Ready to start your next social production campaign? Great! Creating content with your fans is one of the best ways to build buzz around your brand.

We’ve seen tons of organizations really fly with this user-generated content technique. And success in social production is open to just about any brand, whatever you sell and wherever you operate. You just need a solid understanding of where you’re starting from, what your vision is, and a well-executed plan to get you there.

Here's a comprehensive guide to covering all the essential aspects of your next crowdsourced video project.

Assessing Audience Engagement

First up, some hard truths. Video collaboration only works if your audience is engaged. So you’ve got to confront whether yours is, too.

Is one channel more engaged than another? Or do you struggle to drum up any engagement, wherever you’re posting? You need to be honest here. If you don’t have an engaged audience that actually like, comment or share your content, the chances of them filming for you are super slim. If you have no social engagement, try using your newsletter to spike interest.

Assessing your engagement is the hardest step in social production campaigns because you – and your designated social media agency – might have to recognize something painful. No more head in the sand! It’s time to get real, because the pay-off is worth it.

Choosing Your Approach

Now that you’ve identified how engaged your audience is, it’s time to tackle the next step:

1. Launch a Large-Scale Campaign:

If you’ve found that your audience is genuinely engaged, this is a great way to build a large-scale crowdsourcing campaign. First, be clear about what you’re asking. What do you want your audience to film and where will you use it? And be clever with your positioning. Don’t make it feel like work: instead, talk their language and aim to generate fun and excitement by giving fans a reason to take part. Incentives can really help here, especially if you can offer something unique, priceless or just plain cool (tickets, merchandise or even one-to-one meets are ideal for this).

2. Focus on content ambassadors

If you don’t have an engaged audience, this is definitely the route for you – but it still works for those with solid engagement too. Think of this almost like a sponsored athlete plan. Instead of going for mass fan engagement, you sign up 5-10 hardcore fans who are ready and willing to create the content you need. Ask your colleagues for potential recommendations or put out a call on social media to see who’s up for being an official content ambassador. This route still gives you the user-generated content you need, but it’s a much more controlled process and helps your brand create a ‘content army’ ready to complete tasks whenever you ask.

Sustaining Momentum

Once you know where your content is coming from, don’t just sit back and wait. Take an active role. Be engaged and direct your fans accordingly (Cinebody’s push notifications are great for this). Keeping everyone hyped throughout the process will feed the energy in your footage. Your fans will be super stoked if they make the final cut and your videos will likely hit a new level of engagement. And by keeping everyone hyped, you’ve opened up the door for ongoing future content collaborations!

In conclusion, implementing a winning strategy for user-generated video content production requires a thorough assessment of audience engagement, strategic decision-making, and proactive involvement. By leveraging the power of crowd engagement and cultivating an enthusiastic community, you can create compelling content that amplifies your brand's reach and impact. So, embrace the potential of user-generated content and watch your brand soar to new heights in the digital realm.