Request Feedback on Users
You have yet to solicit feedback because no one has asked. Ask your customers for reviews. Sending them an email like the one below from Gecko can be an effective way of doing this.
Pay Attention to Trends
You can strengthen your UGC strategy by monitoring trends in customer behavior. But how? Customer Trends provide valuable insight into the types of UGC that appeal to customers and which topics, themes, or formats will encourage them to create and share UGC. How can you easily analyze customer trends?
Your task should be to explore these queries to understand customer tastes and current trends.
- What kind of Content are your customers sharing online? One effective way to discover what customers think about you is to search hashtags related to your industry and brand name; this will allow you to spot current trends and gauge customer interest.
- Who are the target recipients of your campaign? Create surveys asking your target audience group what their preferred Content is to assess who your ideal target market should be. Leverage social media analytics tools for audience insight to pinpoint this audience segment accurately.
Your next step should be creating a UGC strategy that produces results-oriented UGC.
Create Your Hashtag
Create your hashtag to promote your brand through popular social media strategy platforms like Twitter and Instagram, using tools for managing social media marketing to achieve maximum results. Additionally, this helps you locate any posts your customers have shared with their accounts. Here is some user-generated content featuring as part of its description:
User-generated Content is already out there; all that needs to happen now is asking users if they would like their posts reposted on your site or social media management tools pages. You'll discover that many are willing to assist. Who wouldn't want more exposure for their account?
Launch an Instagram
Contest: You can also increase user content creation with an Instagram contest. Starbucks utilized over 30,000 user-generated pieces from this contest during their holiday advertising, contributing positively to sales. To enter, purchase any Starbucks beverage served in red cups to enter. Be certain to outline the rules and requirements of your contest and how participants participate in art.
Make it fun: Create a Facebook contest where customers write posts expressing what they appreciate most about your company.
Monitor User Social Conversations
Delighted customers will tell their friends and family about your marketing services on social media campaigns at any time. Listen in on these discussions to stay on top of customer loyalty. Track conversations via social media automation platforms. Thank people for their comments, and ask if they'd be open to working together on user-generated Content (UGC). Social media analytics are included within these tools and will enable you to measure how user-generated Content performs on various social media channels. Work closely with these users to create a solution that allows them to continue.
Influencers as Customers
Working with influencers who are also customers provides two advantages to your brand. Knowledgeable of which types of UGC resonate most with your audience, you can trust that any content produced for you will deliver results. Increased exposure to your product or brand can increase credibility in your field.
Amy Landino is an award-winning vlogger, success coach, and time manager best known for her organizational and time management tips. Ryder Carroll, creator of the Bullet Journal system, chose Amy as one of his ideal collaborators when publishing his book.
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Employee Engagement: Establish a Program
There are three important reasons that employees should be the cornerstone of your brand: Your staff is the force that drives your business forward. Your customers are your greatest brand ambassadors. Engagement among your employees has an immediate and significant effect on your brand's reputation and business income. Create a social media page where employees can upload the Content they have produced themselves.
Launch an Ambassador Program
A program that rewards loyal customers and fans can encourage them to create Content to spread your brand, further increasing brand recognition and increasing its market reach. Your ambassadors, by joining an exclusive group and receiving benefits that only they are entitled to receive, are more likely than others to promote you and your products through content creation. Make sure you clearly define the rules of your ambassador program. Be sure to explain which posts they can make or even what comments can or cannot be made about your brand.
Devise An Engaging Task
Content creators can generate stimulating material by devising compelling tasks for users that excite and challenge them creatively or physically. Fitness content creators devise multi-day challenges where users can participate and share their progress via social platform media.
Introduce free challenges into your audience engagement strategy to expand and diversify their experience while simultaneously producing Content for marketing channels and uncovering potential new pieces of media to share. But that is only the start. Your challenge could go viral and boost brand recognition and retention rates significantly.
Provide Your Customers an Incentive
This may sound similar to offering customers incentives in return for user-generated Content appearing on your site. As we previously noted, creating high-quality Content isn't easy - think how frustrated your customers would feel if you struggled to produce such material. One way to show appreciation is to offer them something like G2 did via Twitter: Starbucks coffee as an incentive. Nurturing relationships with your target audience will be fine, as you will soon see user-generated Content arrive without incentives - thanks to loyal fans talking about your brand on their own.
How To Get More User-Generated Content For Your Brand
Here are a few best practices to remember as you plan your user-generated content campaign.
Posting on Social Media? Always Give Credit Back
Give credit to the original creator when reposting photos, quotes, or texts you didn't create yourself by simply tagging their account within an Instagram image's caption or your profile's description. Tagging will get your images seen by more people. Instagram image tagging is an effective way of increasing exposure. Your post will appear both on your profile page and that of the account tagged, creating an excellent repository for user-generated Content.
We make it easy to include multiple Instagram profiles as public accounts when scheduling image-based posts. There is no need to return to Instagram after preparing; tag profiles in any image when planning to create Instagram-ready content without leaving.
It Is Necessary to Secure Permission
Before Relying on Customer and Fan Images. Before including photos or videos taken by customers and fans during events as brand materials, obtain their express permission first. As soon as you contact them, arrange an equitable compensation package. It would be wise not to use user-generated Content if no response comes back from them.
Respect Boundaries
It is also crucial that you respect the privacy and boundaries of your users. Only curate or repost brand content that tags, mentions, or uses your hashtag.
Read More: The Guide To Grow Your Mobile App Using Content Marketing
Provide Full Disclosures
All user-generated Content related to your brand must be subject to full disclosures and disclaimers regarding how it will be utilized. Explain to your customers that they can repost any curated content they find on social media marketing platforms without charging you.
Include Photos of Customers on Your Website
Your brand can be more easily conveyed to prospective customers when photos of existing and past customers reflect it on your website. They'll get an insight into who represents it - which should increase awareness of your brand among prospective clients. UGC can be an amazing way to show your customers how much you value them and encourage visitors to become part of your brand. Include UGC on your website and encourage visitors to join it.
Utilizing Content Curation Tools
To facilitate content curation and monitoring more easily, use tools designed for curating user-generated Content with content curation tools that help identify new pieces related to your brand. Use analytics tools to monitor user-generated Content. Are they more engaging? Which kinds of user-generated material perform best? Now is the time to focus on curating only high-quality posts and devise new strategies to continue garnering these valuable posts for your brand.
Ten Ideas to Get More User-Generated Content
One key idea for creating user-generated Content (UGC) is user-generated photos created and shared through digital tools like Instagram, VSCO, and Afterlight. UGC has become an invaluable marketing asset for brands, as its photos can increase brand recognition, engagement levels, and metrics such as pageviews - not to mention it can provide unlimited amounts of material. This Content exists all around us.
Do You Know What to Do? You are more likely to react positively when viewing photos taken by brands you trust or those shared by someone you respect, known as user-generated Content (UGC). UGC can be used for many different reasons. Still, ultimately, its appeal lies in its ability to capture unscripted moments that show perspective, creativity, and authenticity - sharing personal experiences that brands cannot replicate objectively. You can utilize UGC, whether your brand be a global retailer, local business, or both, to drive brand messaging home while connecting with customers and celebrating influential fans; incorporate some of these ideas into your UGC strategy to rally up masses around a common cause.
Audit Existing Fan Photos
Before approaching your CMO with a UGC strategy proposal, research existing fan photos your customers share organically on social media platforms such as Instagram. A quick Instagram search should give you some answers here - Two methods may work here depending on which kind of UGC you need to tap into:
Search by Location
Instagram's geotags allow users to easily locate photos taken at one of their physical locations - whether that means visiting an actual store, restaurant, hotel, etc. Additionally, searching your company headquarters will allow for discovering employee-generated Content.
Search For Hashtags
Begin by thinking about what will likely spark conversation - a hashtag or product likely to generate discussion.
Searching "Curalate" on Instagram brings up more than 1,000 images, thanks to our Community Manager's dedication and the snapshots our employees and clients have chosen to share. If we wanted to delve further, we could also search "Curaladies," which is popular among Curalate's female customers, and "Curalattes," as they are both at Curalate.
Remember that users don't always use brand hashtags or handles when sharing Content on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. Curalate recently analyzed Instagram images featuring brands we work with and found that 80 percent of those, including location tags, did not mention their brand in their captions. Don't limit yourself by simply using hashtags for analysis - give yourself options.
Uncover Consumer Trends
Analyzing customer photos shared is an effective way of learning more about their culture. An effective data-driven UGC campaign requires answering key questions with confidence. They recently initiated their campaign to generate excitement around their, which customers had already liked organically. "Many people around the globe own it, as well as bloggers taking pictures with it; joining Le Pliage's online fans was an easy decision for us."
Leverage an #AllforYou hashtag strategy
Your brand exists because of customers - their relationship with it and how they use your product matters to you, too. While your customers might be tempted to tag images using the #YourBrandName hashtag, consider creating one more suitable for fans - Forever 21 uses #FSxME while Wet Seal has promoted #WetSeal4Me, Urban Outfitters utilizes two specific hashtags about music and apartment categories, respectively: #AROUNDYOU and #UOONYOU respectively - these brands receive regular streams of user-generated Content generated by fans on social media.
Position Call-to-Actions at Key Locations
Expect your hashtags to take off slowly; place strong calls-to-action in places where customers are likely to interact with your Content - such as Instagram bio, location tags, and captions of photos. Take inspiration from Instagram profiles like Wet Seal or Forever 21 on how they utilize content calls-for-content requests on their Instagram profiles or Wet Seal/Forever 21's website, social media channels, blog, and catalogs. Home goods retailer HomeGoods recently reported an impressive 24% surge in UGC following the implementation of explicit CTAs across its social channels (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter), website, and printed catalog back covers.
Signage Can Be An Excellent Way To Draw Customers Into Your Store
Engage customers at one of their most crucial touchpoints: your physical store. Engage customers by including messaging in entertainment venues or tickets. Retailers may place hashtags at registers, dressing rooms, and photogenic installations, such as Saks Fifth Avenue did with its Fashion Week campaign when placing decals across 39 stores to encourage sharing shopping experiences and elevate themselves as fashion icons.
Host an Event
User Generated Content can be an effective way for brands to spread awareness about products. But brands must place trust in their customers - what do your customers think of your products? Does the lighting look flattering or flat? Are there competitors' products in the picture? What are the chances someone's #OOTD contains 100% products from your brand, etc........ If brands want more control and scale over UGC campaigns, hosting an event is an excellent way to achieve both goals; make sure guests leave with something worth posting online about as they leave with goodie bags that can give them Instagram fame on Instagram.
Gain Access to Influencers
Social media and digital influencers are often looked upon as leaders within their particular industry, often boasting large followings and beautiful photo feeds that draw the eye. Images such as these will engage consumers and inspire them to submit their photographs. According to a recent survey, 59% of marketers plan to increase the budget they spend on influencer marketing this year; it should be remembered that influencer marketing does not apply equally across industries - when choosing how best to work with influencers, consider:
Audience Align
What kind of Content and demographics does their fan base enjoy?
Be Sure of Your Digital Presence
Make sure that any influencers you work with are also dedicated to the channels where you operate - for instance, don't use an Instagram influencer with millions of followers as part of an effort to promote Twitter ads.
Credibility
Influencers should be considered more than just influential by having large followings and eyewitnesses. Ensure you understand where each influencer comes from and whether their background fits the campaign goals.
Design A Contest
User Generated Content can be an incredible source of organic behavior. UGC represents your brand without bias; to encourage its creation and expand upon what already exists, you could analyze images and videos about your brand before designing a contest that builds off them.
Design Within Reach has proven this with their Champagne Chair Contest. Knowing their customers are creative and active, Design Within Reach encouraged their followers to construct miniature chairs from champagne bottles (with no more than two corks), upload photos of their creations, and upload them to Design Within Reach's social media sites for sharing. Their campaign generated 1 Million impressions with an increase of 238% engagement rate.
Position UGC as Social Currency Simple
Customers, especially teenagers, enjoy coupons, buy-one-get-one deals, and other incentives as social currency. Expert conducted a 2014 study that revealed 13-to-17-year-olds to be more brand-conscious than price-conscious compared to 18-24-year-olds. User-generated piece of Content is an effective way of engaging your customers and encouraging brand loyalty.
Small offers like discounts or freebies are an effective way to encourage participation, or the opportunity for something unexpected and special related to your brand is even better. Marc Jacobs recently opened two pop-up stores where social engagement was the sole currency accepted, including UGC. Customers were invited to "buy" products by uploading or tweeting pictures with the brand hashtag, encouraging thousands of Instagram photos from brand loyalists interacting with branded products - 4,300 images were collected between February 7th and 9th, 2014.
Display Photos Of Customers On Your Website
Its Brands can help shoppers make connections between products and images by including user photos in their e-commerce experiences while celebrating some of their most loyal fans (it can even act like virtual high fives.). Furthermore, galleries of user-generated valuable content ma (UGC) could attract even more UGC.
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Final Thoughts
User-generated Content can help enhance the reputation of your brand and products, drawing more customer engagement and driving up revenue. This blog post presents several strategies to help your brand generate more user-generated relevant Content to promote itself. Results will only appear after some time, but with consistent efforts on your part and customer loyalty building up quickly, they should soon start sending in user-generated type of Content (UGC).
