This document discusses how travel companies can use user-generated content (UGC) to create value. It explains that travelers share more photos and videos than average which they want to share where they stayed and what they did. The presentation covers why UGC is useful, how to encourage sharing through gamification, tracking influencers, and leveraging top contributors. It provides examples of contests and leaderboards to generate content and traffic for hotels and tour operators. The key benefits of UGC are that it is free, fun, authentic, and easy to obtain for marketing.

1. Joris Brabants @BuboBox
joris@bubobox.com
facebook.com/bubobox
www.bubobox.com
How travel industry creates value with user
generated content

2. Using UGC in travel industry
People on holiday spread more
photo & video content than the
average person.
They want their friends to see
1. At what hotel they stay
2. The activities they do
3. The accomodation
4. The environment
In this presentation you will learn:
Why use user generated
content?
How to add techniques to
stimulate sharing?
How to track influentials?
How to leverage your
contributors in content
creation

3. Why use user generated
content?
First of all, why should you use
user generated content?
1. It’s free
2. It’s fun
3. It’s authentic
4. It’s easy
What type of user generated
content?
Pictures & videos of holiday
location
Reviews and testimonials
Foto/video contest
Blogposts, …

4. Avoid content being fragmented
Visitors share photos & videos
across several social networks:
1. Facebook
2. Pinterest
3. YouTube
4. Twitter
5. …
As a hotel/tour operator you
don’t have any control over
what, when, where, …
Get control over what they
say, where they say it…
Provide the platform to
upload photos & videos on
your site or Facebook page
Review the entries before
publishing
Don’t lose valuable content

5. Add gamification techniques to
generate buzz!
Gamification techniques will
encourage the contributors to
spread the content.
Our leaderboard can calculate
scores based on:
1. # Likes
2. # Shares
3. # Views / Impressions
4. # Inbound traffic
5. Or use your own magic
formula
In the travel
industry, gamification elements
can be:
Post a series of pics during
your stay at our hotel
Get xx # of friends to like
your submission
Leaderboard in the lobby to
encourage sharing ;) and
stimulate competition among
guests

6. Track & identify influentials &
ambassadors
When people share the content, and
people click on it to see the photo or
video, they get redirected to the
Facebook page or website.
This way the content generates a
steady amount of inbound traffic, mostly
friends of the contributors.
BuboBox is able to track valuable
information that will help you identify
influentials and brand ambassadors:
• # of shares
• # likes
• # inbound traffic
• # conversions!!!
The impact of UGC on inbound traffic

7. Track & identify influentials & ambassadors:
the BuboBox newsfeed
The newsfeed in your dashboard
shows basic information of your
widgets, click through to see detailed
information

8. How to leverage contributors
Getting entries:
The first entries are always the
hardest to get.
Stimulate video & photo entries
by giving an incentive.
This can be a discount coupon
or freebie (a cocktail at the pool
for example)
Getting traffic & conversions
Add gamification elements to
create buzz
Check which review or
testimonial generate more
conversions
Make it fun, integrate it in
offline channels

9. Flow of video / photo contest
Activate your guests
to contribute with
their photos or
videos
Guests can upload
media to Hotel /
Tour Operator
website or FB page
using BuboBox
Share through social
media and calculate
scores for
leaderboard
Reward Contributors
through your
Bubobox dashboard

10. Testimonials & reviews
…becomes…

11. Testimonials & reviews
Testimonials can influence the
decisions of consumers
Identify influentials by tracking the
view-through-conversions
Use the best influentials on your
website!