With 92% of consumers today trusting the opinions of real people over any other form of advertising, the “social media generation” feeds off the opinions of their peers and regularly participate in online conversations using text, photos and videos. Marketers are responding to this evolution in consumer behavior by fostering these kinds of authentic conversations around their brands on social media.

From promoting blockbuster movies to blenders, high tech to health care; the biggest brands encourage fans to contribute content via social media contests and online destinations that showcase fan content, curated through the ubiquitous hashtag. And while the specifics of these campaigns differ, they all have one goal: to get fans talking about the brand and become ambassadors to their peers.

So, to help inspire you for your headlining digital campaign in 2014, we’ve gathered a few big brand campaigns that demonstrate the power of user-generated content.

Lionsgate: Hunger Games Catching Fire
Facebook, CatchingFireFanCamp.com

To generate excitement for the smash box-office hit Hunger Games Catching Fire and re-engage existing Hunger Games fans, Lionsgate created the Hunger Games Fan Camp campaign, distributed on their dot com and Facebook. The Fan Camp included a Google Hangout live stream of cast interviews, red carpet ceremonies, exclusive trailers, and pulls in user-generated content from Instagram and Twitter via the hashtags #CFWorldPremiere, #CFFanCamp, and #CatchingFirePremiere.

The result: highly engaged fans around the globe contributed to the social buzz around the movie, with some getting a chance to have real-time conversations with the cast.

Kenmore: #ArtsyEats
Facebook, Kenmore.com

With over 500 thousand fans, Kenmore leveraged their impressive Facebook following to help grow their Instagram footprint. The ‘All-Things-Kitchen’ brand promoted their #ArtsyEats Instagram contest on Facebook, encouraging fans to submit #ArtsyEats on Instagram for a chance to win the Grand Prize: a trip to Kenmore Kitchen Studios, gadgets for the kitchen and appearances in Kenmore’s cooking videos.

The result: the #ArtsyEats Facebook Tab was so successful, Kenmore launched a second phase on their brand site to create excitement around holiday cooking.

Microsoft: #GetitDone and Get Going
Facebook

Microsoft Office’s products have helped us all “get it done” at some point; be ir a Powerpoint presentation for a big meeting or making sure we are on top of our personal expenses in Excel. Microsoft wanted to cash in on long reach of their Office products by asking fans to share photos of themselves getting stuff done via Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #GetitDone. The prize packs include a full suite of Microsoft-powered laptops and mobile devices, as well as trips to NYC, Austin or Park City.

The result: a flood of submissions and high social conversation volume.

Levis: #MakeOurMark
Levi.com

#MakeOurMark is the digital expression of Levi’s Station to Station campaign – a cross-country train tour and art project connecting American “artists, musicians and creative pioneers… pushing art and culture outside of institutional constraints.”  #MakeourMark encourages Levi’s fans to participate in this art project by submitting their content to Instagram, Twitter and SoundCloud.

The result: a living art project that helps Levi’s make its mark as a cultural innovator and icon.

Cadillac: #EscaladeReveal
YouTube

Cadillac didn’t want to just reveal the highly anticipated new Escalade, they wanted to stoke fans’ excitement for the new SUV through social media. The luxury carmaker broadcasted the launch of the Escalade via YouTube livestream and engaged their fans by encouraging them to use #EscaladeReveal on Twitter and Instagram.

The result: high social conversation volume during (and even after) the event.

The one thing all the above campaigns have in common is that they’re all powered by Thismoment’s #UGC tool, allowing brands to source, curate and automate the user-approval process for publishing UGC content.

For more information, watch our #UGC demo video.

The post For Authenticity, Let Your Fans Do The Talking appeared first on Thismoment Content Marketing Blog.

The recent news regarding Facebook’s offer to acquire teen-savvy messaging app Snapchat for 3 billion dollars is an important reminder of how quickly the social media landscape can change and how quickly brands need to respond.

For marketers seeking to reach the youth audience, understanding and reacting nimbly to shifts in consumers’ online habits is critical to success. Case in point: Levi’s #501 campaign launched earlier this year to re-introduce the 140-year old 501 Jean brand to the youth audience.

In partnership with their agency Wunderman and leveraging Thismoment’s technology, Levi’s successfully created a beautiful, interactive experience that showcased users’ interpretation of the 501 jean by asking them to create and share photos via Instagram and Twitter. Low barriers to entry, such as Twitter and Instagram hashtags and media partnerships, helped drive awareness for the #501 campaign and ultimately re-connect youth to the storied brand with massive social engagement.

For more information on the #501 campaign watch the video below. Bonus: download the Levi’s #501 case study here.

Consider these top learnings from the Levi’s case study:

• The where and the how – the key here is to understand which channels are most frequented by the target audience and how that behavior can be leveraged for your digital campaign.
• Create the optimal viewing experience – make it easy for users to interact and participate in your campaign across all display sizes and device types. Don’t discriminate based on the size of the screen!
• Lower the barrier entry – ensure that you leverage hashtags that allow users to submit content via channels that they’re already using (Instagram, Twitter, or Vine) without the need to log in to an additional social network.
• Don’t send people to an empty room – remember to populate your brand experience with content that will help seed social conversations and participation.

The post Levi’s 501: Reconnecting Youth With A Storied Brand appeared first on Thismoment Content Marketing Blog.

Advances in technology — social media, cloud, mobile and big data — are transforming how enterprises deliver and consume IT. As information technology’s prominence has increased, so has the role of the CIO; the once back-office function is being elevated to key business leader status, driving strategic enterprise goals.

So where do these IT Execs go to discover leading-edge technologies and systems that can support their business? The Sierra Ventures CIO Summit.

Every year, Sierra Ventures hosts this event to connect CIO’s with some of Silicon Valley’s most innovative startups. The event also brings together the senior exec’s responsible for setting the technology strategies of tomorrow.

We had a chance to sit down with some of these tech-minded decision makers, and came away with some unique insight into how the CIO role is evolving into a more significant business driver. They guide their IT organizations to better support business units within their company. They’re increasingly influencing strategic business decisions alongside the CEO. They prioritize technologies and systems for the coming year.

They are the new heroes of the C-Suite.

Watch the video below to learn how CTO’s and CIO’s at the likes of Conde Nast, Washington Post, Accenture, DirectTV and Time Warner are driving their business forward.

The post How CIOs Are Becoming The Heroes Of The C-Suite appeared first on Thismoment Content Marketing Blog.