There’s a real buzz around user-generated content at the moment and marketers are only just realising how influential ugc can be for eCommerce brands.
UGC can be any content created by a company’s audience, which shares the brand through the use of a consumer’s own social media.
Consumers are an incredible source for championing products and are able to show potential customers an unbiased view of your brand.
A whopping 86% of millennials have said that user-generated content shows the true quality of a company and these campaigns should be the next step for any business looking to promote themselves in a positive way.
Here are a few of our favourite user-generated content campaigns over the past few years…
Aerie:
Two years ago we saw American clothing company Aerie launch the #AerieReal Campaign, which encouraged users to post un-retouched images of themselves wearing Aerie swimsuits.
Not only did they receive thousands of images, they also donated $1 to NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association) with every hashtag, which ended with over $10,000 being sent to the charity.
The campaign was so successful that the hashtag is still frequently used today, with the topical subject matter encouraging users to continue to engage with this body-positive message.
Spotify:
This well-known music streaming service is no stranger to UGC campaigns and nobody can forget their immensely popular “Thanks 2016. It’s been weird” project, which saw light-hearted billboards showcasing Spotify users’ play history.
In 2018, they upped their game further, with yet another brilliant (and funny!) campaign. They focused on “2018 goals”, using the names of playlists their users have created or songs they have streamed to splash humorous messages across billboards. Not only are they eye-catching, but they are showing their personality as a brand, making them personable as a company.
Spotify are really at the top of their game when it comes to UGC campaigns and their followers are constantly remaining engaged – waiting to see what they come up with next!
Apple:
Apple’s #ShotOnIphone campaign has been going for nearly 3 years now and it doesn’t look like it will be losing traction any time soon.
After consumers approached the brand about being less than satisfied with the iPhone’s camera, Apple decided to address this upon release of their new device by encouraging consumers to post images with the #ShotOniPhone hashtag.
They even brought in amateur and professional photographers to take images through an iPhone, blowing up the results on billboards across the world.
The campaign continues to be a major success for the brand because Apple not only listened to their consumers concerns, but created an engagement campaign that lives on years later.
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