To reach a wider audience and generate more bookings, tour operators are increasingly looking at ways in which they can enhance their marketing strategy and stand out from their competitors.
In today’s online world, where potential buyers trust real customers over anything else, social word-of-mouth marketing in the form of user generated content presents the greatest opportunity for tour and activity operators to land new bookings.
In this blog, we take a look at what user generated content is, ways you can build user generated content strategies, and why your brand can still remain in control of a user generated content by simply providing free photos to customers.
What is user generated content?
User generated content (UGC) is any content - whether it be text, videos, images or reviews - that’s created by customers rather than brands.
This brand-specific content is typically created by customers, either because your brand has asked for it (such as through a competition) or they have created it organically, and then published on social media or other online channels.
User generated content is incredibly important, helping organizations to increase engagement with their audience and convert new customers. That’s because UGC takes the authenticity of your brand to the next level.
User generated content strategies can help tour and activity operators realize huge benefits, such as:
- Making the customers the star of the show, which leads to more trustworthy marketing campaigns.
- The creation of authentic content that inspires confidence in your brand.
- User-generated content that improves the effectiveness of your online channels, leading to more bookings.
- The use of brand advocates to increase your brand’s online exposure.
- Increasing engagement on social media channels.
- Reducing the cost of your marketing initiatives.
- Giving you valuable insight into the needs, expectations and motivations of your target customers.
The top user generated content strategies that will help tour and activity operators see results
#1 - ReviewsOne effective way for tour operators to enhance their user generated content marketing strategy is to encourage customers to leave reviews of their brand.
These reviews can be collected on your website, across social media channels, and on review platforms such as TripAdvisor or Booking.com. Authentic reviews have a significant impact on the travel consumer’s decision making process when booking a tour.
Reviews can be used to both promote the strengths of your brand to prospects, as well as take on areas of feedback from past customers, so that you can continually improve your offering.
Learn how to generate more reviews online though thank you videos.
#2 - Photo memoriesA photo is worth a thousand words. Photos of customers having authentic moments on your tour have a massive influence on consumers - helping you to generate new bookings.
Sharing photos on your brand’s social media pages, as well as encouraging your top advocates to share photos on their channels, helps you to reach a wider audience with authentic moments that prospects will want to experience.
#3 - Authentic videosVideos have been gaining major ground in marketing in recent years. Video is the most consumed format on the internet, and is a fantastic way for tour operators to showcase the experience they provide to their guests.
Video marketing campaigns that encourage advocates to share memories of their experience with your brand through video can be a fantastic way to leverage user generated content as part of a successful marketing strategy.
Stay in control of your user generated content marketing by providing free photos to your customers
While user generated content is an incredibly effective way to grow your tour or activity marketing initiatives, it does mean that you are relinquishing control of your marketing initiatives and hoping that the increased brand exposure generates new bookings (which can’t be tracked).
But what if there was a way to keep control of your marketing program, while at the same time promoting user generated content marketing?
By using a photo marketing platform such as Fotaflo to share photos and videos with your guests on a custom-branded webpage, not only are you providing them with an easy way to share user generated-type content with their social media followers, but you are also able to remain in control with targeted CTAs that can drive both repeat bookings and referral bookings.
Want to learn more about how you can enhance your marketing initiatives with the Fotaflo photo marketing platform? Book a demo today.
