User-Generated Content
User-generated content is any form of content that is created by stakeholders online. This content can feature photos, videos, text, audio, and more. With permission, brands and organizations can use this content to add to their marketing and advertising which showcases consumers showcasing their product. Many brands like American Eagle/Aerie, Starbucks, Wayfair, Fabletics, and more.
When it comes to Facebook Groups, the amount and way one would implement user-generated content can differ. Most often, I have seen user-generated content most often market for brands. Facebook Groups can absolutely be a source for monetary advances, however, a lot of them are strictly communities that share a common interest.
User-generated content does not have to market a product being sold, it just consists of content made by an individual and posted on social media or the internet. Therefore, any content created and posted within a Facebook group that is not made by the admin is considered user-generated content.
The entire hope for many groups on Facebook is to create a community that has informational content created and posted by the many members of the group. To encourage this engagement, is to essentially encourage user-generated content. There are many strategies that are believed to help admins increase engagement on their Facebook groups. These strategies range from welcoming new members to asking questions to checking insights.
I am currently running my first Facebook Group. Affordable First-Time Homemaking focuses on bringing together young individuals who are looking for inspiration when it comes to home décor, sales, and anything homemaking. It has been roughly 3 months and I have 332 members. This did not come easy, and I work every day to provide quality content to increase engagement within my community.
There are several tactics that I have personally used to encourage user-generated content within my online community. I utilize the scheduling posts ahead tool on Facebook to work on content all at once for the coming weeks so that I can use my day-to-day time to focus solely on engagement.
First, with any post I create, I always add a sort of prompt for my members to enjoy. This could be a poll, a question, or a quiz. This gets my members comfortable with commenting and interacting with my content. Personally, I believe if I create a safe space where we can interact with one another often, my members will become more comfortable with posting on their own.
Secondly, this one might not be as easy for others, but the members I see in my regular life, I invite them to share their own ideas and content. Surprisingly, many of them are unaware that is encouraged, but once I make that clear, they are posting all the time!
Thirdly, I like to invite members to share photos and content from comments on other threads. They will make a comment about someone else’s home décor, and I will encourage them to show us their spaces! You would be surprised how many people positively respond to this invitation. I believe it makes them feel like they want to be seen and heard, which is so important for leading an online community.
Finally, I ensure that anytime someone posts user-generated content, they are celebrated, interacted with, and encouraged to share again in the future. I can imagine sometimes it might be daunting to share on your own within a community you are new to, so it is important to give them all the praise, so they feel welcome to do so again in the future!
Fortunately, there is no one way to encourage user-generated content. Unfortunately, there is no one way to encourage user-generated content. Every online community is different, so play around with it! Many members will respond positively to an array of different tactics. I encourage you to have fun with it and make sure your members are comfortable and excited to share their own content.
Resources
Bhattacharya, Joydeep. (2019, March 14). 12 High-Performing Facebook Group Engagement Tactics. Single Grain. https://www.singlegrain.com/facebook/12-high-performing-facebook-group-engagement-tactics/
Ramby, Kaitlin. (2021, January 27). UGC Marketing. Stackla: Visual UGC by nosto. https://stackla.com/resources/blog/what-is-user-generated-content/
