Blue Helm

Come on Marriott! Jump into Facebook!

Making a Facebook page is like baking brownies. The recipe is easy, the end result is familiar and the overall quality depends on how much effort you put into it (baking brownies from a box vs. brownies from scratch).

But what if you don’t like brownies? Or rather, what if a large, prominent company doesn’t have an official Facebook page? Even when it seems like everyone else is stampeding to jump on the Facebook rollercoaster?

Marriott is one of these companies. I’m not sure why the hotel conglomerate doesn’t maintain an official Facebook page. Maybe it doesn’t want one. Or maybe it hasn’t gotten around to making it yet. I’ve found several pages run by local Marriott establishments, but nothing official for the whole company. Regardless of the reason, Marriott International should create a Facebook page. Here’s why:

Control the chaos: When I search for “Marriott” pages in Facebook’s search box, I get gazillions of results—everything from phony Marriott sites to local hotels to indie musicians. But nothing official from Marriott International. I can find a page for a particular Marriott hotel here in Provo, but not one in my hometown of Jacksonville. And there’s a page that advertises itself as the official Marriott Facebook presence—with over 13,000 fans. But it isn’t the official page (though I’m sure thousands of its followers think it is). Where’s the consistency? Where’s the authority? There’s none, and that’s bad for business.

Set a precedent: Local franchises could benefit from a well-organized company template. Maybe Marriott International has already given its franchises instructions about creating a Facebook page, but many still don’t have one up. Is there uncertainty about how to make a page or what’s acceptable to include? Marriott can clear up any confusion and encourage its local establishments to utilize social media by maintaining a high-quality page.

Get ahead of the curve: Many of Marriott’s global competitors are not on Facebook. Yet.

Engage your customers: Marriott International maintains a great Twitter presence, regularly responding to customer inquiries and updating followers about discounts and promotions. Why not do something similar on Facebook? With over 300 million users (far more than Twitter), Facebook is the premier information hub in the social networking universe. Marriott may find more PR gurus and corporate travel planners on Twitter, but Facebook is where moms, college students and small business owners are flocking.

As far as what Marriott International could do with a Facebook page, well, that could easily take up another blog post. Advertise promotions, create a hotel locator, stream your Twitter feed, spotlight new franchises…maintain a useful page that attracts, preserves and rewards its fans. There exist few legitimate cons to creating a page for the company (despite what others might tell you). Marriott could at least throw up a basic Facebook page to take back control of its manhandled brand. At least make brownies from a box!

So why am I singling out Marriott? Because it’s a great company with limitless potential. And like so many other businesses I come across, it’s not utilizing all the powerful possibilities social media has to offer.

Bottom line: I’m a loyal Marriott customer that can’t find my favorite hotel chain on Facebook. How many other Marriott customers run into the same problem each day?