Mastering UGC: more than just hashtags
When I first launched The Gifted Millennial, I spent many hours sleuthing the internet to see if any similar group existed across various platforms. This included Facebook, but I also scoured Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit. During my searches, I was relying on clever wordsmithing through search engine optimization and basic hashtags to determine what existed. Additionally, I was concerned. I knew there were a lot of people “like me” who could relate to the concept of giftedness into adulthood. But what would we talk about? What we laugh over? Really, what content would drive the discussions in our community.
According to Hootsuite, UGC is really about authenticity. Consumers are “2.4 times more likely to view user-generated content as authentic compared to content created by brands.” Even in our small communities, the brand voice I bring as the administrator only carries so much value as when the other group members interact freely with each other.
In order to get the group rolling, I wanted to build a repository of user-generated content (UGC) that was already out in the world. First, I was nervous that my groupmates wouldn’t contribute their own, and second, I knew it would take some time to grow the trust and rapport for others to feel comfortable sharing. This was my first intro to UGC, but I honestly had no idea what I was doing at the time.
Now, with some education on various tools already at my disposal, I feel confident in discovering UGC more efficiently and effectively. Moreover, I have also learned new ways to encourage group members to contribute their own UGC, too.
The first opportunity for some UGC with my group fell into my lap last week. An undergraduate student from the University of British Columbia reached out to me for a research project of hers exploring “giftedness beyond high school.” Specifically, she described the research as a way to “understand how gifted and twice exceptional students experience higher education, and whether it provides them with the educational environment necessary to develop their gifts and talents.” She was hoping to join my group and conduct a content analysis on our posts to help with data collection for her project. Unfortunately, I explained, the group was new…and the content she’d be looking for (i.e., shared experiences from group members on post-secondary gifted education) didn’t exist on the page…but we could ask for it!
We agreed to do a live chat on Monday, Dec. 7 a la podcast style to introduce her research, passion for the project, and pitch her “ask” to the group. From there, we’re both hoping the content will flow from our members. Multiple resources, including this one, emphasize how simply asking questions can encourage users to generate their own question. Prompts will do that!
Another tactic that I’m exploring to encourage UGC in my group is a contest with a reward. In this article from Mention, it outlines some of the biggest perks to social media contests. Contests help boost engagement and excitement; they increase reach; and the help build relationships with followers. Most importantly, the second order effect is always UGC!
In a group of overachievers, I expect many of my group members to be as competitive as I am. This is always why I am still planning a larger trivia event. But a contest, requires the members to actually contribute content. As a bonus, since I started the complementary Gifted Millennial Instagram, this is a way to cross-post a contest and use branded hashtags to search and follow the engagement outside the Facebook community.
One contest idea is users submitting a personalized version of the popular “how it started” vs. “how it’s going” meme. The theme would be sharing their “former gifted child” self vs. their current “gifted adult” self. Bonus points could be awarded for following the Instagram page, posting, sharing, tagging friends, etc. on the additional platform. This could run for a week, and then draw a name for a gift card at the end of the contest.
As I look to the future with UGC, Hootsuite also offers the value of learning from UGC from a “customer research” perspective. In Facebook communities, this is equally valid. If the content generated by group members is more light-hearted, focused on memes or humorous TikToks, that provides a vector for me as the administrator on what time of content they are craving, too.
It’s equally important to consider the content I expected, but members didn’t create. This challenges any assumptions of how people think about the community. Moreover, on platforms such as Instagram or Twitter, I can review the hashtags people use in combination with the branded hashtag. “You might uncover some emerging hashtag communities you’re not yet aware of” says Hootsuite.