Johanna Jainchill
Carnival Cruise Lines took another step in establishing its dedication to seizing the social media momentum by having its newest advertising campaign drive consumers to its Facebook page rather than its website.
Carnival's "Didja Ever" campaign asks consumers to share and discuss first-time experiences, as well as things they have always wanted to do, on Facebook.com/carnival.
If Carnival's social media success can be measured in Facebook fans, it's doing well. The line had 444,906 fans as of Friday, compared to Royal Caribbean International's 230,365 fans, Princess Cruises' 73,942 and Norwegian Cruise Line's 48,058.
It's possible that the other lines got into the Facebook game late, contributing to their fewer numbers, but what is clear is that social media is becoming a major marketing arm for Carnival.
Jim Berra, the line's chief marketing officer, said that traffic driven from Facebook to the line's website had more than tripled in the last 12 months, overtaking Yahoo as the second largest source of traffic to Carnival.com behind Google.
He said the idea behind driving consumers to Facebook rather than its own website is because the social media site is "the best place to create initial connections."
"They interact with the brand and learn more on Facebook," Berra said. "It lends an environment where you can talk to experienced cruisers and get unbiased information on Carnival.
"We're playing to a bigger idea," he said of the "Didja Ever" campaign. "We are trying to connect first-time experiences more broadly but certainly also highlight what kind of first-time experience you can look forward to on Carnival."
Visitors to Facebook can say whatever they want about Carnival on its wall, Berra said, giving consumers more confidence in that information.
"We can't remove comments from Facebook," Berra said, unless the comments are indecent. "The reality is with social media you have to relinquish some control, but in return you get a lot more feedback and interaction with consumers."