Question

• How can you create a personal brand using user-generated content?
• If you were to create a personal brand, what would your brand be, and which platform(s) would you use?
• Why did you choose the platforms you selected to brand yourself? Why would they be better than others?

Answer 1

Create a personal brand using user-generated content

Here are some of ways to create user-generated content.

1) Customer Surveys

Not only do surveys generate insightful information, they also provide unique, proprietary data. These can be as informal or extensive as you like (think Twitter polls vs. full-on reports). Regardless, they result in great content.

If you don’t have a ton of bandwidth, you don’t have to overextend yourself. It’s likely that your sales team is already collecting similar information, which can be repackaged in a useful way. Start by looking at what customer data you already have, then consider what other insights would be interesting to poll them for.

2) Expert Q&As

Interviews with experts in your field are a quick and easy way to help educate your customers, strengthen industry relationships, and expand your own knowledge. You already have those contacts. Tap them to answer a Q&A, record a podcast, or cobrand a piece of content.

3) Internal Collateral

Your own internal documents, decks, or even SlideShare presentations can make great content with pretty much zero effort.

Since we are always seeking to improve our skills, stay on top of trends, and learn to work more efficiently, our employees generate a lot of content to educate the team. We soon realized that same content could help our larger audience—all sourced straight from our employees’ brains.

4) Contests

Many brands run contests on social media. These often require minimal interaction (tag a photo, tag a friend). They’re fine, but our favorite contests or challenges encourage the audience to contribute in a creative and unique way. (It also helps strengthen the customer-brand relationship by allowing both sides to share in the fun.)

For example, Starbucks ran the “White Cup” contest, encouraging customers to doodle designs on their coffee cups and submit photos of their work. Similarly, Extra’s #GiveExtraGetExtra campaign encouraged people to share their favorite photos and memories online, some of which were turned into delightful illustrations that appeared on the gum packaging.

Whether it’s on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, look for ways to connect on an emotional level (think funny caption contests, personal experiences, and other forms of creative expression).

5) Creative Use-Cases

Product reviews can be a little boring, especially for those customers who are familiar with the product. However, inviting your community to share their unique or successful use-cases is a great way to showcase your product while inspiring others. (Sometimes it can even result in additional product ideas for you)

6) Turn Customers Into Stories

Your customer story doesn’t end once they buy your product or solicit your service. Your brand may play a large or small role in their life; either way, it’s exciting to explore that role within the context of story (beyond basic testimonials).

Other types of user-generated content

In addition to the tactics mentioned above, you might also consider the following.

7) Social media reviews and tutorials

Having regular customers or influencers put your product to work feels more natural and organic than a hard sell on your site.

8) Crowdsourcing

Whether it’s via social, survey, or informal email, you can ask for suggestions, advice, or any other useful information.

9) “Takeovers” for social

Partner with other brands, users, or influencers to let them curate your social content for a day.

10) Internal experts

Mine your own team for their tips, resource roundups, or individual Q&As.

11) Culture marketing

Not all stories have to sell your product or service. Some can showcase your values, beliefs, learnings, and culture. Look for opportunities to bring these to light.

BRAND BENEFITS OF USER-GENERATED CONTENT

• Engagement: Inviting your audience to collaborate prompts them to actively interact.
• Traffic: Mobilizing your audience through interactive campaigns means more people to your site/better SEO rankings.
• Shareability: Because audiences have participated, they are more likely to share the content, extending your brand reach.
• Originality: Every audience member contributes from a unique perspective.

AUDIENCE BENEFITS OF USER-GENERATED CONTENT

• Relevance: Ideas and content generated by your audience speak directly to their interests, challenges, wants, and needs.
• Compelling storytelling: By becoming active participants in the content creation process, your audience is automatically interested in the narrative.
• Personalization: Audiences love to see themselves reflected in content. When someone becomes a part of the process, they feel a sense of ownership. It also makes them feel elevated and valued, strengthening their relationship with your brand.
• Evergreen: User-generated content has a long shelf life and can also inspire future ideas.
• Easy to produce: You don’t have to huddle in a conference room, trying to eek out the resources for one idea. Your audience does some of the heavy lifting.

• Low cost: You have more internal resources to spend on big ideas.