The UGC Events: Creating Buzz and Extending Reach at Your Events

User-generated content (UGC) is fast becoming the most exciting marketing method globally. It’s just so versatile, allowing brands like yours to use it almost anywhere, including at events.

UGC makes sense in this context because of its ability to increase engagement. Sharing user-generated content makes the experience more interactive and exciting.

Furthermore, it also fosters the growth of your community (or tribe), often becoming the pillar of your brand-audience network. It facilitates communications in every direction, including between you and customers, and among themselves, expanding the event’s reach well beyond the venue.

But how do you leverage UGC to win?

That’s what this guide explains. We run through various strategies and practices you can use to thrive, delving into best practices and finishing with some examples of successful UGC-driven event campaigns from history.

How UGC Enhances Event Reach and Engagement

But first, how does UGC enhance event reach and engagement? Why is it so powerful?

Incentivises Participation

One factor is that UGC incentivizes participation. People at venues post content online, advertising to those who aren’t present. Then these non-attendees comment, creating a back-and-forth conversation that increases the event’s reach.

Attendees are more likely to contribute to such efforts if they believe your brand will recognize them. Therefore, dangling a VIP pass to the green room or entering them into a prize draw can encourage more participation.

Taps Into Social Networks

UGC also enhances events by tapping into the social networks of the people present. Their content serves as their endorsement of proceedings, building impact through digital channels.

The amplification this provides can be considerable. Each attendee may impact ten people, magnifying reach by 1000%.

Encourages Feedback

UGC is also helpful for encouraging feedback. Organizers get a clearer insight into how audiences responded to various aspects of the event, allowing them to make improvements for next time.

Feedback is something many brands use in real time. Organizers often track user responses and use this information to change how they conduct proceedings. Modifications could be as simple as changing the music or switching on the air conditioning system.

Prioritizes Content Creation

Finally, UGC enhances event reach through content creation. Audiences generate videos, photos, and other media that brands can repurpose into advertising, saving time and effort while showcasing attendees’ real experiences.

How To Encourage Event Attendees to Create and Share Content

The benefits of UGC for events should be obvious. But what’s not as straightforward is encouraging attendees to create and share content. After all, it involves effort.

So, what works?

Set Up The Venue For UGC Creation

A common approach is to set up the venue for UGC creation. Providing resources that make content production easier can help increase the volume generated.

For example, you could:

• Set up attractive photo backdrops
• Mark spots on the floor to denote the best angles for shooting videos
• Provide workshops to help attendees create and share
• Field stewards, mascots, and other staff to assist in content creation

Setting up the venue for UGC creation helps to generate engaging experiences that attendees naturally want to upload to social media. The right approach stops it feeling like a chore.

Brands wanting to take the experience further can use Billo to pre-vet UGC creators. These individuals can generate high-quality content leading up to, during, and after the vent.

Use Contests

Contests and incentives are another excellent way to encourage your audience to generate UGC. These provide them with rewards (and even payments) for their efforts.

The most common approach is content challenges. The idea is to get attendees to compete with each other to produce the best content for a specific purpose and then reward them with gift cards, exclusive merch, or free tickets.

Contests work because they bring out guests’ competitive streak. This instinct then works in your favor. Attendees become more likely to produce high-quality UGC if they believe there’s something in it for them.

You can use platforms like Billo to find UGC creators who can jumpstart participation by sharing their content. These individuals can set the bar for quality, showcasing what you expect.

Engage Influencers

Seeding your event with professional influencers – people who create UGC for a living – is another option. These individuals often inspire audience members to take out their phones and start filming.

Influencers can run live posts during events and encourage others to join. They can also feature in guests’ video shorts, injecting their creativity.

You can find influencers on platforms like Billo for affordable prices. These pre-vet creators snd ensure they align with your brand values.

Provide Sharing Tools And Internet Access

You also want to ensure attendees have the sharing tools and internet access required to develop and upload UGC. High-speed WiFi access at the venue is the bare minimum.

Some event organizers go beyond this and install social media stations. These are booths or kiosks where attendees can go to make content without disturbing ongoing proceedings. These facilities keep the content generation going throughout the show instead of only during breaks.

Look for stations with USB connectors and charging ports. These are handy for attendees who forget to top up their batteries before arriving.

Develop An App

Finally, you can encourage UGC with event companion apps. These direct attendees on how and when to create content.

You can also use these apps for feedback. Customers can tell you what they liked, what they didn’t, and how you can improve next time. These contributions are helpful for marketing later if they are flattering to your brand.

How To Use Social Media to Amplify Event UGC: Tactics That Work

The purpose of developing event UGC is to use it to market your brand on social media. Getting this balance right adds authenticity, credibility, and social proof to your promotional efforts, increasing demand for your next show.

But what should you do?

Set Up An Event Hashtag

The first step is to set up an event hashtag for your event. Encouraging attendees to use it when posting can help you collate content and begin to work through it.

You can also promote the hashtag before the event to get people excited. Including it in all your communications reminds people to add it to event-related posts later on.

Add UGC To Your Social Channels

Once you curate UGC, you can add it to your social channels. This tactic provides non-attendees with authentic insights into the event and how people experienced it.

Furthermore, the prospect of adding UGC to Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms encourages guests to post content. Promising to feature their work is often a sufficient incentive to get them to put in the effort in the first place.

Once you add UGC to your social channels, it can reach millions of people. Everyone can see what happened at your event.

Use Live Features

Live features are another popular option to amplify event UGC. Live streaming proceedings on Facebook and YouTube help those who couldn’t get tickets to share in the action.

Many event live streams attract thousands of followers. That’s why brands often pay just as much attention to those joining online as in person. The total number of people watching digitally can be many times those at the venue.

As such, it pays to focus on this. Ensure you meet your online audience’s requirements as well as those of people close by.

Provide Geotagging Information

You can also give audiences helpful geotagging information to drive event UGC. Getting everyone to report where they are can help people searching for your event online find you and comment.

Most attendees won’t geotag out of the goodness of their hearts, so most brands use incentives so one approach is to offer them “check-in promotions” where you reward them for sharing their location on Facebook. Getting them to tag themselves alerts their network and inserts your event into more users’ feeds.

Create Shareable Content

Finally, creating shareable UGC amplifies event impact.

The best approach is to create memes. These often spread like wildfire online, presenting your event in a fun, humorous, and non-confrontational way. GIFs and funny images can travel across social media, getting thousands of new people interested in what you do who wouldn’t usually come into contact with your brand.

Infographics can also work. However, avoid making them long-winded and focus on the most interesting facts.

UGC-Driven Event Campaigns From History

Numerous brands and organizations have used UGC to drive event success and increase their return on investment in recent years. Leveraging user-generated content drives authenticity, encouraging more people to become interested.

Here are some examples:

New York City Marathon

New York hosts a marathon annually, similar to other famous locations like Tokyo and London. It recently began encouraging participants to share event-related UGC online to get more people interested in the run. Tata Consulting Services (TCS), the company that organizes the event, set up a dedicated hashtag for runners, encouraging them to share their stories before, during, and after. Hundreds of individuals posted images and videos of their experiences, adding to the human story behind the challenge.

TwitchCon

TwitchCon is another example of an event that leveraged UGC to drive success. The gaming convention – which focuses on interactive activities, meet-and-greets with developers, and Q&A panels – encouraged attendees to post videos of their experiences on social media. The idea is to grow the Twitch community using UGC to encourage more people to attend physical events.

The impact on Twitch’s business has been substantial. By promoting specific hashtags, the brand was able to create buzz online and give more people the idea of attending its events. It also showed gamers what happens at live events, giving them more insight into the fun they could have while developing strong FOMO (fear of missing out).

Lollapalooza

Chicago’s music festival, Lollapalooza is another event leveraging UGC. The annual celebration believes it is an excellent way to encourage more people to attend its concerts in person instead of watching them online.

Lollapalooza is a massive event hosting over 150 bands across 8 stages. It’s held in the historical Grant Park, one of Chicago’s most iconic locations with its famous skyline in the background on the shores of Lake Michigan. This setting provides the perfect backdrop for UGC. Festival-goers can stand in the crowd to film themselves, create shots with the skyscrapers in the background, or go for a more serene stroll in the park, showing the quieter side of the event.

Lollapalooza’s goal is to use this UGC to create a sense of organic buzz and excitement; creations from the previous year fuel the hype for the next. User-generated content from the festival finds its way onto numerous platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and even Snapchat, creating anticipation for the following summer.

Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company is often at the forefront of marketing, so it should be no surprise that it has also experimented with combining UGC with events.

The most prominent example is its #ShareACoke campaign. This marketing drive saw the company set up numerous pop-up events across the U.S. where users could design bespoke Coke bottles. Pop-up facilities had advanced tools to design and print bottles in kiosks, creating professional results in minutes.

Then, the company encouraged the participants to share their creations on social media under the hashtag #ShareACoke. As expected, the campaign led to substantial online engagement for Coca-Cola on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Whether the buzz led to increased sales for the company is unknown, but it probably did!

SXSW (South by Southwest)

Finally, SXSW is another brand using UGC to complement its events. The acclaimed music and film festival has a long history of working with interactive media and is now moving into the digital space to promote itself.

SXSW’s event UGC concept was simple: attendees show up at its events and then share their experiences on social media using the SXSW hashtag. Then, the festival highlights the UGC it likes most on its official channels, giving contributors a shot at fame.

SXSW’s curation process involves working through attendee experiences and selecting the most original, artistic, and authentic. Organizers then use these to promote their brand and show non-attendees what it’s like to attend one of their events.