According to a Nielsen research study, travelers spend an average of 53 days visiting around 28 different websites leading up to a trip, with more than 50 percent of them checking social media for travel tips.
Stats like this, and the deep entrenchment our society has with social media and the Internet in general, all point to one undeniable truth: the tourism & hospitality industry is being heavily influenced by digital content.
What can make matters worse is that much of this is user-generated content (UGC), causing brands to rightfully worry? After all, how can you uphold a stellar brand reputation when so much of what your buyers read about you online is out of your control?
The answer to this conundrum is Internet content monitoring, and it’s become an essential component of tourism and hospitality companies’ digital strategies.
Here are seven truths about content moderation in this industry, that you’re unlikely to hear anywhere else.
- Dangerous content is the rule, not the exception. Whether it’s hostile or threatening, dangerous content lurks online. This is especially true in the hospitality and tourism industry, and when there’s a high potential of people getting hurt, the onus is on the business to define various response mechanisms and escalation teams. This is all part of content moderation when it’s done right.
- Fraudulent content is everywhere. It’s probably not surprising that people sometimes write their own reviews or bad “reviews” about others in an effort to make their own brand look better (or because they’re bitter about an interpersonal difference). But finding out what user-generated content is actually fraudulent makes up the investigative part of content moderation. And it’s nothing short of proper detective work that must be done by individuals that are highly skilled and trained to protect your brand.
- Images and highly “Instagram-able” user submissions drive the most sales, among millennials especially. Because of this, hospitality & tourism companies need to make sure their social channels are constantly being updated or curated, for the best possible impact. This is an area in which content moderation teams can advise brands.
- The best content moderators are those with equal mastery of in-house knowledge and native knowledge. Our clients end up with an extended team of language natives (that ultimately become specialists) and fully dedicated trainers. Content moderation can be a tool used to strengthen cultural affinity, customer experience, and even customer fidelity – when done right.
- Tourism & hospitality companies must tailor their customer service on digital channels to their brands in order to succeed. From collaborative recruitment to branding and especially security, content moderation specialists can help align every aspect of a company’s digital customer service efforts to their desired brand reputation.
- Education and customer retention can fall under the umbrella of content moderation activities. The moderation agent’s radar will watch for any improvement opportunities that arise through customer feedback and work towards strengthening your relationship with the dissatisfied customer. Moreover, the agents can focus on educating your customers on the correct use of your online portals, setting the proper expectations, and on sharing good quality content. This is something most people don’t realize can be part of content moderation, but it’s a very important part. At Conectys, we heavily lean on quality assurance (QA) and measuring the success of our customer service, so we can incrementally improve it.
Product improvement can and will be generated through proper support functions, part of content moderation, including:
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- Support roles like QA and WFM/RTA for quality and schedule management.
- Team managers collaborating with the brand’s R&D, engineering, and training departments.
- Testing, bugs, KYC, PR shock absorbers, and training libraries getting developed.
