Bluegreen Timeshares, Using Social Media to Serve Owners

It’s hard to look for news about timeshare on the internet and not find Bluegreen timeshares—they are everywhere. Whether it’s Twitter, blogging, video, or online media releases, Bluegreen timeshare creates and maintains a steady flow of outbound information.

But why is what Bluegreen timeshare is doing, so important?

Social media is a two-way street. Everything you publish to the World Wide Web instantly becomes subject matter up for discussion. Tweet and the world tweets back. Publish a YouTube video and prepare for your message to be praised, critiqued, and shared. Unlike print and television advertising, social media enables and even encourages viewers to stop being viewers and become responders. And as risky as it feels, especially in an industry that has borne the brunt of much criticism and negativity, opening your business up for two-way communication makes the bold public statement that you are truly listening and genuinely care what your market thinks about your services and products. The platforms of social media chip away at feelings of “industry” vs. “consumers” and empower consumers and would-be consumers with the confidence that their voice is being heard.

Social media is marketing wildfire (with trace amounts of swamp gas). Short of buying air time during the Super Bowl, there is virtually nothing you can do to spread your message as fast and as far as social media will spread it for you. Ironically, even Super Bowl advertising quickly makes the leap from prime time to web, sometimes doing so even before ads are revealed on TV.

The ‘spreads-like-wildfire’ quality of social media not only reaches the marketplace, it permeates the infrastructure of search engines themselves. Twitter, YouTube, online media releases, and similar platforms all afford excellent ways to increase your online presence and perhaps improve your standing in search results. And in the spirit of fighting fire with fire, nothing displaces negative messaging (if it happens) faster and more effectively than producing positive news and information to take its place. A strong social media machine upstages unfavorable  messaging, driving it further and further from the front-page news of search engine results while replacing it with vibrant, engaging, quality content.

Bluegreen Timeshares Shine

Much of what Bluegreen is doing stands as a blueprint to others in the timeshare industry for using the power of social media to reach and communicate with timeshare owners, timeshare renters, and prospective owners. While Bluegreen is not the only vacation ownership company to utilize the tools of social media, they are doing it very consistently and effectively; they clearly understand that business is no longer about talking to your customers but instead, talking with them.

In upcoming posts, we’ll be looking at other timeshare companies who are utilizing social media platforms well, including commentary from them about the tools they are using and how (and why) they are making them work.

If you aren’t already familiar with Bluegreen on the web, you’ll want to explore what they are doing. Look for Bluegreentweets  and their nearly 7000 followers  on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bluegreentweets . On Facebook, you’ll find them at https://www.facebook.com/bluegreenvacations with more than 20,000 “Likes”.

And don’t overlook Bluegreen Timeshare’s YouTube channel, where you can catch a glimpse of many of their beautiful, family-friendly resorts. http://www.youtube.com/user/BluegreenResortsTV And Flickr, where you will find hundreds of photos and floor plans from Bluegreen properties http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluegreenresorts/