Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) is a golden opportunity for businesses to boost sales and make a lasting impact. Nevertheless, it also presents a significant challenge, especially when return rates soar amid this shopping frenzy.
User-generated content (UGC) and content Creators are the aces up your sleeve for meeting this challenge head-on. They empower customers with relevant and diverse content, showcasing your products authentically in real-life scenarios.
Let’s delve into this article and explore invaluable tips to help you conquer BFCM with authentic content. We’ll make sure your brand shines brightly amid the holiday chaos!
Create a Holiday Special Hashtag to Collect UGC
The holiday season ignites a desire to capture experiences, making it the perfect opportunity to harness the power of UGC. Encourage users to capture moments with your products by using a designated BFCM hashtag. Black Friday Cyber Monday is a time when shoppers explore new brands, and social media serves as their playground for discovering exciting products and unbeatable deals.
Choose a hashtag that’s not only memorable but also aligns with your brand identity. By incorporating this hashtag into your strategy, you can supercharge your marketing campaigns, ensuring that you capture all the positive posts and make the most of this season.
Partner with Creators and Influencers
Incorporating creators and influencers into your strategy can complement organic UGC efforts. There are several advantages to this approach. Firstly, it grants you more control over the content, allowing you to specify the items to be featured and select the individuals to collaborate with. Additionally, it opens doors to a broader audience by tapping into their existing networks rather than relying solely on your current market.
But most importantly, this collaboration diversifies your product images, which is invaluable. By enlisting influencers to showcase how products fit various body types or teaming up with content creators to highlight different product benefits, you ensure a more comprehensive representation of your offerings. This diversity in content not only accurately sets customer expectations but also broadens your brand’s appeal.
Gamify the BFCM Experience
Sometimes, simply releasing a hashtag into the digital world isn’t enough to make people care. What better way to kick off the holiday festivities than by engaging with shoppers through a touch of fun! Gamifying your strategy can be a fun way to keep customers involved and actively participating. You can encourage participation by launching contests or giveaways, tied to sharing UGC on social media.
One approach is to reward the customers who produce UGC for you, offering incentives for each piece of UGC submitted or when they achieve specific milestones, such as 10 reviews. These incentives can include enticing perks such as:
- Free shipping
- Exclusive discounts
- Early access to upcoming sales
- Entry into a loyalty program
It’s all about spreading the holiday cheer and keeping your customers engaged and enthusiastic!
Infuse authenticity into your Product Detail Pages
Customers return products for many reasons, but the most common one is that the product did not meet their expectations. Maybe it didn’t fit, maybe the description was not accurate, or maybe it just wasn’t what they anticipated. So, in order to reduce the gap between purchase expectations and reality, you have to give customers as much information and context as possible about the product they’re considering.
Real content from consumers can be your ally in achieving this. It will help you highlight product benefits, sizes, and the best ways to use your product. If you’re in the fashion industry, utilizing diverse UGC images is key: showcasing how a product looks on different body types, in various styles, or different settings can provide customers with a more comprehensive view.
UGC plays a pivotal role in reducing return rates because it serves as social proof, showcasing satisfying experiences and instilling confidence in prospective buyers. The visual representation through real-life images and videos in UGC clarifies the product’s attributes, mitigating returns due to misconceptions.
Integrate UGC across all relevant channels
To truly captivate your audience and generate a wealth of quality content, don’t limit yourself to just social media. You have to make UGC an integral part of your brand’s identity. Showcase UGC on your Product Detail Pages (PDPs) to provide customers with an authentic look at how your products are used in the real world.
Think about incorporating customer photos in a dedicated carousel to enhance the shopping experience. You can even seamlessly blend customer reviews right into UGC posts. The goal is to provide shoppers with genuine expectations and precise product information.
Incorporate UGC into Cart Abandonment Emails
Black Friday shoppers often make impulsive decisions, but not all of them make it to the final checkout stage. In fact, many may have abandoned their partially filled carts along the way. Enter cart abandonment emails, your secret weapon for supercharging Black Friday sales. These emails serve as a gentle nudge, reminding customers about the products they initially had their eye on and luring them back to your store.
They also present a golden opportunity to inject a dose of UGC by showcasing authentic reviews and customer photos. Nobody enjoys feeling like they’re missing out, and UGC like this not only stirs a sense of urgency but also builds trust, especially for first-time buyers. It’s a win-win strategy that keeps your customers engaged and reassured.
The UGC and Creator Advantage: Driving BFCM Success
By following these tips, you’ll not only maximize your BFCM potential by reducing returns but also foster deeper connections with customers. This will lead to creating an unforgettable shopping experience that resonates with your audience and drives highly cost-effective results.
As October kicks in, it’s time to act to capitalize on these opportunities and ensure a seamless season ahead! While you gear up for BFCM, consider Social Native as your trusted partner in leveraging UGC and Creator content. Our technology and expertise connect you with skilled and brand-aligned creators, crafting authentic content that captivates your customers, transforming discovery into sales. Discover why over 1,500 top brands choose Social Native to unlock high-quality social content, build consumer trust, and drive revenue. Learn more.