Today, HRC is America\u2019s largest civil rights organization working to achieve \u201ca world where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n We wanted to learn more about how a successful non-profit organization leverages social media to generate awareness, tolerance, and acceptance while inspiring and engaging people and communities. <\/span><\/p>\n So, we analyzed HRC\u2019s social media activity in 2017. After looking at nearly 10,400 posts across six social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Google+), we learned that one of their favorite, most successful strategies had nothing to do with promoting themselves or their brand, and everything to do with highlighting their supporters and who they fight for. <\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019ve probably heard a bit about user-generated content (UGC). It\u2019s a tactic many <\/span>organizations, brands and businesses have been successfully using<\/span><\/a> for years where consumers, or users, generate content on the organization\u2019s behalf (not always intentionally, but ALWAYS with permission). <\/span><\/p>\n UGC is powerful in the sense that people value trust in the organizations they do business with and support. By allowing someone else speak on your organization’s behalf instills authenticity and trust in your brand. <\/span><\/p>\n For the Human Rights Campaign, user-generated content is their bread and butter, and they execute it well. Here are some UGC best practices and examples from HRC to help you incorporate UGC into your social media strategy. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To get started, you\u2019ll need to ask your audience to share related content. In your ask, be specific about what you\u2019re looking for, how content can be submitted, and how it will be used. Asking via social posts and newsletters are the easiest ways. <\/span><\/p>\n If you notice content that aligns with your brand that you\u2019d like to reshare, you must ask for permission to reshare. Asking via a comment or direct message is the easiest way to get permission. <\/span><\/p>\n The Human Rights Campaign accomplishes wider reach on social media by using the power of \u201cthe ask.\u201d Each social channel is different and asking for your audience to share your content may look slightly different channel to channel.<\/span><\/p>\n In this Facebook post, HRC asks their audience to:<\/span><\/p>\n They also let their audience know what\u2019s in it for them by participating. By doing these three things, their participating members are entered into a favorite photo competition. The winners will be featured on their official site touting over 2.6 million followers (serious exposure!). <\/span><\/p>\n Create a specific or branded hashtag for your user-generated content. Asking them to use a designated hashtag will allow your audience to easily share their content with you, as well as help grow awareness. On Instagram, you can now follow a hashtag – ensuring you\u2019re always up to date on who is using your campaign\u2019s hashtag. <\/span><\/p>\n By asking their audience to use the hashtag, #WeAreHRC, the marketing team could track who was participating in their \u2018Equali-gram Contest\u2019 and select winners by searching that hashtag. <\/span><\/p>\n Here are the four winners of that contest:<\/span><\/p>\n Whenever sharing user-generated content, it\u2019s especially important to give proper credit. You can do this by adding \u2018credit\u2019, \u2018photo,\u2019 or \u2018cc,\u2019 along with the creator\u2019s handle. HRC often includes the handle on the image, alongside the hashtag #repost, and credit to the original creator.<\/span><\/p>\n See the handle of the original author on this image in the bottom left-hand corner:<\/p>\nUser Generated Content (UGC)<\/h2>\n
UGC stats<\/h3>\n
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User-Generated Content Best Practices<\/h2>\n
Ask<\/h3>\n
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Use a hashtag<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nProper credit<\/h3>\n
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