Social Marketing Trends: Harnessing the Power of Influencer Partnerships and User-Generated Content
By: Ingrid Schifer
Alpha of Schif And The City
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, social marketing trends constantly evolve, providing businesses and nonprofits with exciting opportunities to connect with their target audiences. Two effective strategies that have gained significant traction are influencer partnerships and user-generated content (UGC). Let’s explore how these strategies can be leveraged to amplify organic awareness, using the upcoming YEG Food Fiesta (yegfoodfiesta.com) as an example.
The Power of Influencer Partnerships: Influencer partnerships have become a game-changer in social marketing. Collaborating with local influencers who have a genuine connection with the community can help businesses and nonprofits extend their reach and engage a wider audience. YEG Food Fiesta, a highly-anticipated local food festival kicking off this weekend, has smartly implemented this strategy to generate buzz and attract attendees.
Harnessing User-Generated Content (UGC): User-generated content is a powerful tool for building trust and establishing deeper connections with customers. Encouraging event attendees to share their experiences, food adventures, and photos on social media creates an authentic buzz around the festival. YEG Food Fiesta is adopting this approach by encouraging foodies to use event-specific hashtags such as #yff and #yegfoodfiesta, ensuring a wealth of organic and engaging content is shared across various social platforms. Using hashtags also organizes the content by year, making it easy to find archived photos and videos for future promotions. E.g. #yegfoodfiesta2023 #yff2023
The YEG Food Fiesta Strategy in Action: YEG Food Fiesta is set to captivate food enthusiasts starting this weekend, on Foodie Friday, showcasing the implementation of influencer partnerships and UGC strategies. By collaborating with influential food bloggers and local social media influencers, the campaign aims to showcase restaurants and leverage their engaged audiences to create excitement and anticipation. Attendees will be encouraged to share their delicious food discoveries, memorable moments, and overall experiences using the branded hashtags and tagging the local organizations putting on the event (North Edge Business Association and YEG Ambassadors), resulting in a viral social media presence that expands the event’s reach organically.
Key Takeaways for Businesses and Nonprofits:
- Identify local influencers who align with your brand values and target audience to establish authentic partnerships.
- Develop creative influencer campaigns that showcase your products, services, or events in an engaging and relatable manner.
- Encourage event attendees to share their experiences and content on social media using event-specific hashtags.
- Leverage user-generated content to build trust, engage customers, and amplify organic awareness.
- Interact and show appreciation for users who contribute user-generated content (UGC) to foster a sense of community and loyalty.
As the YEG Food Fiesta kicks off this weekend, businesses and nonprofits can learn from their strategy to leverage influencer partnerships and UGC. By implementing these strategies effectively, you can create buzz, engage your audience, and amplify organic awareness for your brand or events. Be sure to check out the participating restaurants and catch live performances during the event which runs June 9th to July 2nd.
More About the Author:
Ingrid Schifer is a natural-born communicator. Starting her career in sales, she eventually shifted to marketing and launched her managed marketing company, Schif And The City, which has successfully served businesses across North America for over 12 years. When not out and about with her team, affectionately dubbed “The Wolfpack”, she can be found nerding out on the latest technological advancements in sales and marketing. Learn more about Schif And The City here.
