Tennessee is more than just whiskey and legendary country music. It’s full of award-winning chefs, beautiful beaches, and countless hidden destinations for kids, solo travelers, and couples alike.
With over ninety-five counties, uncovering every memorable story—and capturing it on stunning vertical video—might seem daunting for the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development's five-person destination marketing team. With CrowdRiff’s UGC and Creators content, they’re making it happen, swimmingly.
The partnership with CrowdRiff, led by Senior Digital Media Manager Amanda Burton, has enabled them to create more authentic and engaging content that showcases the state's diverse attractions, from music heritage to culinary offerings.
“To try and curate content for all of our counties was going to be a huge lift,” Amanda reflects. “You can’t be everywhere at the same time. CrowdRiff helped us fill that gap.”
When Amanda’s team started working with CrowdRiff Creators, they were creating 1-2 reels a month, which increased to 4-6 reels toward the end of 2024, along with CrowdRiff-sourced UGC being used every time they post. Engagement and visibility significantly increased, with some posts–like this collection of 9 Whimsical Destinations In Tennessee– getting as much as 1.5M views and over 50K likes.
From UGC to CrowdRiff Creators: It's All About Authenticity.
A few years ago, Amanda’s team started using CrowdRiff's user-generated content software to help increase the volume and local-ness of the stories they told.
“It’s more impactful when you see someone who looks like you and has the same interests as you representing a brand, but authentically,” Amanda says.
Tapping UGC libraries was an effective first step. But Amanda needed more people on the ground, capturing the landscape and culture with a specific direction – so she branched out to CrowdRiff Creators for custom UGC videos.
“It was just another way to expand our storytelling with travelers,” she adds, “utilizing vertical video which has taken root and is so much more engaging."
In early 2024, Amanda met with CrowdRiff to discuss new ways to ramp up content creation for the year. Her biggest goal: highlight Tennessee’s unique experience by creating an evergreen database of vertical videos that would celebrate and amplify all corners of the state.
The first goal was for CrowdRiff Creators to produce enough videos to enable Amanda’s team to post 2-3 Reels and TikToks per week.
Content Creation Begins: An Unexpected Day at the Beach
One of Amanda’s first Creators shoots was A Day at a Tennessee Beach. “You wouldn’t think Tennessee has beaches because we’re landlocked but we do – and they lead you to our beautiful lakes.”
In her creative brief, Amanda made it clear that she wanted content with a first-person point of view to give people a sense of what it felt like to be there. “What would it look like if a visitor packed up for the day, went to a state park, and enjoyed their time on the beach? What would you bring? What would you do?”
Amanda recalls her notes for this early shoot were more extensive than most. “It paid off because the creators knew exactly what we wanted – we had so many details.” And, the videographer went above and beyond. “She brought her children, which is great because we now use the videos for a lot of the family content we’re planning for next year.”
The content from this shoot has been used in many places and repurposed into a variety of formats, focusing on spring and summer travel in Tennessee. While CrowdRiff Creators shoot mostly vertical video for social, this creator also shot horizontal footage for Visit Tennessee’s website.
Ramping Up Creators Projects
This single shoot was so successful, it inspired Amanda and her team to work with Creators on batch requests, building out content requests for the entire year. Much of this included a focus on Tennessee’s undiscovered food and culture. Amanda recalls a favorite shoot that happened early on.
“We have a creator who shot content at a variety of stops in Knoxville – a place to get ice cream, to get lunch with the kids, etc.”
As it turns out, the creator’s multiple stops enabled Amanda to produce a seamless visual itinerary that performed incredibly, and like the earlier beach content, has a never-ending shelf life.
“We’ve used those pieces again and again – in reels where we’re trying to highlight as many locations as possible in engaging ways for families who are planning trips to Eastern Tennessee.”
Amanda loves the diversity of perspectives and approaches. “Another piece that did really well was a white water rafting trip on the Coe River. I specifically requested a creator to have a GoPro because – especially when you’re outdoors – it gives you that true point of view.” The results inspired Amanda to request Go-Pro footage from nearly every following shoot. “It helps the visitor to step into it,” she says. “The creator just knocked it out of the park and he continues to create awesome content for us.”
Another successful shoot, which will feed next year’s content strategy, is a story on The Mad Herbalist, a tea lounge, eatery, and blending lab in Clarkesville, Tennessee. “We posted it in a ‘girls trip’ kind of reel and the content was so great with more than 3,000 plays – we didn’t have to edit it. We just added some text and sent it out and it performed really well.
And, Of Course, The Music
Tennessee's destination marketing wouldn’t be complete without a heavy focus on music.
One of Amanda’s favorite recent shoots was a self-guided tour of Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, showcasing the history of such an iconic music venue – the mother church of country music. What was so special about this shoot wasn’t just the music. It was the focus on the venue’s beautiful architecture.
”It’s all about the stained glass windows in the auditorium. Those always just serve. It's such a unique feature too. And the legendary memorabilia shots. But the most special part is that you can just show up - you don’t have to book a tour. You can just come and experience the place yourself. And the creator shows us that.”
Beyond CrowdRiff’s quality, volume, and flexibility, Amanda keeps returning to the power of local stories told by local creators.
“We get the best content when we ask a creator to take us to their favorite coffee shop. We want to see them share their own experiences and favorite spots. We’ve done that for waterfall hikes and state parks to see the best views. I love to let creators take ownership because I know they’ll do a great job. I think we’re harnessing that authenticity more with each shoot.”
In the coming year, Amanda and her team will work with CrowdRiff Creators to highlight Tennessee’s culinary offerings. “There are so many amazing chefs that people may not know about,” she says. “We’ll cover high-profile chefs and local mom-and-pop restaurants – great experiences that offer a true taste of Tennessee culture.”
With many shoots already in production, Amanda plans to work with creators to highlight distilleries and explore whiskey traditions, rooftop bars, and rural eateries. We can’t wait.
