# Foursixty > [vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Get product updates, stories, and ecommerce advice to take your visual marketing strategy to the next level.” font_container=”tag:p|text_align:center”][/vc_column][vc_column][vc_wp_categories title=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][minimag_style_four][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row] --- ## Posts - [How Does Instagram Monetization Work in 2025? Everything You Should Know](https://foursixty.com/blog/instagram-monetization/): Once upon a time, Instagram was a cute online photo album where you could post your favorite iPhone snapshots of... - [Ready to Build a Winning User-Generated Content Strategy? Here's Your Complete Guide](https://foursixty.com/blog/user-generated-content-strategy/): User-generated content (UGC) refers to the photos, videos, and reviews where real customers share their experiences with your products. UGC... - [What is Shoppable Content? Your Complete Guide (With Real Examples)](https://foursixty.com/blog/shoppable-content/): Disclaimer: Since our product at Foursixty fits right into this topic, we’ve mentioned our services a few times in the... - [How to Link Shopify to Instagram: An Easy Step-by-Step Guide](https://foursixty.com/blog/how-to-link-shopify-to-instagram/): Want to turn your Instagram content into a shopping experience your customers can tap, love, and buy from right there... - [Foursixty Partners with Okendo to Introduce Product Reviews](https://foursixty.com/blog/foursixty-partners-with-okendo-to-introduce-product-reviews/): We are excited to announce a very special partnership with leading product ratings and reviews provider: Okendo. The combination of... - [Top 7 Facts and Stats You Need to Know About Instagram Shopping](https://foursixty.com/blog/for-michael-review-top-7-facts-and-stats-you-need-to-know-about-instagram-shopping/): Instagram has quickly established itself as a contender for the best marketing social media platform, particularly for eCommerce companies marketing... - [7 Foolproof Black Friday Cyber Monday Instagram Hacks](https://foursixty.com/blog/7-foolproof-black-friday-cyber-monday-instagram-hacks/): An uptick in bright bold colours, intense graphics, and loud fonts on Instagram feeds is usually a solid indicator of... - [A Black Friday Cyber Monday Guide to UGC](https://foursixty.com/blog/your-simple-black-friday-cyber-monday-guide-to-user-generated-content/): Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) are closing in quickly. In recent years in the USA, online spending over the... - [Learn What They Want This BFCM Before It Happens](https://foursixty.com/blog/learn-what-they-want-this-bfcm-before-bfcm/): Ready to tap into the power of social networks? While usage of hashtags is waning, #WishlistWednesday is still a popular... - [The Ultimate Black Friday Cyber Monday Resource Summary](https://foursixty.com/blog/the-ultimate-black-friday-cyber-monday-resource-summary/): Hi there! We know how tough it can be to keep track of all the resources published around the Black... - [How To Launch A Black Friday Cyber Monday UGC Instagram Campaign](https://foursixty.com/blog/how-to-launch-a-black-friday-cyber-monday-ugc-instagram-campaign/): With two of the biggest shopping days of the season fast approaching, it’s time to get the wheels turning on... - [User-Generated Content: The Preferred Way for Millennials to Discover Brands](https://foursixty.com/blog/user-generated-content-the-preferred-way-for-millennials-to-discover-new-products/): User-generated content is changing the way companies market and customers buy—here’s how you can take your UGC to the next... - [Not Sure How to Use UGC? Use Our Fail-Proof Guide.](https://foursixty.com/blog/not-sure-how-to-use-user-generated-content-use-our-fail-proof-guide/): Are you planning on utilizing user-generated content but aren’t sure how to go about it? Here’s our easy-to-follow guide. Even... - [5 Key Benefits of Using User-Generated Content Marketing for Your Brand](https://foursixty.com/blog/5-key-benefits-of-using-user-generated-content-marketing-for-your-brand/): Your company’s brand is everything. It’s how people view your company. It’s how they understand its values. It’s a continual... - [4 Practical Ways to Encourage Your Customers to Share Their Content on Instagram](https://foursixty.com/blog/4-practical-ways-to-encourage-your-customers-to-share-their-content-on-instagram/): Are you having trouble getting your customers to share their content on Instagram? Here are 4 easy solutions It’s very... - [5 Simple Steps to Create an Authentic User Generated Content Strategy](https://foursixty.com/blog/4-steps-on-creating-an-authentic-user-generated-content-strategy/): You’ve decided to utilize user-generated content as a part of your marketing strategy, but what are the next steps? Once... --- # # Detailed Content ## Posts ### How Does Instagram Monetization Work in 2025? Everything You Should Know - Published: 2025-05-24 - Modified: 2025-05-25 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/instagram-monetization/ - Categories: Influencer Marketing, Instagram Marketing, UGC Marketing Once upon a time, Instagram was a cute online photo album where you could post your favorite iPhone snapshots of sunsets and plane wings. Now, it’s an essential tool that helps entrepreneurs and creators connect with audiences—and make money.   Lots of it.   Entire careers have been built using this app with humble beginnings.   If you want to dip your toe into the lucrative waters of Instagram, our guide to Instagram monetization will help you get started.   We’ll cover it all: physical products and Instagram subscriptions. Shoppable posts and branded content. Digital products and sponsored posts. By the end of this guide, you’ll have the skinny on the most up-to-date monetization strategies, tools, and potential real-world earnings. 1Can You Really Monetize Instagram? 2The 5 Top Ways to Monetize Your Instagram in 20253How Much Can You Earn on Instagram?  4FAQs Can You Really Monetize Instagram? Yes, you can, and you don’t have to have millions or even thousands of subscribers to monetize your Instagram account. Instagram offers built-in monetization tools that reward reach, engagement rates, content value, and audience loyalty. To get started, you’ll need either a creator account or a business account. Your Instagram profile has to follow Instagram’s rules for making money.   These rules spell out who’s allowed to earn money, what kind of content you can post, and how you must clearly state when a post is sponsored. Make sure you read them—like really read them—before you get started. When our writing team was... --- ### Ready to Build a Winning User-Generated Content Strategy? Here's Your Complete Guide - Published: 2025-05-07 - Modified: 2025-05-07 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/user-generated-content-strategy/ - Categories: Influencer Marketing, Shoppable Instagram, Social Marketing, UGC Marketing User-generated content (UGC) refers to the photos, videos, and reviews where real customers share their experiences with your products.   UGC content is typically unpaid and shows up organically on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. It's created not by influencers under contract, but by real-life users who genuinely love your brand. In 2025, UGC is the internet’s version of word-of-mouth marketing.   People trust content from real people more than they trust ads. That's why UGC can build trust, drive conversions, and scale your brand story in ways traditional marketing just can't. In this guide, we'll show you how to build a successful user-generated content strategy for your brand. Table of ContentsThe Benefits of Implementing a UGC StrategyConversion Rate ImprovementsAuthentic EngagementCommunity Trust How to Build Your UGC Strategy, Step by Step1. Identify Your Goals2. Select Channels and Formats3. Find and Motivate UGC Contributors4. Moderate the Content5. Publish and Promote Your UGC6. Measure PerformanceExamples of Great UGC StrategiesPura Vida: Transforming UGC into a Revenue EngineMICHI: Showcasing Innovative Sportswear with Shoppable UGC The Benefits of Implementing a UGC Strategy Harnessing user-generated content as a marketing strategy delivers several benefits for your brand. They include conversion rate improvements, authentic engagement, and higher community trust. Let’s take a closer look. Conversion Rate Improvements According to a 2022 analysis of 1,200 ecommerce sites using UGC in marketing efforts, the average conversion rate was 3. 2%, higher than the industry baseline of about 2%.   Plus, when these users engaged with UGC by clicking, scrolling,... --- ### What is Shoppable Content? Your Complete Guide (With Real Examples) - Published: 2025-05-03 - Modified: 2025-05-24 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/shoppable-content/ - Categories: Influencer Marketing, Instagram Marketing, Shoppable Instagram, Social Commerce, UGC Marketing Disclaimer: Since our product at Foursixty fits right into this topic, we’ve mentioned our services a few times in the piece below.   Shoppable content is any type of content—like a photo, video, or blog post—that lets people buy products directly from it.   Picture this: you’re a fashion brand, and someone in your target audience sees one of your posts on their Instagram feed. They instantly fall in love with the outfit featured in the post and want to buy it.   With shoppable content, they don’t have to search your website, scroll through endless product pages, or DM you to ask, “Where’s this from? ”  They just tap the photo, see the product details, and check out from within the app—or an integrated point-of-sale page. That's the power of shoppable content.   Table of ContentsWhy Shoppable Content Matters in 2025The 6 Main Types of Shoppable ContentExamples of Effective Shoppable ContentHow to Create Shoppable ContentWant to Turn Your UGC or Social Posts into a Revenue Stream? FAQs Why Shoppable Content Matters in 2025 In 2025, shoppable content isn’t just nice to have. Users are starting to expect shoppable posts. This is particularly true for younger audiences who have grown up with social media platforms. Facebook and Instagram were born when Millennials were teenagers and young adults. Gen Z is the first digitally native generation. They've never known a world without the internet and social media.   Even the older generations spend tons of time on social platforms.   Data... --- ### How to Link Shopify to Instagram: An Easy Step-by-Step Guide - Published: 2025-04-23 - Modified: 2025-05-24 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/how-to-link-shopify-to-instagram/ - Categories: Instagram Marketing, Shoppable Instagram Want to turn your Instagram content into a shopping experience your customers can tap, love, and buy from right there in the app? We'll show you how to link Shopify to Instagram so you can do just that. Slapping a "link in bio" in your Instagram captions and crossing your fingers that it'll drive a few conversions is a thing of the past. With the powerhouse ecommerce tools available to you today, you can turn your social media content into real sales opportunities. This guide will walk you through everything you need to connect your Shopify store to Instagram Shopping, step-by-step, with tips, screenshots, and troubleshooting help. Let’s get to it. Instagram monetization opportunities await! Table of ContentsA Quick Note on Meta’s Commerce GuidelinesA Step-by-Step Guide to Connecting Shopify and Instagram1. Change your Instagram from a personal to a business account2. Connect Instagram to Facebook Business Manager3. Install the Facebook and Instagram app on Shopify 4. Enable Instagram Shopping5. Verify Your Connection (and Your Product Catalog)Common Issues and FixesFinal Checklist: Is Your Instagram Shopping Setup Ready? Setup EssentialsProduct CatalogInstagram ShoppingPro Tip: Boost Instagram Shopping with FoursixtyUpdated ResourcesFAQs A Quick Note on Meta’s Commerce Guidelines Before your Instagram Shopping setup can go live, Meta will review your business to make sure it follows the company’s Commerce Eligibility Requirements.   You’ll want to make sure your business follows these Instagram monetization policy guidelines to the letter, because Meta’s pretty strict about enforcing them. Here’s what they’re looking for: A business in a... --- ### Foursixty Partners with Okendo to Introduce Product Reviews - Published: 2020-03-12 - Modified: 2025-05-12 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/foursixty-partners-with-okendo-to-introduce-product-reviews/ - Categories: Partners, Product News We are excited to announce a very special partnership with leading product ratings and reviews provider: Okendo. The combination of Okendo and Foursixty enables merchants to blend UGC sourced from Instagram with UGC sourced from customer reviews, and showcase this content within the shoppable Foursixty galleries you all know and love. With this integration, brands who use both Okendo and Foursixty will be able to evolve their UGC strategy by doing the following things: Showcase Product Ratings Through our Okendo integration, you’ll be able to display product ratings and review data directly in Foursixty lightbox views. We’re also able to customize the look and feel of the ratings placements to ensure the design is in line with your aesthetic guidelines. Bali Body showcasing product ratings in Foursixty lightbox view. Born Primitive showcasing highly customized product ratings in Foursixty lightbox view. Incorporate Product Review Content In addition to displaying product ratings within Foursixty lightbox views, Okendo users will also be able to incorporate review content collected from their customers within their Foursixty galleries. What content does that include? It includes the uploaded photos or video, the actual product review, and the product rating. And yes, this content will be displayed in Foursixty's classic shoppable style. Slot your product review content into Foursixty galleries so that it lives alongside your shoppable content and UGC from Instagram. How It Works The really cool thing about this partnership is that today, Foursixty's full suite of Shoppable content for Instagram & UGC technology will be... --- ### Top 7 Facts and Stats You Need to Know About Instagram Shopping - Published: 2019-11-25 - Modified: 2025-05-24 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/for-michael-review-top-7-facts-and-stats-you-need-to-know-about-instagram-shopping/ - Categories: Uncategorized Instagram has quickly established itself as a contender for the best marketing social media platform, particularly for eCommerce companies marketing to Millennial and post-millennial audiences. That raises the question of why.   What is it about Instagram that makes it such a powerful platform for modern-day marketers? We have seven key stats and facts that highlight why you need to have an Instagram monetization and marketing strategy. One Billion Active Users Each MonthEvery single month, Instagram has a billion people accessing it. That’s an astounding number for you to reach as a marketer. Not only that, but more than half of those people are accessing Instagram every single day. Almost Two Thirds of 18-29 Year Olds are on Instagram64% of people between the ages of 18 to 29 are on Instagram. This emphasizes just how robust a social media platform Instagram is for targeting and engaging younger people, particularly millennials. 72% of Teens are Using InstagramYes, teens have moved away from text-heavy platforms like Facebook and Twitter. But if you want to target generation Z or the post-millennial generation, then Instagram is the best vehicle for your marketing efforts. Instagram, as a visual platform, is the number 1 social media platform for teenagers, having cleared Snapchat late last year. 4 in 5 People Follow a Business Account80% of Instagram users follow a business account. This statistic really highlights why Instagram is proving to be such a dominant marketing outlet for businesses. Most people on the platform are actually seeking out... --- ### 7 Foolproof Black Friday Cyber Monday Instagram Hacks - Published: 2019-10-21 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/7-foolproof-black-friday-cyber-monday-instagram-hacks/ - Categories: Black Friday, Instagram Marketing, Social Marketing An uptick in bright bold colours, intense graphics, and loud fonts on Instagram feeds is usually a solid indicator of Boxing Day’s early cousins: Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM). These six foolproof Instagram hacks will help you be prepared for the holiday shopping season and to stay ahead of the social commerce game. 1. Do what comes naturally Your community is already on social media. They are also already engaging with your brand, even if you don' realize it. While you can spend hours carefully crafting a hashtag, consider: how does your customer engage? Are they tagging you in Stories or in Posts? Are they tagging your brand within a comment on a post featuring you? Start your strategy by revising the current habits of your community, and amplify it. If they tag your brand in Stories, don't encourage them to post a photo to their feed. Tell them to tag you in your Stories. Encourage their natural habits. 2. Share and make aware with a custom Instagram hashtag We know: hashtags are on the way out. But stay with us: to keep better track of your BFCM campaign create a custom hashtag to use with all your posts. Not only will your posts not drown in the millions of #blackfriday #cybermonday hashtag posts, a custom hashtag will make it easier for your loyal followers to shop with you. Not interested in a one-trick pony for your community? Use a hashtag that can live on as a gifting or... --- ### A Black Friday Cyber Monday Guide to UGC - Published: 2019-10-20 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/your-simple-black-friday-cyber-monday-guide-to-user-generated-content/ - Categories: Black Friday Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) are closing in quickly. In recent years in the USA, online spending over the course of the two days has entered the billions and shows no signs of slowing down. 2019’s BFCM digital sales are expected to be the biggest money makers yet.   However, if you’re going to take advantage of this incredible spending period, you have to be sufficiently prepared. And, as we’ve discussed at length, user-generated content (UGC) is the best way to get consumers interested in buying your products - and to convert them once they are on a product page. With this crucial marketing component in mind, this is your Black Friday Cyber Monday guide to User Generated Content. 1. Plan Ahead For The Sale Period This one might seem obvious, but it’s nonetheless crucial and often left too late. You have to plan ahead. That means having everything in place in regards to your UGC. When BFCM arrives, all your potential customers should see a plethora of UGC and be more likely to buy as a result. Just getting started a month before the big day? We've got you covered. Our suite of UGC eCommerce tools can be set up in no time, and offer everything you need to get started: shoppable Instagram pages, product page UGC galleries, and a Digital Rights Management solution. Product Page Shoppable UGC Gallery from PuraVida. Shoppable Instagram Gallery embedded on Dormify's eCommerce shop. You want as much visual UGC as possible. Don't... --- ### Learn What They Want This BFCM Before It Happens - Published: 2019-10-19 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/learn-what-they-want-this-bfcm-before-bfcm/ - Categories: Black Friday Ready to tap into the power of social networks? While usage of hashtags is waning, #WishlistWednesday is still a popular hashtag used by Instagram users to share their planned purchases. In 2019, word of mouth advertising is still a major driver of eCommerce purchases. We trust recommendations from friends and family over other advertising formats. As we head into Black November, here are three ways to drive organic engagement. Run A Cyber Monday Contest For your loyal followers, run a contest tapping into their #WishlistWednesday - the items they love. Encourage users to share why they love your product for a chance to win deeper discounts on Black Friday/Cyber Monday or free goodies now. If you have a referral program, tap into your database to engage users across platforms.   For users who are considering your brand, encourage them to enter a #WishlistWednesday giveaway. Again, you can offer deeper Black Friday savings, custom bundles, or free product to drive engagement. Instead of sharing their experience with your product, have them share simply that they plan to purchase come sale time. Celebrate User Generated Content Now that you’ve got a bank of new User Generated Content, it is time to legally amplify it in their stories. Our built-in Rights Management software makes this process a dream. Simply log in to your dashboard and start approving submissions to your shoppable user-generated feed. You can use community stories to show your product in a different light. Through the use of Product Page Galleries,... --- ### The Ultimate Black Friday Cyber Monday Resource Summary - Published: 2019-10-18 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/the-ultimate-black-friday-cyber-monday-resource-summary/ - Categories: Black Friday Hi there! We know how tough it can be to keep track of all the resources published around the Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) Sale period. So, we’ve brought together a list of our favourites. From annual trends to marketing strategy and execution, we hope these resources help you to plan for your best Black Friday ever. We will keep this list up to date as new materials are launched. Enjoy! Black Friday / Cyber Monday Trends First off, we have an article coming to you by way of The Balance. This article addresses trends surrounding Cyber Monday. It covers some of the history of Cyber Monday, the sales numbers surrounding it for the past decade, and a variety of factors that explain why Cyber Monday’s doing as well as it is. Next, we have eCommerce platform BigCommerce with two particularly insightful articles from their blog. The first is on last year’s Cyber Week trends. These trends are directional, and can be used to inform how an eCommerce brand could approach their sales period this year. The second post underscores the most significant Cyber Monday opportunities in 2019 and how to capitalize upon them.   For those of you selling from Australia, Neto's perspective on Black Friday Cyber Monday is worth a read. In it, they examine the success of BFCM in Australia. If you thought BFCM was a uniquely American trend, they put to bed any lingering doubts about the scale of the sale period within the country. eCommerce... --- ### How To Launch A Black Friday Cyber Monday UGC Instagram Campaign - Published: 2019-10-17 - Modified: 2019-10-22 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/how-to-launch-a-black-friday-cyber-monday-ugc-instagram-campaign/ - Categories: Black Friday, Social Marketing, UGC Marketing With two of the biggest shopping days of the season fast approaching, it’s time to get the wheels turning on your marketing campaign. To help, we’ve put together a checklist for your Black Friday Cyber Monday campaign. Get a hearty slice of the holiday shopping pie by doing the following for your seasonal campaign: Consider your shoppers habits Let's go back to basics. How do your shoppers engage with you as a brand? Are they sharing off-the-cuff stories via video on Instagram, @tagging you in the process? Or are they posting curated, edited photos to the feed, again @tagging your brand and tagging again in the comment? When launching your Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM User Generated Content (UGC) campaign, start with a quick review of how your audience actually acts. Use their behaviour to inform your approach. Create a community hashtag for user’s posts People love to share experiences. When shoppers see others using your product, they can more easily visualize themselves using your product, too. This, in turn, makes them more likely to buy.   By creating a custom hashtag for followers to use when posting about your products, you’ll be loaded with authentic content. Encourage followers to use your community hashtag in their posts with your products by featuring them on your feed and stories. But don't forget the power of @tagging Go back to your customer habits. While hashtags are great for discovery and engaging - they aren't much help if your community just doesn't use... --- ### User-Generated Content: The Preferred Way for Millennials to Discover Brands - Published: 2019-10-04 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/user-generated-content-the-preferred-way-for-millennials-to-discover-new-products/ - Categories: UGC Marketing User-generated content is changing the way companies market and customers buy—here’s how you can take your UGC to the next level. Now more than ever we’re living in the age of social media. As an eCommerce brand, you can live and die by your Instagram account. Your audience has a social media presence on at least one of the major platforms. For example, over half of all millennials have an Instagram account according to PEW Internet research. As such, these platforms are their go-to sources for community, news, entertainment, and now their primary domain for shopping. The influence Instagram has on purchase decisions is staggering: “72% saying they have made fashion, beauty or style-related purchases after seeing something on Instagram, with the most-purchased categories being clothing, makeup, shoes and jewelry. ”Retail Drive Fast growing companies like Foursixty partner Frankie’s Bikinis have capitalized on this new, highly visual form of shopping. Leveraging a mix of brand-created content, behind the scenes stories, and user-generated content (UGC), smart eCommerce brands are tapping into Instagram as the preferred way Millennials shop. But before we cover why UGC is key to helping millennials find new products, let’s discuss just what it is. What is User-Generated Content? User-generated content is content that companies get from their users. For example, if you’re a business that sells bracelets and you have customers that are posting pictures of themselves with your bracelets on. Those images are user-generated content. Content that is being promoted by customers that are fans of... --- ### Not Sure How to Use UGC? Use Our Fail-Proof Guide. - Published: 2019-09-27 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/not-sure-how-to-use-user-generated-content-use-our-fail-proof-guide/ - Categories: Influencer Marketing, UGC Marketing Are you planning on utilizing user-generated content but aren’t sure how to go about it? Here’s our easy-to-follow guide. Even after deciding to use user-generated content (UGC) for the marketing of your company’s brand and having come up with a strategy to best utilize it, there’s still one final step—actually using UGC to meet your marketing goals. After all, just because you know what you want to get out of using UGC doesn’t mean you know how to get there. It’s worth keeping in mind that there’s no one comprehensive guide that can perfectly encapsulate exactly how you should be using user-generated content to your advantage. Each marketing strategy will demand different approaches and implementations. Nonetheless, here are some of the best ways to make use of your UGC. Promote A Unique Hashtag While most marketing is for the ultimate purpose of increased sales, some marketing takes an indirect route to that end goal. Forming and promoting a unique hashtag for your brand or a particular product of yours can go a long way towards increasing brand loyalty and awareness. Both of which ultimately get your company more sales down the line. Not only that, but through that hashtag, identifying further UGC will become easier. Brand loyalty means your customers will return to your products to buy them again and again. In turn, it means your brand’s reputation will grow as one that’s reliable. That subsequent increased awareness about your brand will mean a growing pool of potential customers. Thus,... --- ### 5 Key Benefits of Using User-Generated Content Marketing for Your Brand - Published: 2019-09-18 - Modified: 2025-04-17 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/5-key-benefits-of-using-user-generated-content-marketing-for-your-brand/ - Categories: UGC Marketing Your company’s brand is everything. It’s how people view your company. It’s how they understand its values. It’s a continual encapsulation of all that your company stands for. Yet, it can be far from easy to establish and just as hard to maintain. That’s why so many companies, particularly online retailers, are looking to user-generated content (UGC) to boost their brands. UGC is, as the term suggests, content that is generated by users of a brand or product. Thus, in a sense, it’s free marketing assets for your company. This content can take any form of promotion, whether that’s images and videos or reviews and articles. Furthermore, as it’s most prominently being utilized by companies on Instagram, it’s ideal for retailers that want to display their merchandise.   With that in mind, here are 4 of the most significant reasons UGC is ideal for marketing your brand.   Come Across as Genuine With your brand being central to conveying who you are a company, it’s critical that your brand comes off as being authentic. Authenticity, in turn, makes your brand more reliable. Since potential consumers will see that there’s no pretense in your brand, they will find it more believable. UGC is among the best marketing tools your brand can take advantage of for displaying how genuine it is. This is because UGC is unpaid for. It comes about organically so others are more likely to believe in it than something your company itself puts out.   The numbers bear... --- ### 4 Practical Ways to Encourage Your Customers to Share Their Content on Instagram - Published: 2019-09-14 - Modified: 2019-10-07 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/4-practical-ways-to-encourage-your-customers-to-share-their-content-on-instagram/ - Categories: Influencer Marketing, UGC Marketing Are you having trouble getting your customers to share their content on Instagram? Here are 4 easy solutions It’s very difficult to utilize user-generated content (UGC) if you’re barely getting any. The foundation for any UGC marketing plan has to include a healthy dose of content being consistently produced by your customers. If you’re having trouble getting UGC in a consistent way, then the process of energizing your fanbase into becoming more involved in generating content is an integral part of your marketing strategy. Converting your customers into active advocates for your brand is easier said than done. There are pitfalls that you need to avoid at all costs. The motivation you provide customers has to feel organic. After all, you don’t want them to feel pressured or manipulated into making content for you. With this in mind, here are 4 ways to get your customers inspired to make UGC. Create a Hashtag It’s important to make your customers feel unique and part of their own group. Your customers are going to be more inclined to share content if they feel like they’re a part of something greater. And not only a part of it - but that they can easily be recognized as a part of a community with their fellow brand advocates. A hashtag does this. It’s a great unifier that gives content generators both recognition and a sense of community. Of course, this is only true if your users actually employ hashtags. If your users never add... --- ### 5 Simple Steps to Create an Authentic User Generated Content Strategy - Published: 2019-09-07 - Modified: 2019-10-07 - URL: https://foursixty.com/blog/4-steps-on-creating-an-authentic-user-generated-content-strategy/ - Categories: Influencer Marketing, UGC Marketing You’ve decided to utilize user-generated content as a part of your marketing strategy, but what are the next steps? Once you’ve identified the incredible benefits of user-generated content (UGC) and decided that it will be central to your marketing strategy moving forward, it’s crucial that you take the time to optimize your processes for collecting, promoting, and measuring the effects of that content. No matter how effective UGC is, it’s only as effective as you allow it to be. If you don’t know how to leverage it, why you’re using it, what objectives it will meet, and how to measure its performance, then UGC won’t do your brand or sales any good. It is only with a solid strategy in place that you can make the most out of UGC, as it’s only through a strategy that you’ll be able to give it its best chance at working. Not only that, but the strategy will also give your marketers metrics to gage how successful it is. With that said, here are the 4 steps to creating a great user-generated content strategy. Evaluate User-Generated Content For Your eCommerce Shop The first thing to do when formulating a strategy is to consider why you’re making one in the first place. Deciding on a purpose gives your company something to keep top of mind, as an overarching guiding principle when approaching anything UGC related.   When coming up with a purpose it’s important to pinpoint just what you’re trying to achieve and why... --- ---