In this article we are analyzing why organize an Instagram contest and how to benefit from user generated content (UGC – User Generated Content).
More informations about UGC : How to boost your sales with UGC ?
Organize an Instagram contest is becoming the “IT-method”…
Why is it useful to organize an Instagram contest via hashtag
Why “IT” ? Because it works and is meaningful…
…ONLY IF : you created an environment REALLY encouraging people to play: storytelling, fun, gains, etc.
Why it works ?
Because users are fully active and then involved.
Encouraging and nurturing User Generated Content, beyond the potential budget economy on contents generation, is above all the most “web social friendly” approach you can have.
Web social DNA is deeply linked to interaction, sharing, co-building & collaboration.
Nevertheless, advertisers may benefit from this approach for their own purposes in an opportunistic way.
But at the end, public social actions can’t be qualified as not true or sincere. Me, as user, shares only what I chose to share. This is the truly great strength of UGC : whatever is the sales reason linked with my share, this is my choice and it shows itself a relative neutrality increasing its caution power : the caution from someone you know, even far, is stronger than a branded or corporate message.
The organisation on an Instagram contest implies typically “calibrated” items to meet success (if the viral mecanism is well designed). We don’t have a magic solution but here are 3 good ideas:
- Proximity : with your activity, image, products/services… but also with your target
- Originality of concept. At least adapt what you benchmarked to YOUR DNA.
- Useful : for players or other. The more useful, the more implication you got.
You have to ask your communauties a double effort of implication :
- Create
- Make viral
It is hard to obtain this double effort from a user who is by nature very flighty and not much concentrated. Let’s go back to the implication notion around UGC :
- if I see a branded information, I may share… maybe
- if I co-build this information, I may share… surely
The entry barrier at any Instagram contest is then your implication capacity, to get users to create content for you.
If you manage to encourage people to play, you will succeed to make viral.
We live in a world where values are exchanged: you have to increase the interest strength of your game to assure that your target audience makes efforts.
You should be in an empathy approach : “if I see this game on the web, will I play ? “ If no, why ? (go back to beginning) If yes, why ? (How make things better ?).
Eurodisney example with “Toutes des Princesses”
For example, Eurodisney did a contest on #toutesdesprincesses (also on Facebook & Twitter). For each 10th shared photo with hashtag, a little child assisted by a French NPO will be invited “to experience a fairy day in the park”.
This game is engaging and has Disney’s DNA :
- Proximity
- Originality
- Creativity
- Public purpose
(With a good touch of positive nostalgy for Mothers)… This is worthy !
Ideal to generate a healthy communauty implication.
We are here in the heart of key concepts :
- picture marketing experience
- its application as active user experience
- the image co-building with a community (link Eurodisney with the idea everyone has about princess)
… Eurodisney only just has to optimise the presentation of the contest with an integration of a aggregation support of UGC. For example it may be this one (this is a call to action for d’Eurodisney Community Manager ;) ) :
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