Why this luxury hotel chain bets on user generated content’s ‘power of the people’
User generated content has become more important in a society where less polished content performs better than professionally created content,especially in light of today’s booming creator economy. For that reason — helped by the post-Covid-19 travel rebound — hotel chain Red Carnation has spent the last seven years bullish on its user generated content strategy as a cost effective way to drum up brand awareness.
Red Carnation is a nearly 40-year-old boutique collection of luxury properties with a global presence stretching from London to parts of Africa. With more than 18 locations, user generated content gives the hotel chain a way to boost brand awareness for each property without the burden of travel and photography costs, said Ciara Fitzpatrick, Red Carnation Hotels’ B2B marketing manager.
“We can’t clone ourselves, unfortunately. So what do you do? You just tap into the power of the people,” she said. “We do have an advocate of loyal fans who are posting to social.”
The bulk of Red Carnation’s content comes from Instagram (with user permission), where it has more than 10,000 followers. The hotel chain uses Instagram photo and video content on its own social media channels, in addition to using it for its other digital marketing efforts like its website, email strategy and blog — especially as inflation has driven up costs of everyday living.
“Everything is getting more expensive; electricity bills, gas prices, etc.,” said Fitzpatrick. “To be able to tap into the power of our guests and not have to employ a team of photographers is also really beneficial to us.” Instead of hiring professional photographers to create content, Red Carnation’s strategy hinges on reaching out to guests and asking to use their content, which means the company only pays licensing fees, per Fitzpatrick, who oversees the chain’s efforts.
