Introduction
User Generated Content (UGC) is an important component of event marketing. It’s any form of content—such as text, posts, images, videos, reviews, and more—that has been created by fans of a venue and those attending the events they host. This content is shared on various online platforms, including social media, blogs, and websites. Social media is where most user generated content is shared. The massive user base that each media platform holds allows for a broad reach for events, with potential for growth through the utilization of UGC.
Concerts, festivals and other types of entertainment events offer an opportunity for those participating to create and post user-generated content (UGC). UGC is created by attendees, influencers, and fans before, during, and after the event. It’s about them sharing their experience.
Knowing when and why people share content helps event organizers and marketers intentionally encourage content creation and sharing to meet their marketing goals, rather than relying on impulses alone for such content.
The importance of User-Generated Content (UGC)
Authenticity
Because UGC reflects the opinions and experiences of real people who are excited and engaged with a venue or an event, their UGC is considered authentic to those seeing it. It’s a spontaneous, unfiltered perspective of past and future entertainment events through the eyes of those attending them.
Think of it as word-of-mouth marketing in today’s world of social media and online presence.
Positive UGC is viewed as a venue or event endorsement from someone like-minded. Unlike traditional advertising content, which is sales driven, UGC is more relatable and trustworthy. Because actual users have generated it, UGC is more authentic and trustworthy than branded content. This high level of authenticity not only reflects on the venue or event, but also increases overall trust and credibility among prospective customers
Social Proof
UGC acts as Social Proof to others considering the purchase of tickets for an event. In a previous article: Boost Event Profits with Behavioral Psychology we discussed the role of social proof in the purchase decision process. Potential buyers are heavily influenced by the recommendations, opinions, and actions of other people, especially with those that share their common traits and interests. It comes down to this: people will be more inclined to act when they see others doing the same thing. Take for instance these statistics:
- 97% of consumers look at reviews before buying a product. (Power Reviews)
- 75% of marketers feel that user-generated content improves their marketing effectiveness. (Tintup)
- 82% of customers in the United States seek the advice of friends and family members before purchasing items. (Business2Community)
While event marketers are aware of the positive impact of user-generated content, many event organizers don’t grasp the tactics to make such content more intentional. Savy marketers facilitate, encourage and leverage content, such as reviews, testimonials, social media posts, and customer photos or videos to increase excitement, engagement, and ultimately ticket sales for their events.
UGC can also foster a sense of community, anticipation, and excitement among your attendees, making them feel connected and involved in the event.
The Benefits of User-Generated Content to Event Marketing Efforts
- Trust and Authenticity: As described above, potential ticket buyers trust user content over than the venue or event’s slick marketing content.
- Enhanced Engagement: When potential attendees see content generated by others about past and upcoming events, they are much more likely to act and engage with it by liking, commenting, sharing or responding with their own content.
- Increase Ticket Sales: Featuring real customers and their content in your event marketing efforts can significantly increase conversion rates, i.e. ticket sales.
- Cost Effectiveness: This free content is a gold mine for marketers, providing an abundance of content at no cost to them that can be used in current and future event marketing campaigns.
When consumers post about their experiences on social media, it can create FOMO, fear of missing out for friends, family, or other followers who were not at the event. This might spread awareness and inspire them to go to the event in the future based on the experience that the consumer posted on social media. People commonly feel FOMO during the event when they see people posting about it in real time. They may be drawn in by digital content or impactful visuals. Additionally, it can boost awareness with minimal marketing spending, increase awareness for future events, and strengthen the online presence and visibility of potential sponsors.
Why and When Do People Share UGC About Events?
User-generated content is becoming increasingly important, so it is important to understand what kind of moments consumers share and how to engineer these moments to drive visibility, revenue, and awareness.
Understanding the reasoning behind why people share their content will allow events to focus on the experiences to fill feeds with more user-generated content. The most common moments that are shared are videos from performances, selfies, outfits, food and beverages, interactive elements, exclusive elements, energy from the crowd, and surprise elements. Building around what attendees and consumers share the most will help the event to promote itself.
The Why: Fulfilling Psychological Needs
Understanding why consumers like the type of content they do and what causes them to share is crucial when trying to generate organic buzz. Psychologically, there are a variety of reasons a person might post on social media. That might include, as a form of self-expression, social status, emotional drive, belonging to a community, the creation of FOMO to those not there, or the visual appeal of the content.
As discussed in our last article: social connection is hard-wired into human behavior. Humans have an innate need for emotional connection with others, which is crucial for both mental and physical well-being. Emotional connections often bring joy, a sense of belonging, and fulfillment to our lives.
Events are a particularly important source of emotional connections because of the experiences they offer, shared with people with common interests and passions. People feel like they are a part of something.
When people attend events, they often dress up for the occasion; this is a form of self-expression for people. Similarly, people often post videos or pictures when they attend an event, concert, or festival to showcase their personality.
As consumers feel these strong emotions to capture the event, whether from excitement, joy, surprise, awe, nostalgia, etc., they are preserving that moment. They will either go back to it in the future or share it with others.
The When: Facilitating Intentional Actions
Pre-Event: Building Anticipation
Consumer Actions: Before the event, attendees might make videos or posts for social media that contain what they are planning to wear or potential outfit ideas, as well as tips or tricks for the event. They may include what they are bringing to the event or what they are doing to prepare.
Venue Enabling Action: Encouraging posts of ticket confirmations, reposting promotional content, and throwbacks from prior years help to fuel FOMO before the event and get the attendees excited. Potentially also getting their peers more involved and excited as well.
During The Event: Capturing the Magic
Consumer Actions: The day of the event offers peaks visibility, as it is common for there to be an influx of content getting posted throughout the day. Throughout the event, attendees will often post live videos throughout the performances. They may be inspired to post selfies with the stage or backdrops around the venue to showcase their outfit or their friends the day of the event.
Venue Enabling Actions: It is important to create interactive activations/environments for consumers to take photos with, as well as being intentional with light to ensure content is aesthetically pleasing.
After the Event: Keeping the Memories Alive
Consumer Actions: After the event, attendees often like to post “photo dumps,” their highlights from the event, reviews, or merch hauls. Attendees have a chance to go back through their photos and videos and find their favorites to go back and post afterward to highlight their favorite parts of the event.
Venue Enabling Actions: To connect more with consumers and attendees, reposting their content and releasing photo galleries of attendees are ways to continue connecting with them after the event has ended. A deepened engagement might influence sales and brand loyalty in the future.
Facilitating Intentional UGC
As the world of entertainment events becomes increasingly more competitive, it is important to enable and utilize UGC, as it allows event marketers to track the engagement of attendees and connect directly with their concert goers. Businesses can actively encourage and curate user-generated content (UGC) to achieve specific marketing goals, making it more intentional rather than relying solely on attendee organic submissions.
By seeing UGC on social media, potential ticket buyers can relate to the venue and events they hold. It also offers a cost-effective way to extend the reach of the festival, event, or concert without spending extra money on marketing or advertising. As the volume of content increases the number of people engaged and viewing the content will also increase.
When people are thinking of what they are going to share, they want to share something visually appealing, exciting, or exclusive. If someone has special VIP access or there is a special appearance of a guest, immersive props, contests, etc., a consumer is more likely to share that moment as it builds their excitement. Such efforts foster a sense of community among attendees, making them feel connected and involved in the event.
The event’s visual appeal should be very intentional, as it is a big reason the users generate content. Utilizing artwork, pop-ups, colorful designs, various props, and installations attract those attending to create shareable moments for social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Providing spaces that are easy to capture and reflect the aesthetic of the event is a way to increase engagement and connection with consumers.
To encourage user-generated content (UGC), event organizers can create contests or challenges, use hashtags, offer incentives, and actively engage with their community. By making it easy for users to share their experiences and offering rewards for participation, brands can foster a culture of content creation and build a strong community. Specific tactics include:
- Create Shareable Experiences: Make it easy for users to share their experiences by adding fun experiences at the venue or creating engaging email responses.
- Launch Contests and Challenges: Host contests where attendees are asked to create and share content about the venue or event to win prizes.
- Use Hashtags: Create a branded hashtag and encourage followers to use it when sharing content related to your venue or event.
- Offer Incentives: Provide rewards like discounts, freebies, or contest prizes for UGC.
- Engage with the Community: Regularly respond to posts, share user content (with permission), and create an environment where customers feel valued.
- Encourage Reviews and Testimonials: Ask customers to leave reviews and testimonials and prominently showcase them on your website and social media.
- Create Engaging Content Platforms: Developing online platforms or community spaces where users can share their experiences and interact with the brand can foster a sense of community and encourage ongoing UGC.
- Curate and Feature UGC: Brands can showcase the best UGC on their website, social media channels, and marketing materials, further encouraging participation and demonstrating the value of user-generated content.
In addition to the tactics above, you should also do the following when utilizing UGC for your events.
- Ask Permission: Make sure you ask permission before sharing UGC and give credit to those who created it.
- Provide Clear Guidelines and Expectations: Setting clear expectations for UGC submissions, such as preferred content formats or specific themes, can help ensure that the content aligns with the brand’s vision.
- Showcase Diversity: The UGC you post should show a diverse range of customers to appeal to a broader audience.
- Vary Your Content: Use a mix of photos, videos, reviews, and testimonials to keep your UGC fresh and engaging.
- Leverage Social Proof: Incorporate UGC across all your marketing platforms, such as social media, email, advertisements, websites, etc. Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are ideal for sharing UGC. Add UGC to your website, either on event pages to provide social proof or in dedicated galleries showcasing how customers engage with your events. Feature UGC in your newsletters or promotional emails to add a personal touch and highlight real customer stories and testimonials. UGC can be incredibly effective in ads, providing authentic endorsements that resonate with potential customers.
- Monitor Content: Be ready to monitor and moderate inappropriate or offensive content to avoid damage to your venue or event’s reputation and brand. Engage with those who post negative content in a way that demonstrates your desire to improve future experiences.
- Keep It Real: UGC is valued because it’s produced by laypersons and lacks the polish of a commercial ads and content. Avoid enhancing the content appearance and making it look polished and commercial.
- Reward Them: Share and showcase UGC. If contributors see their content being shared, they will likely to be motivated to create and share more content about your events. Recognize dedicated creators and engage with them to keep them motivated.
Measuring the Impact of UGC on Event Marketing Campaigns
To assess the impact of UGC on your venue or event’s marketing campaign, you need to understand how engaged they are with it and what specific channels drive most engagement.
Monitoring hashtags branded for your specific event allows event marketers to gauge buzz and sentiment quickly on social media.
You will need to track the number of likes, comments, and shares that spread the event’s engagement to a broader audience. That knowledge allows you to better understand what content is resonating with your audience and better optimize future content to increase its impact to maximize visibility and event awareness.
There are various social listening and monitoring applications that you should use to provide the data and analytics you need to hashtags, shares, comments, and likes to determine how well people are engaged with your efforts.
You can also track engagement with your social media posts, website, landing pages, and box office pages using a variety of tools and metrics by implementing tracking code snippets on them. Web analytics tools like Google Analytics and GA4 provide data on traffic sources, user behavior, and page views.
Metrics like bounce rate, average time on page, pages per session, and conversion rate are also important indicators of website engagement. By tracking these metrics and using the appropriate tools, you can gain valuable insights into user behavior, identify areas for improvement, and optimize your website, landing page and box office to increase engagement and achieve your goals.
You can also use first party surveys either through online surveys or in-person surveys at the event to get feedback from you audience directly about how UGC affects them and its influence on their purchasing decisions. This kind of feedback can be valuable in improving ways to make UGC more intentional.
Conclusion
User-generated content has grown exponentially in recent years to become a powerful tool in the event marketing world. Facilitating intentional UGC can drive engagement with the event and extend its reach beyond the venue’s own contacts. The goal is to excite consumers and attendees to post about the event before, during, and after by creating experiences that are too good to pass up.
Enabling User-generated content (UGC) using the tactics described earlier can drive engagement, brand awareness, and purchasing decisions. It’s an inexpensive way to create plenty of content for your event and will increase ticket sales and ROI.
Thinking creatively to intertwine interactive and emotional moments throughout each phase of an event, concert, or festival will empower consumers to promote the event themselves. Use tools to monitor the performance of your UGC campaigns. Analyze which types of content and strategies drive the most engagement and adjust your approach accordingly.
By intentionally encouraging and curating UGC, venues and events can leverage the authenticity and engagement of user-generated content to enhance their event marketing efforts, build brand loyalty, and gain valuable insights into customer preferences.
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