What is user-generated content? Consumers/Patients share on social media photos, videos, tweets, reviews, and other content to share their experiences of a business which helps promote the business. When a business shares user-generated content on their social media page, it not only saves the business time in creating content, it also broadens the reach of the business and increases engagement and brand loyalty in other consumers. Consider user-generated content as the “word-of-mouth” marketing of social media. User-generated content helps build authenticity and trust for your health center. Consumers are 2.4 times more likely to view user-generated content as authentic compared to content created by brands.
How to Get More User-Generated Content
- Hold a Contest- Have a photo contest for patients to post about your health center or about various health related topics. Make sure they use the contest’s hashtag or tag the health center in their post.
- Host Events and promote using a hashtag when people post photos from the event- National Health Center Week is a great time to host events. Encourage guests to capture moments during the event and share them on social media.
- Start a Hashtag Campaign- Create a unique hashtag for your health center or for a health awareness campaign.
- Add Signage in Your Health Center to Promote Tagging the Center on Social Media
How to Look for Existing Photos
- Search by location- Use Instagram’s geography tags to pull in images shared in one of your physical locations.
- Search by hashtag
Always request permission before reposting someone else’s content even if it includes your content. When you ask permission, you show the original poster that you appreciate their content and get them excited about sharing their post with your audience. You also keep yourself out of hot water when it comes to copyright concerns. Plus, it’s just the right thing to do.
Here is how Whole Foods asked permission in the comments of someone else’s photo:
Read more about User-Generated Content:
Hootsuite: A Marketer’s Guide to Using User-Generated Content on Social Media
7 Smart Ways to Encourage More User-Generated Content
What is User Generated Content (and Why You Should Be Using It)