Last updated on June 21st, 2023 at 04:59 pm
I bet you must have heard about it, as there is a hell of lots of buzz around it these days.
What is it?
User Generated Content (UGC). Yes, my friend, almost every online marketer agrees that UGC is a powerful ally in brand-building efforts.
And when it comes to social media, user-generated content is indispensable. Why?
58% of the population has a social networking profile. And people spend an average of around 2 hours and 29 minutes daily on social media.
With so many people spending significant time on social media, companies can get tons of user-generated content to fuel their online marketing engines.
But the sad truth is,
Only 16 percent of brands can provide consumers with some direction so that they can create content.
Can you encourage people to create content on social media?
In today’s post, I will discuss five proven ways to encourage user-generated content on social media.
After reading this post, you will know the tactics to motivate people to create content for you. Significantly, the 4th point can make a real difference.
Without further ado, let’s dive in:
How to Encourage User-Generated Content on Social Media
Here are proven ways to encourage people to create content for your brand:
1. Create Excitement around Your Brand
Per minute, 31.25 million messages are sent on Facebook, 347,222 tweets are posted on Twitter, 48,611 photos are posted on Instagram, 300 hours of video uploaded on YouTube according to research.
The point here is,
People bombard social media with messages, posts, photos, videos, etc.
You must create super excitement around your brand to stand out from the crowd.
If you look at how successful brands get UGC, you will notice that none employ a cold business approach.
I’m a great fan of Coca-Cola advertisements. They always come with unique ideas. During the summer of 2013 and 2014, Coca-Cola swapped its logo with customers’ names so that customers could share a Coke with the people they care about.
The company run this Coke campaign across all social media platforms. Search #shareacoke on Twitter, and you will find many exciting stories. And people responded like crazy.
People will respond to your brand like anything if you can create excitement around your brand.
Related: Inexpensive Ways To Promote Your Small Business
2. Leverage the Power of Hashtags
Hashtags are everywhere these days. But not all brands can leverage the power of hashtags.
Whether Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, hashtags, if used strategically, can offer you a boatload of user-generated content.
The best way to encourage people to create content through hashtags is to ask them to share their stories. Red Bull aptly executed this in its #PutACanOnIt campaign. People from all over the world created images with Red Bull placed in unique positions. You can check the top ten PutACanOnIt photos on Red Bull’s website.
Everyone has a story to tell. All great brands understand it and encourage people to share their stories.
Use a hashtag that can touch the inner chord of people. Believe me, my friend, you will get an overwhelming response.
Related: A Brief Guide on How to Use Hashtags Effectively
3. Offer Creative Rewards
Whether you call it an ethical bribe or a creative reward, people contribute when you offer them something in return. It’s not like you need to pay them money or significant gifts.
Sometimes, including their names in your posts can mobilize them. People want to be associated with the brands they care about. It’s simple human psychology.
When I was 14, Reader’s Digest published my letter in its monthly magazine. I was so happy that I doubled my writing letters to RD. The same human psychology works on social media as well.
Whenever someone interacts with your brand on social media, you should encourage them to be more active and give them some creative reward for being so.
4. Run Contests on Social Media
Running a contest on social media is a surefire way to encourage your fans and followers to create content.
Dove’s Share Your Beautiful Self Promotion is an excellent example of how a contest can encourage user-generated content.
Dove asked participants to send a photo of themselves and a friend. Then, participants needed to tell Dove why the featured friend was beautiful. This campaign generated a massive response from fans.
So, my friend, create a contest on social media if you want your fans to create content for you.
5. Conduct Surveys on Social Media
If you think social media surveys are only for generating insightful information, you need to conduct social media surveys more creatively.
My friend, social media surveys also offer proprietary data. Whether leading Twitter polls or full-on reports, social media surveys often produce great content.
What are you waiting for, my friend?
Conduct surveys on social media and motivate your fans to write for you.
Conclusion
User-generated content is all over social media, which means people have an unsuppressed eagerness to react on social media.
If you can create excitement around your brand, use hashtags smartly, conduct surveys and contests on social media, and offer creative rewards, there is no reason why you wouldn’t have fans and followers creating excellent content for you on social media.
It’s your turn now!
Do you have any tactic in mind to encourage user-generated content on social media? I’d love to know. Please share it in the comment section.
Additional Resources:
I completely agree with each point of this post. Thanks for sharing. People who want to get great traffic from social media marketing should go through this post. It will be really helpful for them.