- Contest Factory
- December 15, 2017
One of the best parts about user generated content (UGC) contests is their potential for virality. Having your customers and social media followers share content on their own pages can get your brand in front of a lot of eyes and can sometimes have a snowball effect that ends up getting your brand in front of millions.
However, one oft-overlooked aspect of UGC contests that can prove just as valuable is their potential for providing you with testimonials. You see, when a person shares a picture of themselves holding a product (which is one common format of UGC contests) they rarely just share the picture with no explanation. Instead, what they’ll most often do is include a few lines of text describing why they enjoy this product and why they are sharing a picture of it on social media. This is text that you are then able to quote and use as testimonials in your future marketing efforts.
So how do you use a UGC contest to get these valuable testimonials? It’s actually strikingly simple. After you set up your UGC contest, encourage your visitors to post and share the content pertaining to your product or brand, then include a few words encouraging them to describe their experiences with it. Most will do it on their own, but a little bit of encouragement such as this never hurts. And if you want to up the ante with getting more shares, a contest is an excellent way to not only incentivize but also recognize unique categories and offer prizes for larger categories.
In our highly connected and social world, UGC contests are a great way to get recognition and social proof for your brand by enlisting everyday people to act as free spokespersons and influencers. For businesses that can leverage the benefits of UGC contests to their advantage, rewards such as a host of great testimonials can be immensely valuable.
