Social Media and the Las Vegas Strip – How MGM Mirage and Luxor Are Taking Advantage

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Brandie, known on Twitter as @LuxorLV.  Brandie is in charge of interactive marketing at the Luxor and social media initiatives at MGM Mirage.

I first met Brandie via Twitter when I was in town for BlogWorld Expo a couple months ago.  I was sending regular tweets, as usual, about what I was up to, what session I was at, the parties I would be attending that night, etc.  One night I received a notice from Twitter that @LuxorLV was now following me.  Interested, I decided to check out the profile and noticed that there had been several tweets about special discounts and events available to BlogWorld attendees.  I came to find out that Brandie had been monitoring the BlogWorld stream on Twitter Search and was reaching out to attendees via Twitter to let them know of night activities that they could go to.

The fact that Luxor was using Twitter to listen, stay updated on what was happening on the Strip, and engage visitors really impressed me.  It is great to see another company using Twitter, as well as other social media platforms, as a way to directly communicate with customers in this way.

I probably would’ve never stayed at Luxor previously.  Not for any particular reason, I just always seem to stay some place else.  But, next time I’m in town I will definitely take a look into staying at Luxor because of the great service Brandie showed to me when I was just one of tens of thousands of people frequenting the Las Vegas Strip that weekend.

Without further ado, here  are the few questions that I asked Brandie, along with her response:

Please provide a brief description about yourself and your role at Luxor Casino:
I’ve worked for MGM MIRAGE and Luxor for the past 2.5 years and currently handle all the Interactive Marketing for Luxor. This runs the gamut from email marketing to online advertising, SEM, SEO, website management, Web 2.0, mobile advertising and marketing and social media. Basically, anything that’s not “traditional” marketing falls into my realm. Recently, I also took on social media and relationship management for MGM MIRAGE.

It appears as though Luxor Casino is one of the few casinos that are embracing social media.  What are some ways that Luxor utilizes social media (and other forms of interactive marketing) and how has this helped the casino?
Our number one priority is customer service. Social media has allowed me to easily and quickly connect with past, current and future Luxor guests to better understand how we can offer guests a better, more ultimate Las Vegas experience.

Customers will often ask for recommendations on places to eat or things to do. They enjoy receiving immediate answers from sources that know Vegas intimately. Moreover, I often proactively respond to questions about Vegas. Twitter Search is a wonderful tool for listening and being able to help customers solve problems.

You can find where we are in the social media space here: http://www.luxor.com/contact/contact_social.aspx

Have you begun to see other casinos on the Strip getting involved with social media after seeing what you’re doing at Luxor?
Yes. We typically test Interactive initiatives with one or two properties and then roll it out to all other interested properties. Currently, MGM MIRAGE participates in social media through the Vegas Beat Facebook Fan Page and @VegasConcierge.

What is your recommendation to those who may not be using social media?
There’s not one “perfect” way to use social media. Do what works for your business model and where your customers are.

If you aren’t already, make sure you follow Brandie and Luxor on Twitter and on their Facebook fan page.

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Photo by: David Alter