So, what is user generated content?

To classify as user generated content (UGC), data posted by users on the web must meet the following criteria (Moens et al, 2014);

1. Publically available to other users
2. Contain an element of creative effort
3. Composed by the general public outside their professional environment

Customer reviews are an example of UGC (Eastin, 2010).

Web 2.0 has enabled UGC (Mackinnon, 2012) and now UGC has embedded itself in importance in today’s society for businesses (Wunsch-Vincent and Vikery, 2006).

Are you wondering why?

Yes? Take a look at this infographic.

Figure 1 (Offerpop.com, 2017)

Consumers are exerting greater influence over products and brands than the brand itself (Jevons and Gabbott, 2000; Reigner 2007)

If you’re still on the fence about the advantages of UGC, take a look at these statistics https://www.tintup.com/blog/38-mind-blowing-stats-effectiveness-user-generated-content/

So, now let me let you into 7 secrets to pull off an effective user generated initiative using Instagram as a platform.

But, don’t tell anyone; shh

Figure 2 (windsock.io, 2017)

1. Be Lawful

Ensure you hold the rights to repost users content. This can be attained by operating within implied consent (MacDonald, 2015). For example, coco-cola requested consumer’s used their #ShareaCoke hashtag on their photos to imply they are aware of the companies aim to repost the content and therefore implied consent was achieved (Macdonald, 2015). Still unsure? Here is a guide to staying lawful https://www.tintup.com/blog/social-media-rights-a-guide-to-user-generated-content/

2. Have a clear goal of the purpose of the user generated content

According to SEMrush, 86% of business have tried user-generated content, but, GoodVid identified only 27% have a UGC strategy (York, 2016). Without goals, an initiative cannot be measured for effectiveness and therefore resources can be being used without a favorable return (Keyes, 2009). Businesses also need to express to users specifically what they want from the content and this in turn can reduce un-valuable content (York, 2016).

However, Muniz and Schau (2007) argued that requests of content also need to be realistic to engage consumers, while Wathieu et al (2002) argued that users still want to have control over their posted content. Therefore, a balance needs to exist. Dominque Jackson provides a useful blog on how to set realistic goals http://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-goals/

McDonalds, for example, asked users to share a story about their children’s happy meals. McDonalds did not specify to positive experiences. Subsequently, the majority of what they received were negative posts about experiences (Hurlburt, 2017). Figure 3 illustrates an example. This in turn, damaged McDonald’s reputation and didn’t satisfy their marketing goal.

Figure 3 (Hurlburt, 2017)

3. Create hashtags

Hashtags allows users to share a message of a campagain (Saxton, 2015) which in turn increases the audience of a campaign (Saxton, 2015). Businesses should request users to tag specific hashtags into their photos. Zeller (2015) argues hashtags should consist of words specific to the campaign and also trending hashtags. The popular hashtags increase your likes and therefore audience to the specific hashtags (Zeller, 2015). Hashtagify.me and RiteTag are tools to search popular hashtags. Have a go yourself https://ritetag.com/.

However, it is also important to ensure your hashtags are researched as they ultimately represent your business. Here are some examples of how hashtags can go epically wrong.

#susanalbumparty.. Susan Boyle’s management aimed to use this hashtag to promote the launch of her new album as seen in figure 4…. wait till you see it

Figure 4 (Hurlburt, 2017)

Celeb Boutique identified that “Aurora” was trending and decided to promote their Kim Kardashian-inspired Aurora dress using the hashtag as shown in figure 5. However, what they failed to notice was that Aurora was trending due to the horrific mass shooting that occurred during the Dark Knight Rise theater showing (Loginradius.com, 2017).

Figure 5 (Hurlburt, 2017)

Want to know more?

Login Radius provide an insightful article about companies failed hashtags https://blog.loginradius.com/2015/04/hashtag-fails/

4. Create an online community

McAlexander et al (2002) argued that those integrated into a brand community are inclined to have increased loyalty to that brand. Burhmann and Annrold (2008) and Kishnamurthy and Dou (2008) identified that community development and interaction are cited as social drivers of UGC.

Sport England’s “This Girl Can” campaign is an example of a success story for creating an online community. It’s goal was to increase sport participation in females (Kemp, 2016). The initiative received over 500,000 active members of the “This girl can” social-media community (Kemp, 2016). With regards to Instagram, it asked females to use the hashtag #thisgirlcan in their sporting photos. The campaign demonstrated how inspiration plays an invaluable role in building a community (Kemp, 2016) shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6 (Instagram, 2017).

5. Give recognition

Consumers expect brands to respond to their content (Habibi, Richard, & Laroche, 2013), while the Uses and Gratifications Theory argued that users of the media actively seek to the media to satisfy their needs (Palmgreen, Wenner, & Rosengren, 1985). The high competition within social media marketing (Neti, 2011) means that it is invaluable to provide recognition and engagement to meet consumer’s needs. An example of this can be in the form of Instagram reposts or shout outs.

However, effective campaigns can receive thousands of user generated content, therefore it can be unrealistic to respond to each one individually. Tips however include;

• Regularly engage with different users
• Post content thanking users for their participation. Barrington and Pettitt (2013) argued that consumers who feel valued by a brand are more inclined to become engaged to that brand
• Inspire those to remain engaged. For example, in the #thisgirlcan campaign, Sport England would regularly post inspiring quotes as seen in figure 6.

6. Provide Incentive

Barrington and Pettitt (2013) recognised that incentives can provide motivation for consumer engagement and can further attract new consumers rather than just targeting loyal customers. It is also important to identify whether incentives are given through a contest or sweepstake as well as having well defined rules, in order to stay lawful (Drell, 2013).

However, consumer engagement shouldn’t and doesn’t have to be defined by tangible rewards, this is specifically important for smaller businesses with limited resources. Consumer incentive can be through expression of oneself (Oh et al, 2008; Sirgy, 1982) with the reward of recognition from their community peers (Jacobs, 2008)

ASOS captailise on this with their “As seen on me” initiative where consumers tag #asseenonme onto their Instagram post for a chance to be featured on ASOS official page, shown in figure 7 (Instagram, 2017).

Figure 7 (Instagram, 2017).

7. Analyse and measure your content

You need to ensure your user generated content initiative is fulfilling its purpose, if not, you then need to adjust it to reduce resources just being wasted (Wirtz, 2016). Tools such as social sprout enable users to achieve this time efficiently, it’s worth considering, here’s a link http://sproutsocial.com/features/social-media-analytics

So my top 7 tips include;

1. Stay lawful
2. Have a clear purpose of the user generated content
3. Create hashtags
4. Create an online community
5. Provide recognition
6. Provide incentive
7. Analyse your initiative

Right, that’s 7 tips and let’s be honest they are not complicated, so what’s stopping you from producing a killer user generated content campagain?

Before you go, check out Katherine MacKinnon’s (2012), User Generated Content vs. Advertising: Do Consumers Trust the Word of Others over Advertisers article in the Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, Vol. 3, No. 1, it gives for an insightful read.

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