Tips and Tricks | Estimated Read time – 7:33
User-generated content (UGC) has become a driving force in digital marketing. As an event organizer, harnessing the power of UGC can help you take the promotion of your endurance event to new levels.
From building hype and engagement to creating authentic connections with your participants, incorporating user-generated content into your marketing strategy is key.
Let’s explore the ins and outs of user-generated content so you can start to leverage UGC for your endurance event.
What is User-Generated Content (UGC)?
User-generated content (UGC) is any content — including images, videos, social media posts, comments, reviews, or testimonials — created by your participants rather than by you, the event organizer, or your event marketing team.
The most effective user-generated content for endurance events typically shows participants sharing their excitement for an upcoming event, their experiences while taking part in an event, or the celebrations after they cross the finish line.
Event organizers looking for new, easier, and more organic ways to promote their endurance events to a wider audience can harness UGC as a powerful tool for marketing and community engagement.
Benefits of User-Generated Content for Endurance Event Organizers
User-generated content turns loyal participants into content creators. You can utilize that content to meaningfully connect with more potential participants, increasing your event’s profile, registration, and revenue.
According to a recent study, 88% of people trust recommendations from people they know more than other advertising channels. That’s why, more than ever, leveraging UGC is an important marketing strategy for endurance events of all sizes.
Here are five benefits of leveraging UGC to promote your endurance events:
Authenticity:
Utilizing user-generated content builds trust with potential participants who are more influenced by real experiences than traditional marketing.
Word-of-Mouth Marketing:
U.S. consumers reportedly trust word-of-mouth marketing more than other advertising channels so strong endorsements from participants can go a long way.
Diverse Perspectives:
Your participants will capture fresh perspectives with content that appeals to a broader audience and helps people picture themselves at your event.
Cost-Effective Marketing:
UGC allows you to rely on the enthusiasm and creativity of your participants for impactful content that is less expensive than traditional marketing.
Feedback and Improvement:
Your participants will share insights into experiences, highlighting parts of your event that worked well, or areas that could be improved.
How to Get User-Generated Content for Your Endurance Event
Now that we’ve covered why utilizing UGC is a good strategy, let’s get into how you can encourage your participants to create it (and look at some user-generated content examples from other events).
1. Social Media
The first place to start encouraging your participants to create UGC is on social media. User-generated content on social media is easy to collect and has the power to increase your engagement and visibility online.
How do you get your participants to start posting about your event on social media?
Start by creating a hashtag that’s simple, memorable, and unique to your event (check out this article for more best practices). With this hashtag, you can find posts about your event quickly and easily pick the best ones to repost, interact with, and use as content for your event.
Promote your hashtag and your social media channels on your website and event details page, in all your emails, on event signage, and even on event swag. Build excitement around every stage of your event by encouraging your participants to post pictures or videos with your event hashtag.
Don’t forget to highlight what’s in it for them! Tell your participants in emails, on social media, and on your website that their posts will be featured on your channels and in promotion for future events.
Inspiration
Toronto’s Sporting Life 10K encourages using #SL10K on social posts as an opportunity for participants to share personal posts about their experience with the event.
2. Contests and Giveaways
If you want to give your participants more reason to create UGC, give them a little incentive.
Never underestimate the power of a chance to win a prize. Whether you’re giving away a hat or a registration discount, you might be surprised how many people create great content if it means they might get something free out of it.
For example, send an email asking your registrants to post a training video on social media for the chance to win a prize. Set one or two rules participants need to follow to enter — like following your event, using your hashtag, and tagging two friends — and set a contest deadline.
Share and interact with video submissions so more of your followers learn about the contest. Then, once the deadline passes, choose your favourite video, deliver the prize, and announce the winner on all your channels.
Your contest will give your event’s participants an even more memorable experience. Meanwhile, you’ve collected great UGC to use on your website, social channels and promotional material for years to come.
Pro Tip
Race Roster’s photo galleries feature makes it easy to host a photo contest. Your participants submit their photos to your gallery and we’ve made it simple to pick a winner.
3. Virtual Challenges
In-person endurance events are on the rebound in a big way but that doesn’t mean virtual challenges are going away.
Virtual challenges encourage your registrants to work toward a fitness goal over a specific period, like running 50 kilometers over 50 days or covering as much elevation as possible in 30 days.
These mini-events are great for keeping your participants engaged between events, building hype for your event, and encouraging fun UGC.
Virtual challenges can also be tailored to fit your event so participants are creating UGC that is perfect for promoting your event in the future.
Let’s say you organize a Halloween-themed endurance event. So, you create a virtual challenge of 31 minutes of exercise a day for the 31 days of October. Encourage participants who sign up for your challenge to dress up in a costume or wear a mask while they exercise and share their progress on social media with a picture or a video.
A virtual challenge can go a long way in building a sense of community among your participants and you’ll get some top-notch content out of the deal.
Did you know?
Race Roster’s virtual challenges include four different challenge types: cumulative time, tally, elevation, and distance.
4. Collaborate with Influencers
Influencer marketing is a growing strategy for endurance events, and it isn’t only for big events that can afford star social media influencers with 100K+ followers.
Nano-influencers — influencers with 1K to 10K followers — can have a significant impact and are a realistic option for many endurance events. A local athlete or runner with a loyal following can help you reach potential participants you haven’t tapped into yet.
If partnering with a nano-influencer makes sense for your event, start researching local athletes or runners with this type of following, meet with them to see if the fit is right, and propose a partnership with your event.
The right influencer will make awesome content for your event. What’s more, they’ll be sharing with loyal followers so your event gets in front of a new and engaged audience.
Inspiration
Grandma’s Marathon has put a unique spin on the influencer with its Grambassador program. Every year, Grandma’s Marathon chooses “a group of committed, knowledgeable, and outgoing runners” to be ambassadors of the event. It’s a great example of an event using its participants as a high-impact promotion.
5. In-Event Content Creation
A big green flag for potential participants is seeing past and current participants having an incredible time at your event. So, make it easy for your participants to create content throughout the event day.
Before Your Event:
Give your participants a piece of event swag at packet pickup and encourage them to post a photo in their new gear.
During Your Event:
Display signage around your course that encourages family and friends to post pictures or videos of participants on social media with your event hashtag.
After Your Event:
Build a selfie station at the finish line where participants can celebrate their achievements with a photo or video capturing the joyous minutes afterward.
How and where events ask participants to create content will differ based on the experience. Think about all those amazing moments during your event that you want potential participants to see. Turn those moments into opportunities for your participants to create fun and authentic UGC.
Conclusion
By actively involving your participants in the content creation process, you can boost the overall experience for everyone and promote your endurance event more cost-effectively.
It won’t take long before creating user-generated content becomes a part of your event’s culture. Your participants will start making UGC all the time without you having to remind or even encourage them.
Take the time now to put a UGC strategy in place. It can turn into something your event benefits from for years to come.
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