UGC and Content Marketing: A #CMWorld Twitter Chat with Jacquie Chakirelis

Wow! It’s been awhile since I’ve been behind the @CMIContent Twitter handle (thanks, Monina, for letting me step in for a day!).

Lucky for me, one of my favorite marketers and favorite Clevelanders was our special guest. Jacquie Chakirelis, director of marketing for the Great Lakes Science Center, talked with our community about user-generated content (UGC).

So many industries are ripe for UGC. And many are doing it so successfully. The travel and tourism industry, the retail industry, nonprofits, and so many others have content from customers coming it at a fast pace. We talked briefly about all the content that Disney must have to sift through, manage, curate and repurpose. I hope they have a huge team and a great digital asset management system to manage this!

Our goal for this chat was to get us out of the mindset of UGC simply meaning reposting or sharing customer content on Instagram. And with question #1, we were well on our way to some great thoughts from our community (of course).

Thanks to everyone for always welcoming me (@cmcphillips, if you missed the chat live) back to the group with open arms!

We hope you enjoy this brief summary – our own example of user-generated content! If you’d like to see all seven questions and their responses, check out our Twitter Moment #1 and Twitter Moment #2.

Q1: Some people hear user-generated content and immediately think of photos on Instagram. But #UGC comes in many formats. What other content types can be created by your audience that is relevant to your brand? #CMWorld

#UGC is any content that is provided by unpaid contributors like reviews, testimonials, tweets, blog posts, social comments, videos and everything in between #CMWorld

— Jacquie Chakirelis (@JacquieChak) October 16, 2018

A1. We asked our members to share their advice about an event that’s huge for them (back-to-school), and we turned their quotes into colorful little graphics that got lots of shares. #CMWorld

— Jill Golden (@_goldengrams) October 16, 2018

A1: Reviews & Testimonials make for great UGC. Looking at the best way to collect this type of content can really help when it comes to looking for case studies. Try and ask specific questions when asking for feedback or reviews so anecdotes are easier to find! #CMWorld

— Elizabeth KW (@LizzyRoseKnight) October 16, 2018

Q3: How can brands collect content from their audiences and encourage participation without making it seem like work for their customers? #CMWorld

A3: Make it fun and interesting t submit. Give the user a platform to showcase their talent. Case in point: The @Starbucks White Cup project where users drew their own art on Starbuck’s coffee cups! #CMWorld

— Joseph Kalinowski (@jkkalinowski) October 16, 2018

Q3: Use social listening tools! I worked for the food group at my college and I would constantly just use the Twitter search bar and look at mentions near my location that included “food” or “DSU” (the student union. Get creative. Have a hashtag. Make it fun. #CMWorld

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) October 16, 2018

A3: A social media presence matters because the channels already exist. Branded hashtags like #CMWorld or #StayCuriousCLE give your followers a mechanism to share. You use contests as incentives. I’m a huge fan of @JayBaer’s new book Talk Triggers to generate ideas.

— Jacquie Chakirelis (@JacquieChak) October 16, 2018

A3. To get participation, make it fun and provide some direction. “Share a picture of you and your pet enjoying our product” is better than “just post something on Instagram, already!” #CMWorld #UGC https://t.co/6dAu4cHtI3

— David Simanoff (@dsimanoff) October 16, 2018

What are your favorite examples of brands using UGC? Check out Twitter Moment 2 linked above for some great examples mentioned by our #CMWorld community in Q7.

Looking for some more great ideas from our community? Attend our Master Class, coming to San Francisco, New York City and Chicago this December. We hope to see you there! Use code CMI2018 to save $100 off your registration.