Many travel companies have realised the importance of the social web and are using user-generated content (UGC) to engage their customers, increase conversions and provide a useful feedback channel. A successful UGC and social media strategy can provide travel companies with key insight into consumer wants and needs. The question is – are travel companies really taking note? How can the value of UGC be measured?

Vicky Brock, Author of the popular B2B blog, Tracking Tourism found ‘when I ask people how they action the feedback they get from UGC and social media, I frequently hear “we have a tool that does that”. That is not actioning the feedback - that is just capturing the feedback. Action requires listening (not just ‘hearing’), understanding and implementing.’

‘For example, social media and buzz monitoring tools offer the opportunity to hear those conversations but like any tool, they require attention, analysis and action on the part of the organisation or they are meaningless.’

Firstly, before being able to analyse the effectiveness of UGC activity and listen to your customers, Brock highlights the importance of identifying the purposes of your UGC strategy. These could be:

  • Direct response advertising & marketing - I want people to see this content and take a specific action now
  • Brand awareness advertising & marketing - I want people to see this content, be aware of my existence and respond to my brand/product/destination in a positive way
  • Customer, brand, market and competitor research - I want to gather intelligence I can use for strategic decisions
  • Advocacy, champion and customer get customer marketing - I want to capitalise on the great experiences of previous customers/travellers in order to influence the decisions of future potential customers
  • Leverage - I want to capitalise on the efforts/activities of others to achieve exposure I could not otherwise afford to buy.

Once the purpose of your UGC strategy has been defined it is then possible to measure the success of your UGC activity. For example, Brock highlights that there is a big difference between trying to use You Tube for direct response marketing and using it for customer research. Brock advises to measure the actionable outcomes resulted from the information. To move beyond simply tracking buzz and measure the value of UGC to the bottom line. To measure UGC for customer, brand, market and competitor research she suggests:

  • A simple quantitative record of UGC inspired actions
  • The estimated value of stopping a conversion leak - eg, we contributed £XXXX to the bottom line by fixing this conversion problem now, not a year down the line
  • Money saved on conventional research or data collection activity (although it should not entirely replace existing research activity)
  • Uplift in specific satisfaction points, as a result of actioning UGC feedback, and therefore uplift in future intent to recommend/purchase
  • Savings in other cost centers, such as PR, training and call centers

Brock suggests that perhaps the most significant and powerful use of user-generated content is peer to peer authenticity. Captialising on previous traveler reviews, comments and photos is a profound way to bring in future customers. To measure advocacy, champion and peer to peer marketing, Brock suggests there are four distinct factors to consider:

  • Participation levels amongst your target group (visitors, previous customers, locals) in terms of creating reviews, uploading images, submitting ratings
  • The sentiment and satisfaction expressed in that UGC
  • The influence of that UGC over other potential travellers (ie, is the UGC actually being seen)
  • The conversions, actions, revenues resulting from that UGC.

So in conclusion, can travel companies successfully track exactly what influenced each of their customers to purchase? Can you put a precise figure on the value of UGC? Vicky Brock will be discussing this topic further at EyeforTravel’s upcoming Social Media Strategies in Travel Europe conference to be held as part of the Sales & Marketing in Travel Summit Europe in Munich, 14-15 October. She will be presenting on the session ‘An insight into User-Generated Content Metrics’. Visit to find out more or email [email protected] You can keep up with Vicky Brock’s blog ‘Tracking Tourism’ at

Gina Baillie
GM, EyeforTrave
+44 (0) 207 375 7197

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