Millennial consumers are twice as likely than any other consumer group to share content on social media during Christmas. According to OfferPop 85% of consumers believe that user generated visuals are the most impactful when engaging with brands, in contrast to branded images and photos.
One innovative example is John Lewis’ #BusterTheBoxer campaign. Following the hilarious TV advertising campaign, John Lewis launched a snapchat filter for 24 hours that enabled consumers to take selfies using their Boxer filter. In addition to this, the department store created Boxer themed stickers for Twitter. This enabled consumers to create photo tweets that were personalised.
John Lewis intelligently invited consumers to play a part of their festive story this year. Whilst many of us won’t wake up to a Boxer bouncing on a trampoline, an impressive amount of consumers shared their Boxer selfie. John Lewis’ seasonal hashtag #BusterTheBoxer was shared nearly 7000 times on Instagram and over 21 million views on Youtube.
In order to remain relevant on social media, the relationship between brands and consumers needs to become increasingly co-authored. Consumers are no longer at the receiving end of marketing messages. User generated content enables consumers to feel involved and also valued. Moving forward, brands must consider how consumers play a leading role in their storytelling.
As always, brands should use social media to create conversations that resonate with and reflect their consumers’ attitudes, values and interests. One way to achieve this shrewdly is to contextualise social media content culturally. This emotionally resonates with consumers, whilst enabling that brand messages are relevant.