Most successful user-generated content campaigns!

User-generated content and global campaigns that prove its success!

In our last article, we have analyzed how significant is for companies to give emphasis on user generated content! Today we are giving you a follow-up on this topic!

We will be elaborating on how companies can encourage user-generated content through the most globally successful campaigns!

Are you ready? … Let’s go!

Studies have indicated that consumers tend to trust campaigns utilizing user-generated content by 50% more than trusting other media.

Best content competition

A social media competition with ideas and photographs from users is the best thing you can do! A pioneer in a unique and successful campaign concerning photographic content couldn’t have been other than National Geographic! National Geographic has asked users to submit photographs from their travels around the world depicting their unforgettable moments and experiences which have since then affected their lives. Of course, for the contest to have a meaning for the for the user as well, there must be some sort of prize! The company gave huge prizes for each category, like cash prizes and trips. Besides having pleased users, the company has also gained a huge database with photographs and as a result a global photographic album was created!  Therefore, you can think of clever ways to create a competition, with a prize relevant to your company and the needs of your own users!

Use the power of Hashtags

Every December, Starbucks launches the #RedCupContest to promote its seasonal drinks, having as a theme the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas! It encourages its faithful coffee lovers to submit photos with the red cup inside their stores using a specific hashtag and hence they can have the chance to win unique prizes! The #RedCupContest is a clever campaign that encourages coffee lovers and social media users to participate and share  their photo on their Facebook profile.   

Create your own unique campaign based on the season’s trend!

In 2014, Marc Jacobs instead of holding a normal casting for the models he wanted for the needs of his advertising show, he decided to create a casting campaign via Twitter and Instagram. Any model who wished to take part should upload a selfie photo (this is when the relevant term made its appearance) with the hashtag #CastMeMarc.

The campaign “Cast Me Marc” was so successful that it was used for the recruitment of the next beauty vlogger of Marc Jacobs as well!

Encourage your clients to submit their own stories.

What is more truthful and direct than a human story! Encourage your users to submit their own personal stories! When the user shares his feeling and experiences, the other users can easily identify with him and hence with your company!

A wonderful example is the one of the North Face company which effectively uses user-generated content. It encourages its users to share a story on social media with their adventures during the time they are using a North Face tool.

You can launch a campaign relevant to a specific day which has an essence and importance to your users!  For example, national days or holidays could become the perfect occasion for the making of an effective campaign. Similarly, the Purina Company within the context of the Thanksgiving holiday and the National Dog Show has launched a clever campaign with the hashtag #dogthanking, which encouraged dog owners to show their gratitude towards their beloved pets on social media!

For each post that was including the hashtag #dogthanking, Purina was donating a dollar for the AKC Canine Health Foundation. In addition, the participants were given the opportunity to present their photos, videos and posts during the National Dog Show on NBC.

There are many examples which prove that user-generated content can bring huge success and can greatly increase the interaction and engagement of the target audience with the company! The truth is that this is a strategy used from the smallest to the biggest companies globally!

 

Trend Whispers by Antonia Zenonos

Journalist at Clickhouse Media
Email: info@clickhouse.media