Let’s talk about user-generated content (UGC) for destinations and getting the rights. As a tourism marketer, you often need recent and relevant visuals to market your destination. So, you search your social media feeds and discover a ton of beautiful and authentic UGC that would work perfectly for your next campaign. 

Photo collection

So why not just download them and use the content? It’s in the public domain, right? 

Unfortunately, acquiring UGC online doesn’t work quite like that. Firstly, asking permission to use someone else’s content is the right thing to do. Beyond that, Facebook requires you to obtain permission before using someone else’s posted visuals. Plus, starting conversations with the people sharing visuals about your destination is a great way to build relationships with the engaged locals and visitors in your area.

In short, you should always get rights to UGC if you plan to repost it anywhere.  Whether you’re doing it manually or leveraging a tool like CrowdRiff, here are three tips to make collecting usage rights a breeze.

[Unable to render content]

Moral of the Story: Acquiring Rights is Important

Rights are important and are required by Facebook’s usage policy. They also may be required by your organization’s own policies. Ultimately, it’s just a good practice to ask permission to repurpose someone else’s content. 

It’s easy to get rights. Just remember:

  • Respectfully ask and tell the creator how you plan to use the content 
  • Sound natural and human, so they don’t ignore you
  • Add terms and conditions for an extra layer of assurance
[Unable to render content]