6 ways to use knockout floristry to increase UGC for your brand
User generated content (UGC) is awesome. It’s a super high-value marketing tool, because this type of content is seen as more authentic, trustworthy, and relatable compared to content created by brands themselves.
UGC is content created by a person that doesn’t work for the featured brand, but is a user of their lovely products or services. It usually looks like photos and videos, but it can also be written reviews and can also be written reviews, testimonials, and even podcasts.
For the most part, UGC comes from customers, so it often serves as social proof, showcasing real-life experiences and endorsements from other users, which can influence purchasing and opinion of brands.
Humans are pretty simple beings in a lot of ways - if they see someone they know or admire using a product or service, they’re more likely to invest in it too - if all those people are using this product/service, it must be good. Wanna know why the Stanley Tumbler is so popular? It's mostly thanks to UGC.
And d’ya know what I think will help increase your brand’s UGC? Flowers, duh!
Flowers are pretty, people like taking photos of pretty things, and if it’s connected to your brand - bingo. We have a winner.
Using floristry to increase UGC works for so many industries - and I’m about to tell you how.
1. Hold fun branded floral experiences
This can work really well for event spaces, bars, pop-up shops, and even fashion or beauty brands launching a new line or reaching a milestone.
An interactive floral workshop at your grand opening is just the ticket to get people excited about your brand. Attendees get to create something beautiful to take home, and in this digital era, they’re probably going to post about it on social media.
Last Spring, I did an event with a Canadian brand who were celebrating 50 years. They invited influencers to the event, and alongside being able to try on the brand’s clothes, they also got to come and make their own bouquet.
The bouquet was branded with stickers and whatnot, including a custom ribbon with the brand name.
It was such a wonderful takeaway - they got to take home a gift card and a bouquet they made themselves, which created this new impression of the brand that lasted for days after the event experience had ended.
2. Use flowers as a goody bag gift
At lots of these swanky events, guests get given a goody bag to take home. This is a really great way to get people to post about the event, because we all love showing off our swag, right?
One of my past clients was Netflix; they did a screening for the TV show, Never Have I Ever.
I made all these gorgeous bouquets, which had a custom-made stamp (shout out to Toronto's best printers, Kid Icarus) of the TV show’s logo, and pretty much everyone at the event took Instagram photos - there was so much activity on Instagram just from that one thing, it was super cool that both my brand and the TV show would be getting so much coverage.
Paint by Flowers wall for Volvo
3. Create an irresistible floral selfie backdrop
Another awesome thing to have at your event that will ensure photos are taken, is a floral selfie backdrop. Trust me - people can’t help but stop and take photos when they spot a giant wall of colourful, luxurious flowers.
We're looking for an ‘grammable moment, and you can have your brand logo right in the middle.
I’ve made floral walls for brands like Nixit, plus a “Paint by Flowers” wall for Volvo - I painted a floral motif on a huge board with little holes in, which people could thread different coloured flowers through. It was such a hit, and doubled up as both a fun, interactive installation and a photo opportunity.
Huge, incredible hanging installations are also amazing at events, but I think people prefer it and are more likely to share it on social media when they can be in the photos themselves - it's a memorable thing that they want to share on Instagram.
4. Use flowers as an incentive for sharing photos
Sometimes people need a little encouragement to post on social media, and what’s more alluring than knockout florals?
I did one corporate event with a company who had been trying to encourage more workers to come back to the office, because everyone loved working from home so much.
They were trying to find new fun ways to essentially say, “look how exciting the office is!”
Anyways, on Valentine's Day I brought a flower cart into their office, and in order to get the flowers, people had to post about it on Instagram and tag the building and tag Make Lemonade as well.
It worked out so well - I had 70 bouquets, and in 54 minutes, all the bouquets were gone. That’s 70 posts on Instagram about this office and my brand in less than an hour. You can’t argue with that.
5. Send flowers directly to influencers & content creators
Influencers are basically professional UGC creators in a lot of ways - they work with all kinds of brands, all the time, and they know how to create the angles that sell.
If you’re thinking of sending your product to an influencer, increase your chances of getting some UGC by including something irresistibly beautiful in the package.
A bespoke bouquet is the ideal solution, and I’m sure you’ll earn extra points from them if it’s in a colour scheme that matches their Instagram grid.
6. And remember to make it super-duper easy
However you’ve decided to get more UGC creation going, make it too easy to refuse.
Whether you include a sticker on a floral bouquet with your brand’s social media handles, pop in a business card, or have multiple obvious signs at your event.
Now that you have some UGC…
Ok great, so you have all these people tagging your brand in authentic, lovely pics - what next?
Firstly, don’t use any photos that are really off-brand or blurry, etc. You want them to fit in with your branded photography and general aesthetic.
Next, you gotta ask permission to re-post from the person who took the photo.
Ideally they’ll send you the photo, but if not, a screenshot should suffice, as long as it’s still good quality and not pixelated. Remember that (although most people are) not everyone is looking at social media on a small phone screen - there will be people seeing it on a tablet or computer screen, which will be bigger.
Then post that gorgeous photo, and make sure to tag the person who took it.
UGC is great as part of a brand’s regular social media posting, and you could even use it on your website too.
This was a fun one. A bouquet is not just about getting pretty flowers to put on your table, it's a way for clients to remember your product or event, and if they take care of their flowers, that memory of the event can last a week or beyond.
We offer suggestions like a vase arrangement or a boxed gift - imagine getting a candle delivery, but one of the vessels is used as a floral arrangement.
Think you might like to boost your UGC with some wildly gorgeous flowers? I can work with you on events, or I can help you gift flowers to a whole bunch of lovely people.
