Just go ahead and imagine waking up to find your customers hyping up your brand all over social media. You’re getting glowing reviews, cool unboxing videos, and hilarious TikToks, all made without having to beg, bribe, or babysit anyone. This is the digital marketing strategy every business dreams of having, it really does feel like a marketer’s daydream, right? But here’s the thing: it’s totally doable. You see this already online, especially with businesses that have super tight-knit communities (and para-social relationships too).
But getting customers and creators to whip up user-generated content isn’t about pushing people into awkward promo posts. Really, it’s not, rather, it’s about making them want to shout about how great the brand is. Seriously, all it really takes is a few clever nudges and a sprinkle of motivation, and suddenly the brand looks like the coolest kid in school, and it didn’t even have to try that hard.
Yeah, sure it sounds a little too unbelievable, but again there are so many brands out there that are already doing this and succeeding (and maybe you fell for them too).
Make It Effortless
People are lazy. Not in a bad way, it’s more for the fact that life’s just busy, and no one’s got spare hours to write love letters to brands. If creating UGC feels like extra work, it’ll never happen. The trick is making it feel like part of their usual scroll, snap, post routine. Create a hashtag that’s so catchy it basically writes itself.
You’ll need to throw out prompts that are actually fun, not corporate mumbo-jumbo. And a little treat never hurts (honestly it’s smart to do that). Maybe just think about exclusive discounts, free stuff, or a chance to get featured on the brand’s feed like a local celebrity.
But overall, you need to make it simple, make it rewarding, and folks will start doing half the marketing without even realizing it.
Get an Affiliate Program Rolling
Sometimes a discount isn’t enough, especially when working with creators who know the value of their content. Yes, thankfully nowadays creators understand the value (unlike a decade ago), and sure, for businesses that might be a bit “inconvenient” but oh well. But that’s when it’s time to sweeten the deal with a full-blown affiliate program.
Actually, just go ahead and take a fintech affiliate program, for example. Well, any affiliate program, but a good one where the business chooses its partners carefully (you see this often on YouTube for example the Financial Diet). So, something like this turns creators into brand cheerleaders with a real incentive to shout from the rooftops.
They’ll write blogs, and film reels, and weave the product into their content because there’s commission cash on the table. Suddenly, there’s no need to micromanage them. They’ll create content because it pays off, and that content? It feels genuine, no forced smiles or awkward ad reads are required. Plus it’s on their own terms too which helps.
Make Them Feel Like Part of the Inner Circle
Everyone wants to feel like they’re “in the know.” So, ideally, just give customers a sense of VIP treatment and they’ll be much more likely to share the love. Maybe consider sneak peeks, early product drops, or behind-the-scenes looks at what’s coming next to make people feel like insiders. And insiders? They love showing off, and there’s a following for that too.
