Does a Casino Gamble by Being Social?

(And yes, I HAD to include an obvious analogy in the title, just to be clever.)

Facebook and Twitter and the multitude of other social networks are now mainstream enough to reach well into older demographics (which really happened about the same time your Mom became your personal Facebook friend). Since casino’s typically have much older-than-average demographics than typical businesses, they’ve been a little slower to the gate in setting up fan pages and becoming interactive with their players.

Another concern is that (by allowing players/customers to post their thoughts) there may be a lot of negativity out there by players who lost money. Regular casino customers and players (I make the distinction between the two because not all casino customers actually gamble) typically spend a lot of their disposable time and income at one casino, or by visiting a handful of nearby casinos—and often casino activities are over 90% of how they spend their free or vacation time.

For this reason, casinos deal with a very-loyal customer base, but a customer base that also takes a lot of “ownership” in how the casino operates, the level of service, the comp programs, and even the entertainment provided.

So what does this mean for their social network marketing?

Social needs to be social. (Duh)  So if you’re not going to be interactive about it, you’re really just sending out impressions, which is not going to be very good use of social networks. But, as I mentioned, when you give all of your players and customers a microphone via social networks, you’re taking the risk that they’re going to blast you for not paying out enough or the first service disappointment that comes along.

Do it anyway. Here’s why:

First, they’re talking about you already anyway—you’re just not hearing it. Casino players are a close-knit fraternity, and they talk a lot—comparing comps, games they’ve had successes/failures at, and the service you’re providing. You might as well be hearing what they have to say so you can address it if you want to? And when they choose to vent via Facebook and Twitter, they’re largely doing so to a group of people that have chosen to be loyal to you already becoming “fans.”

Second, it builds loyalty and your casino’s brand by letting them express their thoughts. As I mentioned, they take a lot of ownership in your casino already—now they feel like you might actually might be listening to them. Are you going to take your knocks once-in-a-while? You bet you are. But maybe you (or one of your other customers) might do a really good job at addressing their concerns and make them happy?

Third, ask questions through the social networks. “This band or that band?”, “How can we improve our restaurant?”, or “If we did this, would you do this back?”

Casino players are an older demographic, but casinos should not avoid social networks because of that fact. What’s more social than going to a casino? When considering using social networks, casinos have the opportunity for a nice payout. (There, ended with an obvious analogy too.)