5 WAYS TO GET USER-GENERATED CONTENT FROM CUSTOMERS
User generated content are pictures that your customers take of your products and post, completely free!
A customer orders a coffee from your cafe and walks out the door. You gained a sale and made a customer happy. But what if that customer orders a coffee and turns around to take a high-quality photo of their coffee - posts it on Instagram for their 900 followers to see, and tags you in their post. You’ve now made a sale, a customer very happy, and you’ve been exposed to hundreds of potential customers, and got a free product photo to use on your own social media. That is best case scenario for a small-business owner and the perfect way to use organic social media. But how do we get our customers to generate content for us? Here are some ways to get customers talking about you on their Instagram:
Give them photo locations
To get people to take photos of their food or drink, they need a photogenic location to do so. People are more cautious than ever about the “aesthetic” of their photos. We need to create the perfect photoshoot for your customers. Here are some ways to encourage user generated content:
A decorative wall
Decorative walls are the BEST way to get people to take photos at your restaurant or cafe. People will be lining up in front of this feature to get pictures for their Instagram. a feature wall can be done with plans, a neon sign, a mural, or a fun wallpaper.
Table choice
A light and bright table can encourage more people to take photos of their food! Sticking with a plain marble or white background will fit in with most people’s taste. Consider adding things like flowers to the table to encourage even more photos.
Focus on your packaging
Having cool or unique packaging will make people want to share it! Some of the best sharable packaging is simple, super colorful, or funny. Here are some examples:
Make it a competition
If you create a challenge surrounding your brand, you have the potential to bring in a lot of social media followers! Here are some possible competitions:
Ask customers to share their favorite product in a unique way and the winner will receive a coupon.
Hide certain items around your store and ask customers to find them & snap a picture. Winners will receive a prize.
Ask customers to guess something like a specific flavor, date, or name of the product before it comes out. Tell them to submit their guesses via social media!
Reward them
Give people a 10-15% discount just for posting their purchase on Instagram and tagging you! Be sure to promote this deal during the checkout or pickup process and on your Instagram.
Make your Instagram strong
Having a strong Instagram presence is an important piece to encouraging customers to interact. They want to link back to a visually appealing and entertaining page that their friends would enjoy. Try to make you Instagram as good as possible and if you need help, hire a social media manager to handle it for you!
