User Generated Content
April 18, 2018
As travelers plan their next trip, they scour the Internet, read articles and reviews, and check every social media platform for inspiration. What’s more inspirational than making an authentic connection with a destination through images and videos that show what it’s really like to visit? User Generated Content (UGC) showcases your brand through content from actual visitors—people who have enjoyed and captured what it’s like to immerse themselves in the experience of your destination—and shares that content with prospective visitors.
UGC is the new word-of-mouth advertising
Think back to a time before the Internet, when the cool pictures and stories people shared about their recent adventures made you want to book your next trip. The channels in which we now receive this word-of-mouth advertising have changed immensely.
Thanks to social media, a person’s circle of trusted resources has expanded from immediately available friends and family to hundreds, maybe even thousands of people on the Internet. People tend to want to share their experiences, and the influential power of seeing someone you know and trust post stories, videos, and images is exponential. How can marketers take advantage of this and create new connections? A diversified marketing plan with branded content and the added clout of UGC complementing each other strengthens the promotion of your destination.
People tend to want to share their experiences, and the influential power of seeing someone you know and trust post stories, videos and images is exponential.
Incorporating UGC into your materials
If you’ve already started using UGC in your campaigns, you may have struggled with the amount of time it takes to curate photos and videos that fit your brand. For DMOs that have tight budgets and lean teams with limited time to spare, it can be challenging to make the UGC dream a reality. Madden’s partnership with CrowdRiff brings you the opportunity to work with two teams who know the best ways to implement your visitors’ photos and videos on your website and promotion materials.
The CrowdRiff platform works differently from others because it seamlessly gathers and organizes images without limitations. The core platform was built with DMOs in mind, using the insight gathered from an analysis of what DMOs need and want—a flexible, easy-to-use, and quick system that doesn’t burn up your valuable time. The artificial intelligence of the platform uses quality filters to curate better images with higher quality.
Weaving these high quality images from your visitors into your digital strategy will help you create a better connection with potential new visitors. This authentic representation of your destination helps you tell your story in a way that engages your target audiences and inspires them to take a closer look at all you have to offer. From printed guides to online content, there are no limits on where and how you can incorporate genuine content created by real visitors into your brand message.
