The debate around user-generated versus expert content has been a hot topic among content creators for years. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, so which type of content should brands prioritize? The answer is you don’t have to choose: successful companies leverage both content types, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.
This SXSW panel gave business leaders, content strategists and marketers the chance to hear firsthand how three brands from food, travel and film successfully integrate user-generated and expert content to create dynamic platforms that build consumer trust and brand authority, as well as stimulate engagement.
How Brands Integrate Experts and User Generated Content
1. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
How Brands Integrate Experts & User Generated Content
Matt Atchity
Editor in Chief
@Matchity
Stacey Rivera
Digital Director
@staceriv3
Arabella Bowen
Editor in Chief
@arabellabowen
2. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
700+
Local Contributors
7,500
Destinations
80,000
Expert Recommendations
909,280
Community Topics
Fodor’s Travel: America’s Oldest Guidebook Company
The Fodor’s name has been synonymous with travel for almost 80 years.
Our team of global correspondents offers advice on how to travel
smarter through our guidebooks, Fodors.com, eBooks and apps.
3. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
How do you solicit quality UGC?
4. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
Who Did We Ask to Nominate Hotels?
Social
Followers
Fodors.com
Readers
Forums Users Newsletter
Subscribers
Editorial Curation
5. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
Attracting + Cultivating Your Audience
6. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
Develop your pool of potential
UGC contributors by making
targeted audience acquisitions.
Result: Outstanding
Traveler Recommendations
Provide consistent content with a
specific point of view to attract
users with the same mindset.
7. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
User Generated Content:
Collaborators Not Contributors
8. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
How do you use UGC on a
non-UGC site?
Let’s Talk About Cake
9. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
BonAppetit.com is not a UGC site. Our brand promise, in fact, is that our
recipes, cooking tips, restaurant and lifestyle coverage all come from experts.
Our readers are better than experts,
they are experimenters.
13. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
IS THE LEADING SOURCE OF
MOVIE & TV SHOW RATINGS, REVIEWS, AND
“FRESH” EDITORIAL.
Established in 1998, it is the most trusted
measurement of quality for filmed entertainment.
14. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
FROM THE PROFESSIONALS FROM THE USERS
FRESH ROTTEN CERTIFIED FRESH AUDIENCE
SCORETomatometer is
60% or higher.
Tomatometer is
59% or lower.
Tomatometer is 75% or
higher, with 40 reviews
(movies) or 20 reviews
(TV). At least 5 reviews
from Top Critics.
Received 3.5 stars or
higher by Flixster and
Rotten Tomatoes users.
AUDIENCE
SCORE
Received less than 3.5
stars by Flixster and
Rotten Tomatoes users.
How are expert and user opinions represented on
Rotten Tomatoes?
• Expert opinion is represented by the Tomatometer, which represents the percentage of
professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show.
• User opinion is represented by the Audience Score, which represents the percentage of
Rotten Tomatoes and Flixster users that positively rated a movie or TV show
15. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
Both numbers are shown together on every
movie and TV page
SCRIPTED
TELEVISION
SHOWS
MAJOR FILM
RELEASES
16. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
Reviews from both critics and experts are shown
for each title
CRITICS’
REVIEW
QUOTES
AUDIENCE
REVIEWS
18. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
Source: Bottlenose 2014
• To validate opinions about content quality
• To compare and contrast shows to decide what to watch
Fans & Journalists Use Rotten Tomatoes Scores
19. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
Strengths of #PROvsUGC
Immediate/Real Time
Audience Engagement
Listening Device
Constant Content Stream
Trusted
Objective
Structured
Scalable
Expensive
Conversation Starter
20. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
Who Do You Trust? Hotels
Built in 1886 and impeccably restored, The Driskill
represents a time when people mingled in grandiose
settings. The lobby, highlighted by vaulted ceilings,
decorative columns, and chandeliers, epitomizes Old
World, Texas luxury.
Each room—decorated with old photos, vintage curios,
and refurbished antiques—is unique, so specific
requests should be made when reserving.
Standard guestrooms are cramped, but corner rooms
showcase nice city views.
Leading Travel User Review Site
DETAILED | OBJECTIVE | ACTIONABLE
INSIDER INFORMATION
MYOPIC | SUBJECTIVE | NEGATIVE
NOT ACTIONABLE
The rooms (3 of which I visited) were all worn out. The
carpet dirty, the beds creeky, some had high ceilings which
felt eerie, some awkward layouts of furniture.
The elevator made me nervous with funky noises.
The bathroom in my room was big as it was a handicap
but the water ran cold for a good two or three minutes,
had low pressure and after letting it run I was standing in
ankle deep cold water as I showered.
21. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
Who Do You Trust? Recipes
Leading User-Submitted Recipe Site
REAL INGREDIENTS | HOW-TO VIDEO FOR HELP
EXPLANATION OF COOKING METHOD
UNCLEAR ORIGIN | COMMENTS MORE HELPFUL THAN
INSTRUCTIONS LACK OF COOKING CUES
22. A Happy Marriage: Experts & UGC #PROvsUGC #SXSW
WHO DO YOU TRUST? CRITICS VS. FANS
Source: Bottlenose 2014
Who Do You Trust? Movies
AUDIENCE
- Reflects fans’ passions
- Come from fans that chose to see a film or
TV show
- Consensus gets closer to critics assessment
over time.
Can help you see if a movie or TV show lives
up to fan expectations.
CRITICS
- Deeper and more analytical than most
fan reviews
- Less swayed by marketing
- Consensus tends to stay the same over time
Can help you decide on films or TV shows you
don’t know about.
Let's talk about cake, shall we? [IMAGE OF http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/salted-texas-chocolate-sheet-cake]
This has been one of our consistently highly trafficked recipes over the past year and its province speaks to how we do reader-generated content the best: we need their inspiration, not necessarily their perspiration.
To be clear, BA.com is not a UGC site. Our brand promise, in fact, is that our recipes, cooking tips, restaurant and lifestyle coverage all come from experts in their field. We trust our readers, but groceries are expensive, cooking takes time and the service we provide is to help them live their best life through the lens of food.
Our readers are better than experts, they are experimenters. They look at our recipes as guides and give us direct feedback of what worked, what didn’t and how they did it their way. We take their inspiration back to our kitchens and make it work for everyone. Which lead to the creation of Readers Choice Week and this cake.
Reader’s Choice Week is a week; happen next week actually, where we let the users program the recipes coming out of the test kitchen. Every morning they get to pick what type of recipe they want us to make and we deliver it by 4 pm. We also pick our favorite reader submitted recipe and put it through the paces in our kitchens to come out with a recipe that we know tastes good, but also works technically. [IMAGE: http://www.bonappetit.com/people/our-readers/article/readers-choice-winning-recipe]
But what about the other 51 weeks of the year? For that we have social media, which has really changed the game for how users can be co-creating with us, rather than creating for us. If you want UGC recipes on BA.com, I suggest you look a recipe with a lot of comments and get ready to be inspired—I can’t stop our users from making recipe tweaks, talking about seasoning adjustments or, and this is been the most fun for us, photographing our recipes and theirs and sharing them on Instagram. Hashtags, with all their evils, also allow for incredibly easy way to aggregate your UGC. In fact, you probably have some you don’t even realize. Use it.
#BAreaders is for sure our proudest collection of UGC content. The platforms should dictate the user involvement. BA.com is a database of tested and approved recipes and tips. The digital universe of Bon Appetit is a highly engaged community of cooks, who do their thing and share it with likeminded people. And we let them, encourage them and give them a place to do.
Show scores on site side by side
Show scores on site side by side
HBO--‐lovers leverage RT scores in a similar manner to program discussions on competing networks: Fresh vs Rotten validates consumer opinions about content quality
RT scores are leveraged by top execs & journalists to justify the value of original programming
HBO--‐lovers leverage RT scores in a similar manner to program discussions on competing networks: Fresh vs Rotten validates consumer opinions about content quality
RT scores are leveraged by top execs & journalists to justify the value of original programming