User Generated Content: Getting Your Customers to do Your Farm Marketing for You

User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful tool for farm marketing, leveraging the authentic voices of customers to boost credibility and enhance community engagement with your farm diversification business. UGC is often overlooked by smaller businesses as they tend to think it only works for large brands, but it often adds far higher value to small and start-up businesses than it would to the likes of Coke-Cola. 

What is User-Generated Content?

UGC includes any form of content, like photos, videos, reviews or social media posts, created by people (in particular customers/users) rather than brands. This content is then shared on various platforms and can be repurposed by the business for farm marketing purposes.

Here are three examples of effective UGC campaigns from some big household brands:

1. GoPro – Awards for Extreme Sports Content: GoPro encourages users to submit their action-packed footage captured with GoPro cameras. The company features this content across its marketing channels, showcasing the durability and quality of their cameras in extreme conditions. This UGC not only serves as powerful testimonials but also demonstrates the camera’s capabilities in real-world settings.
2. Starbucks – White Cup Contest: Starbucks ran a campaign inviting customers to doodle on their white Starbucks cups and submit pictures of their artwork. The winning design was temporarily turned into a limited edition Starbucks cup. This campaign effectively engaged the community, encouraging creativity and interaction with the brand, while also enhancing their visibility across social media.
3. Airbnb – Travel Stories: Airbnb encourages travellers to share their unique accommodation experiences and travel stories. These are featured on Airbnb’s website and social media, providing authentic travel insights and showcasing the variety of accommodations available. This UGC helps potential customers visualise their own possible experiences, building trust and interest in the platform’s offerings.

Each of these examples highlights how businesses can leverage UGC to enhance their brand’s authenticity, engage with their community and provide social proof, all of which can drive greater customer engagement and sales.

Why is User-Generated Content so Powerful for Farm Marketing? 

UGC can be the most valuable tool in your content marketing strategy, giving you reach and engagement beyond your wildest dreams. But why is it so powerful? 

• Social Proof: UGC acts as a testimonial for your business. When potential customers see real people endorsing your products, it enhances trust and credibility.
• Community Building: Sharing user content fosters a sense of community. It shows that you value customer input and interaction, leading to increased customer loyalty and engagement.
• Content Diversity: UGC provides you with a stream of fresh, authentic content that can diversify your marketing materials and reduce the need for constant content creation on your part.

How Can You Encourage Customers to Create Content? 

Encouraging your customers to create content involves incentivizing them to share their experiences. As business owners, we would all love it if customers always told us when things were going well or shared images of themselves loving your product. But more often than not, people only share things when they have something negative to say. So you need to find ways to encourage customers to share their experiences and also make it as easy as possible for them to do so. 

Reviews as User-Generated Content

Reviews are one of the most common forms of UGC, so if there is a natural place for customers to provide reviews of your business, make sure you use it. For tourism businesses this could be TripAdsivor, but for other businesses it could be Google Reviews or Facebook Reviews, whatever is more appropriate for your farm business. Try including a link to review in any follow-up emails you send customers, for example, once a product has been delivered or when a stay is over. 

If the review has been posted publicly, you have every right to repost it on another website or use it for your marketing. We also recommend you respond or reply to all reviews where possible, as this keeps the engagement going. 

If your reviews are coming in but you want more bang from your UGC, here are a few strategies:

• Competitions and Rewards: Run contests that reward customers for sharing creative photos or videos using your products. For example, a wool business might invite knitters to share their finished products made from your wool for a chance to win more supplies.
• Hashtags and Tags: Create a specific hashtag for your farm diversification business and encourage visitors to use it. For instance, farm stays can have guests tag their location in photos during their stay, boosting visibility and attracting potential customers.

How Could User-Generated Content Work for Your Farm Business? 

Here are five ways different types of farm businesses could use or encourage UGC:

1. Farm Shop: Launch a recipe contest where customers use products from the farm shop to create dishes. Customers can share their creations on social media, tagging the farm shop, which can then feature these posts on their own profiles to showcase the versatility of their produce.
2. Craft Business: Encourage customers who purchase craft supplies or products, like yarn or handmade crafts, to share their projects. Offer a monthly spotlight on the best customer project, which could encourage more sharing and interaction online.
3. Glamping Site: Create a photo contest for guests to share their favourite moments while staying at the glamping site. Offer incentives like a discount on their next stay for the photo with the most likes or best captures the spirit of the site.
4. Agricultural Contractor: Invite clients to share before and after photos of their projects completed using your services. Highlight these transformations on your social media to demonstrate the impact and quality of your work.
5. Meat Box Business: Encourage customers to post their meals made with your meat boxes, using a specific hashtag. Feature a ‘Meal of the Month’ on your social channels and offer a prize for the best dish, which could increase customer engagement and provide authentic testimonials.

Getting the Most Out of Customer’s Content for Your Farm Marketing

Some important top tips for getting the most out of your UGC and how to ensure you are getting the right kind of content from your customers. 

• Highlight Quality Contributions: Feature high-quality user contributions on your main social media feed or website to show appreciation and encourage more high-quality submissions.
• Respond and Engage: Always engage with UGC by liking, commenting and sharing. This not only shows appreciation but also encourages further interaction.
• Set Clear Guidelines: To ensure the UGC aligns with your brand image, provide clear guidelines on what type of content you are looking for and how it should be tagged. This is particularly important if you have multiple people involved in running your social media or digital marketing so that they know what you are comfortable with or not. 

By effectively utilising UGC, farm diversification businesses can enhance their online presence, build stronger relationships with customers and improve their overall marketing effectiveness. Remember, the key to success with UGC is active participation and engagement with your customer base, showing them that their contributions are valued and important to your brand’s story. Want some help with your farm marketing? Book your free consult today!