Diego, Social Media strategist at CitizenM, was extremely quick in getting in touch with us when we started this fantastic adventure.
CitizenM is now one of the biggest and most supportive partners of SMWGlasgow. Here’s their take on it! We’re looking forward to having some of the Amsterdam crew here during the Week- Diego included of course!
How did you hear about SMW?
Back in May, Samantha, our Sales Manager in the UK, forwarded me an article from The Drum, mentioning the nomination and a few details of what SMW is all about. Glasgow is such a dynamic city and an event like this fits very much with what the city is living right now, I loved the whole idea.
What made you want to get involved?
I tweeted @SMWGlasgow in the same day to get more information.
Daniela got back to me, we talked via Skype and I briefed the team here for involvement. Samantha joined the advisory board and since all events throughout the week are free, we came up with special rates for attendees via www.citizenmglasgow.com/smw, offered SocietyM, our business club, as a venue for some of the events and we are organising, with the support of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, the panel “How Social and Mobile Media is affecting the Travel & Tourism Industry“.
What is citizenM?
citizenM is a hotel company named after mobile citizens, a new breed of travelers. People nowadays are value conscious, travel a lot, but wisely; appreciate luxury but don’t want to pay much for it – and for luxury I don’t mean doorman & staff wearing white gloves, marble fountains and over-the-top hotel lobby, rather, we just want free-fast-reliable-easy Wi-Fi, a great bed, shower, hassle-free check-in, a lobby that can actually be used to work and meet people, 24/7 food & beverage with realistic prices and talk to staff that are less about a mechanical “Good morning sir” but more on smiling and being themselves, genuine.
What sort of people stay there?
Anyone that is young at heart: digital nomads, explorers, contemporary, value conscious, adventurers, suits – and it doesn’t matter if you are 8 or 80. We use to say that mobile citizens are “people who crosses continents in the way others cross streets, those who travel the world with big hearts and wide eyes” – a good crowd of creative people and those who are often traveling for work.
How do you use social media at citizenM?
citizenM is not just a hotel, it is a brand with its own DNA and a specific lifestyle, created by real people for real people. We love technology, design, new trends, travelling of course, always in the search of hidden-gems and to have fun. We are a company in the making and social media is the greatest tool for us to learn, communicate and improve. In house, 90% of our tweets and posts are customer service related – customers don’t want to fill-up forms, write emails or call to ask a questions – a tweet resolves it all, and works 24/7. Living in a fast-changing world, it is essential to be transparent and all reviews & comments received, are shared to the entire organization so that we can continuously improve our services. We also talk about what we like via our own online magazine, citizenMag. Our business doesn’t depend on professional pictures placed in a beautiful website but on what real people are saying and sharing – if we create wrong promises, we fail, so we are honest and caring.
What are citizenM’s ambition for SMW?
SMW is all about meeting, collaborating and sharing, our ambition is to get to know better what is being done, locally and globally, share our ideas and see how we can better use social media to drive our business. Everyone will be here and around here during SMW, perfect spot to connect with people, share content, and talk about emerging trends in social and mobile media – which is exactly what SMW stands for.
Is there anything personally that you’re looking forward to in SMW?
Social Media enhances the experience of the real world but in the end, we get to meet a lot of people virtually. I look forward in meeting personally fellow digital nomads, professionals or just curious people attending the event, to learn from and share information. Hope everyone will picture this and get excited too.
