Marina Bay Sands named most-Instagrammed hotel in the world

Singapore's iconic Marina Bay Sands (MBS) has come out on top as the most-Instagrammed hotel worldwide, ranked by Instagram. MBS' spokesperson said that user-generated content on Instagram forms an important part of its organic content strategy and allowed it to see exponential growth in fan base in 2017. This was in a conversation with Marketing."We thank our guests and fans for making Marina Bay Sands the most Instagrammed hotel worldwide. We are truly grateful for this phenomenal organic, ground-up support from guests, celebs, media and influencers alike," the spokesperson added.Among the top five most Instagrammed hotels were Bellagio Las Vegas, The Venetian Las Vegas, Atlantis The Palm, Dubai and MGM Grand Las Vegas. While Singapore did not make it into the list of top 10 most Instagrammed cities of 2017 worldwide, Jakarta, Indonesia was ranked eighth and is the only Asia Pacific city in the ranking. Japan's Tokyo Disney Resort was ranked the fifth most-Instagrammed location of 2017 worldwide. The top travel hashtags for 2017 were travel, nature, sunset, trip and wanderlust.In a conversation with Marketing, Kristian Olsen, MD of Type A, said that brands are always appreciative and on the lookout for user-generated content to be part of their overall content communications. User-generated content is an honest review, unpaid and uninitiated, Olsen said. As such, the brand gets a good endorsement and the consumer feels more secure knowing that other like minded consumers have tested the service/product before recommending it. He added:For a while now, social media has taken what was once only available via word of mouth and pumped it full of steroids."At the end of the day, consumers today are savvy enough to know when a message is still brand-led or paid. The rise of user-generated content, however, allows real, on-ground recommendations to come through from people who have actually used the product." he said.According to Olsen, the trick to incorporating user-generated content into a company's marketing strategy is to create a compelling product or service before crafting the content that complements it. This is to ensure that the product or service will be picked up by real users, who will then produce user-generated content that the brand can leverage on."This is also a perfect way to look for the everyday champions of your brand and build advocacy relationships with them," he added. On the other hand, brands can also identify their detractors and reach out to them to hear on-ground concerns and suggestions on how to improve their product, Olsen said.Adding on to the conversation is Preetham Venkky, director at KRDS Singapore, who said that shareability needs to be the primary KPI that needs to be measure for engagement. Hence, it is important to plan a truly shareable experience when it comes to creating frequent user-generated content.Companies should think of which experiences and locations consumers are more likely to share and showcase its uniqueness through ways such as selfies. He also advised companies to engage travel-focused key opinion leaders on Instagram and invite them to be part of the experiences."MBS is neither a hotel nor a building. Rather, it is an iconic landmark that defines a destination - Singapore - and serves as a beacon to one's social network. It is much like what the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower serve as to their respective destinations," Venkky added.View the full rankings here:Most Instagrammed hotels in the world 2017 (Global)1. Marina Bay Sands Singapore (Singapore)2. Bellagio Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)3. The Venetian Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)4. Atlantis The Palm, Dubai (Dubai, UAE)5. MGM Grand Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)6. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)7. Wynn Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)8. Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, NV)9. Fontainebleau Miami Beac h (Miami Beach, FL)10. Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas, NV)11. Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel (Ibiza, Spain)Most Instagrammed cities of 2017 (Global)1. New York, New York2. Moscow, Russia3. London, United Kingdom4. Sao Paulo, Brazi5. Paris, France6. Los Angeles, California7. Saint Petersburg, Russia8. Jakarta, Indonesia9. Istanbul, Turkey10. Barcelona, SpainMost-Instagrammed locations of 2017 (Global)1. Disneyland, Anaheim, USA2. Times Square, New York City, USA3. Central Park, New York City, USA4. Tour Eiffel, Paris, France5. Tokyo Disney Resort, Tokyo, Japan6. Disney's Magic Kingdom, Orlando, USA7. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France8. Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, USA9. Disney California Adventure Park, Anaheim, USA10. Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas, USATop travel hashtags 1. #travel2. #nature3. #sunset4. #trip5. #wanderlust6. #travelgram7. #vacation8. #instatravel9. #adventure10. #travelphotographyRead also:Marina Bay Sands concludes media pitchUFC partners with Marina Bay Sands for an event push