Do you remember about five years ago when we were in the age of point-and-shoot cameras? Or when we use to catch life’s precious moments on camcorders? Don’t you miss that? Me neither.
Today we have smartphones for practically everything; taking photos, sharing videos, surfing social media sites…oh, and of course making that once in a great while phone call to your mother.
The increased smartphone use for sharing media quickly and easily has created a whole new ballgame for brands and video marketers. With the introduction of those short blurb video apps like Vine and Instagram Video, it makes the creation of user-generated video content much easier; however, the question remains, “How do you encourage this content?”
User-generated video content is a double-edged sword. Receiving good reviews or testimonials blasted over social media sites are extremely beneficial for any product, but, at the same time, a user can create a video which is harmful to your brand’s integrity just as fast. Check out these tips about user-generated videos:
1) Engage the User: Viral videos are great, but user-generated videos are even better. The top priority of social media sites shouldn’t be trying to drive content, because that’s number two. You need to encourage your users to engage with the brand. And double points if they engage with a video.
2) Give the User a Direction: Tell the user what to do, – don’t leave them thinking. Giving the user a direction will give you the results you are looking for. During the video, provide them with a call to action. “Tell us your flavor? Apple or Cherry?”
3) Better Quality than Before: Don’t worry about smartphone videos looking bad and portraying your product as low quality. With today’s smartphone technology, videos have never looked so good! With these devices containing better processors and higher megapixels, user-generated videos will look professionally done, except in a “Blair Witch Project” perspective.
4) Contest Time: The easiest way to have users create videos about your product is to hold a contest. It has been tried and tested through various YouTube challenges with the top one coming to mind being “Hey Jimmy Kimmel, I told my kids I ate all of their Halloween Candy.”
