The Fairfield Small Business Challenge gave us the opportunity to stay for free and close business deals that would not have been possible without them,” Laurent said. “The contest also taught us how to effectively use social media to grow our business. I achieved the best results when I used social media to open doors for in-person meetings.”
Fairfield’s Buckley says that of the 300 Small Business Road-to-Success Challenge entrants, about 20 percent represented businesses in the green space. For example, another company was developing a bike sharing program. Just a short time after the winner of the Challenge was announced, a video was posted on YouTube (click here to see it).
Another Challenge in 2011?
I asked Kathleen Coney, senior marketing manager for Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, whether or not the company intends to repeat the contest later this year. She told me they might try something different. The main lesson learned by Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott through this experience? “What was surprising to us is that social media is more powerful than we expected,” Coney says. “It was a lesson in understanding the potential impact of social media.”
What Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott accomplished with its Small Business Road-to-Success Challenge is just one example of how a large corporation can help energize a small business with needed capital. In this case, a green business benefited. It would be great if Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott and others like it did even more to support small green businesses—specifically those targeted toward lodging—whether through challenge contests, grants or donations. In the end, we will all benefit.
Has your company done something similar to the Small Business Road-to-Success Challenge? Planning to? I would love to learn about it. I can be reached at (440) 243-2055 or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
GLN Adds Kartri Sales Company, Inc. as Directory Partner
Green Lodging News welcomes Kartri Sales Company, Inc. as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Kartri’s Environmentally Gracious line of fabric shower curtains are made from all natural cotton in combination with post consumer polyester. The fabric is VOC (volatile organic compound) free and prepared with vegetable dyes and finishes. The curtains are available in different colors and patterns and can be custom made to meet a customer’s preferences. In addition to shower curtains, Kartri also offers bed coverlets, bed scarfs, bed skirts, and pillow shams made from the same all natural cotton, post consumer polyester blend. For more information, e-mail trish@kartri.com, call (570) 785-3365, or go to www.kartri.com.
See You in Portland, Oregon?
I will be attending and exhibiting at the Green Meeting Industry Council’s Sustainable Meetings Conference in Portland, Oregon from February 20 to 23. The event will take place at the Portland Doubletree Hotel. To register for the conference, go to www.sustainablemeetingsconference.com.
Advertising Opportunities
Green Lodging News is accepting reservations for advertising spots in 2011. New slots have opened up on the Green Lodging News website—two skyscraper ad spots on the right hand side of the site, button ad spots on the right side of the site, and the home page bottom banner ad spot. Dates for the Green Supplier Spotlight, the e-blast distributed each Wednesday, are also available beginning April 27. Be sure to contact me as soon as possible at (440) 243-2055, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com if you are interested in these ad spots. There are also other spots available on the website and in the weekly e-newsletter. The 2011 media kit is available by request or by clicking here. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.
Green Lodging News Blog & Twitter
Be sure to bookmark the Green Lodging News Blog in your browser. More importantly, participate with your comments. Green Lodging News is also now on Twitter. To follow my postings, go to http://twitter.com/greenlodging. Be sure to add Green Lodging News to those tweets that you follow. Green Lodging News now has 688 Twitter followers.
As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
