Launching a user generated content campaign can be one of the most effective ways to build your brand.
User generated content is a unique opportunity to have new content to share with your customers submitted by your customers! It allows them to have a voice and share their views.
According to Bazaar Voice, 64% of millennials and 53% of baby boomers want more options to share their opinions about brands, while other studies show consumers trust user generated content more than all other forms of media.
In light of these trends, there’s never been a better time to start using user generated content to engage your readers and build trust with them.
User Generated Content Campaigns
1. Burberry
Burberry launched The Art of the Trench website in 2009, where users could upload and comment on pictures of people wearing Burberry products. Burberry’s ecommerce sales surged 50% year-over-year following the launch of the site.
2. Coca-Cola
To help boost top-of-mind awareness, Coca-Cola created the “Share a Coke” campaign, throughout which the company produced Coke bottles with customers’ names on the labels and handed them out throughout different cities, in order to increase its exposure on Twitter. Customers were then asked to share the pictures of their personalized coke bottle on Twitter and other social media platforms.
The company attributes the campaign to a 2% increase in U.S. sales after over a decade of declining revenues.
How did these brands pull off these campaigns?
- Each brand promoted its campaign over its own website and social profiles to gain traction.
- Each brand offered consumers a prize to encourage participation.
- Each brand rewarded customers for presenting its products or services in a positive light.
Harness The Power of User Generated Content
1. Know Your Audience
These promotions require a certain level of technical experience. If your brand targets elderly customers, this type of user generated campaign might not be a good fit.
2. Eliminate Obstacles
Don’t make entrants jump through a lot of hoops just to submit an entry.
3. Make Effort Commensurate with Reward Offered
If the prize you’re offering is big, making participants deliver something of value in return guarantees you’ll wind up with content you can use in your future marketing campaigns.
Have you tried a campaign with user generated content? How did it go?