UGC Campaigns that produced plenty of engagement and why they work!

User-Generated Content is known to boost lead generation with authenticity and creates impactful impressions. Check out a few of the best UGC campaigns.

Any form of content, such as images, videos, text, and audio posted on social media platforms by users can make a positive impact on consumers influencing their decision. In fact, consumers find UGC 9.8x more impactful than influencer content when making a purchasing decision, as accounted by Stackla. Further, social campaigns that incorporate UGC have seen a 50% lift in engagement.

User-Generated Content represents democratization of content production. UGC is said to have entered the mainstream usage after BBC adopted it in 2005, when they opted for a UGC platform for their website. According to statistics, sites with featured UGC saw a 20% increase in return visitors.

Besides, UGC creates a more personal relationship between the user and the brand. Sporadically, brands also share UGC on their own social media handles, letting their audience know about the love they receive from their customers. Moreover, 51% of consumers say they’d be more likely to engage with and/or purchase from a brand if it shared their photo, video or social post across its marketing channels. So, along with inducing new leads, UGC can also help form a more concrete relation to their customer base.

Millenials, the age group that is transforming marketing strategies across spectrums and changing consumer habits are major contributors in UGC campaigns that have surfaced in recent years. Millennials (ages 25 and above) are the biggest content drivers — contributing over 70% of all UGC. Millennials also believe that UGC is 35% more memorable than other media.

Almost all brands have a social media presence in today's date. Hence, it's important to break the clutter with the content that you put out to stand out in your sector. UGC helps you break that clutter as UGC posts shared to social channels see 28% higher engagement than standard brand posts. And, social campaigns that incorporate UGC are said to witness a 50% lift in engagement.

Let's glance through few of the best UGC campaigns that came out with flying colours and soaring content.

Also Read:Featuring a music artist can make your campaign a mega hit

Starbucks - Starbucks White Cup Contest

Starbucks took cues from the customers who had been doodling on the iconic Starbucks cup for years and launched a White Cup Contest.

The contest encouraged customers in the US & Canada to draw customized art on a Starbucks cup, click a photo of it and submit it through social media using the #WhiteCupContest. The winning design was printed on a limited edition Starbucks reusable plastic cup. Starbucks received almost 4,000 entries in just three weeks.

On the similar lines, Starbucks also hosts a #RedCupContest during the holiday season to promote it's seasonal beverages.

Apple - Shot on iPhone Challenge

In a quest to create awareness around iPhone's stunning camera quality, Apple invited iPhone users to submit their best shots.

For instance, this year the contest took place between January 22, 2019 to February 7, 2019 and was reviewed by a panel of judges consisting of Pete Souza, Luísa Dörr, Chen Man, Kaiann Drance and more.

Users were asked to post their best photo taken on iPhone to Instagram or Twitter with the #ShotOniPhone hashtag. 10 winning photos were selected out of worldwide submissions and were featured on billboards in select cities, Apple retail stores and online.

Over the years, #ShotOniPhone has become an online movement in itself, with the hashtag been looked at as a mark of pride and quality work. The transparency maintained by the brand, when it comes to #ShotOnIphone has only encouraged the campaign further.

UN Environment - #BeatAirPollution

In a pursuit to beat air pollution, UN Environment asked users to share a creative mask photo & a commitment to #BeatAirPollution and challenge friends to join in to make a difference.

The campaign kicked off with Dia Mirza, Actress posting a picture with her face masked and conveying her commitment towards beating the silent killer.

Soon concerned citizens from around the world shared their support.

Coca Cola - Share a Coke

Coca Cola executed a marketing campaign by debranding itself and replacing the company's name with the most popular names and the phrase "Share A Coke". The campaign began in Australia in 2011 and was later rolled out in over 80 countries.

Customers were asked to share a picture of their bottle on social media with the #ShareACoke. The campaign seemingly increased Coca Cola's consumption among young adults by 7% and received multiple awards at the Creative Effectiveness Lion Awards at Cannes.

Hootsuite - Hootsuite Life

Hootsuite promotes the #HootsuiteLife to encourage employees and members using the social media management tool to uplift the work culture and reinforce the community.

All India Bakchod - Dank Irfan Memes

In May 2017, All India Bakchod in association with the renowned actor Irfan Khan came up with the campaign,'Dank Irfan Memes' for the promotion of his film Hindi Medium.

AIB through their social media handle, distributed the internet's most famous meme templates recreated by featuring Irfan. They stated, "Here, take these templates and meme away!" The campaign conceived a ton of memes and few of the templates remian relevant till date.

Pepsi – Crash the Pepsi IPL

In 2015, during the IPL Season, Pepsi India executed a campaign, wherein the company asked the viewers to script an IPL ad and upload it through a website. The winning ad replaced the official Pepsi ad and was showcased on TV and other platforms. They performed the activity through the advert below ft. Ranbir Kapoor & Virat Kohli.

Pepsi also ran a contest called #PepsiAdInATweet on Twitter, where users were asked to share a story through 140 characters. The winning prize was passes to the YouTube Fan Fest.

Did we miss out on your favorite UGC campaign? Write to us at content@socialsamosa.com or let us know in the comments below.

If you take pride in creating a great UGC Campaign, now is your time to shine. Best Social Media Brands 2019 is here to celebrate the best campaigns & the most social brands. Nominate now.