5 To-Dos For A Successful UGC Video Campaign

User-generated video content

Why opt for video-driven UGC campaigns?

Not only are user-generated content (UGC) campaigns a useful tool for engaging with your existing customer base, they are extremely powerful in attracting new customers. It so happens that video-driven UGC campaigns fare much better than any other form. Why? Because videos are 12 times more likely to be watched by your consumers.

A TurnTo Keys Survey shows that most shoppers (90 percent) report UGC influences their decisions to make a purchase, outranking all other forms of marketing. Millennial buyers, especially, need to see positive content with regards to your brand from anonymous buyers. For 84% of millennial buyers, UGC plays a very important role in their buying decisions.

In 2018, Indeed – India’s #1 job-related search engine, partnered with Rani Mukherji’s film Hitchki and launched a UGC campaign that asked users to share the professional hiccups they’ve experienced. We produced the campaign video for Indeed. Watch on.

Needless to say, the campaign was a hit and stories poured in from professionals all over the country. 

The ‘AHH Campaign’

In 2013 Coke launched its first ever all-digital campaign with the intent of engaging a teenage audience. Nicknamed the ‘Ahh campaign’, the brand launched over 20 websites (ahh.com, followed by ahhh.com, then ahhhh.com and so on), each promising an unique experience. 

These websites had games, music and UGC to keep teens engaged and the experience was designed to take people from one website to the next. The most exciting part: massive user participation that eventually lead to a commercial being created by the people, for the people. (*wink, wink) 

Coke asked the question:  “How would you describe a sip of Coke” and urged the users to send short video clips. These clips were then stitched together to make this commercial:

They also roped in influencers like the YouTube sensation Kurt Hugo Schneider, who made a video that users watched at least two times on an average.

About 4 million of their target group visited the many websites launched and stayed for an average of 2 minutes each. Meg Haley, the then brand manager of Coke, went on to say that they were seeing a shift in preference in consumers who weren’t frequent Coke drinkers.

This marketing masterstroke is an amazing example of how Coke used User Generated Videos to its advantage.

The 5 To-Dos

1. 1. The 5 W’s and 1 H rule

• What is your key message and intent of the campaign?
• Who is your target audience?
• Why should your audience help you sell your brand?
• Where does your audience live?
• When do you want them to engage? (time-frame of your campaign)
• How do you want them to participate?

2. Define the user journey

You need to give your audience the whole package, just like Coke did by taking the teens from Website 1 to Website 40. An integral part of this is to chart out the various communications you’re going to be sending your audience at the different stages of the campaign. Consider using campaign videos to drive awareness, followed by landing pages dedicated to how to go about making, uploading and sharing these user-generated videos. Define clear hashtags that you’ll use to group conversations together. Last but not the least, do not forget to specify dimensions, orientations, and resolutions for the videos.

3. Incentivise your audience

If your consumers are being brand advocates for you, how are you rewarding them? The reward doesn’t always need to be in kind, it can also be in the form of experience. Also, establish expectations. If you’re working with influencers, be clear on what it is that you’re offering and what you are not, and choose quality over quantity.

4. Respond

If one of your customers has shared something on social media tagging your brand, respond to them. Have a team in place to communicate with your audience and be a part of future conversations. <*looks towards the social media savvy interns>

5. Make an Example Video

This bite-sized video should inform your audience about the intent of the campaign and how to participate in it. Make it exciting and needless to say, tell a compelling story through it. Facebook recommends, “Your video shouldn’t be longer or shorter than it takes to tell your story well, so create a storytelling arc from the first frame to the last that keeps your audience interested along the way.” 

Here’s a look at how we helped kickstart SPAR’s #Supermom campaign and the response.

Making videos that drive action is not an easy feat. But, we’re seasoned at this. Take a look at some more of our work here and get in touch with us. Let’s make a video!