Why UGC Is Crucial for Your Father’s Day Marketing Campaigns

Kelsey Clutter, Content Marketing Manager

Father’s Day is just around the corner, which means consumers are on the hunt for the perfect dad-related gift. In 2020, 75% of consumers celebrated Father’s Day but, with the pandemic in full swing, many ventured online to find gift ideas. As expected, some product categories were more popular than others in light of stay-at-home orders.

There was a 25% increase in personal care items bought for Father’s Day last year, a 21% increase in home and garden products, and a 21% increase in tools and appliances. Online merchants that capitalize on this special shopping event can expect to see an increase in sales and an uptick in long-term customers.

How UGC Can Help Your Father’s Day Marketing Efforts

The past year has made brand connection increasingly important. Consumers actively seek out relationships with brands, particularly those that share their beliefs. According to research, 71% of consumers prefer buying from companies that align with their values.

User-generated content (UGC) helps to show shoppers what a product can do for them, especially if they’re not buying for themselves. 48% of consumers claim that UGC helps them discover new products, while a staggering 93% believe UGC is helpful when making a buying decision.

Photo and video contests are a popular fixture around Father’s Day. They help spread the word about your brand, increase visibility, and help build trust with new customers.

There are plenty of benefits that running a UGC contest as part of your Father’s Day marketing campaign can achieve:

• You don’t have to source or pay for content (and you can collect it quickly)
• They create engagement and a buzz around your brand
• They encourage people to share their content with others

You can share the UGC you’ve collected in your Father’s Day marketing copy, Father’s Day email marketing campaigns, your website, and other key buyer touchpoints.

3 Father’s Day Contest Ideas to Drive User Generated Content

Though it’s still not quite as popular as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day is still one of the most celebrated ecommerce holidays of the year. It provides the perfect opportunity for consumers to show how much your products mean to them and their dads. Brands that center their campaigns around this will reap the benefits.

Here’s how some of the best brands are doing it:

1. Share First-Time Dad Videos

Everyone remembers the first time they found out they were going to be a dad. Encourage your followers to share video footage of their “first fatherhood moment” like Dove and compile them into a short film.

Share first-time dad videos by:

• Creating a hashtag and inviting your audience to share their own video footage
• Sew the best videos together to create a longer film
• Tie in at the end of the video how your products could be there in those first-time dad moments
• Display the film on your social media channels and via email

2. Promote Customers’ Favorite Dad Moments

Reviews and UGC act as social proof for your products. Encouraging customers to share photos, videos, and reviews about how your products can be enjoyed with dad will give on-the-fence buyers a nudge in the right direction.

And, it will help build a community around your brand and increase trust amongst your customers through an authentic and heartwarming campaign idea. Just take a look at this fun homemade video that shows how this customer and his family are celebrating Father’s Day with Funboy.

Promote favorite dad moments by:

• Sending out review request emails to customers that purchased around Father’s Day
• Inviting customers to share their favorite dad moments in relation to your product range
• Display your Father’s Day reviews and UGC on your homepage, product pages, and dedicated landing pages

3. Ask Dads Questions

Create engagement between people and their dads by encouraging customers to ask their dads questions. You can do this in video format or via text submissions and put them together to create a short film or dedicated webpage. Jimmy Kimmel did this live on his show, creating a special Father’s Day feature.

Ask dads questions by:

• Inviting customers to ask their dads a question they want to know the answer to
• Encouraging your audience to ask questions related to your product or brand
• Sharing the questions and answers on your social media channels and via email

UGC Is the Key to Successful Father’s Day Marketing Campaigns

The best Father’s Day campaigns build a bond between dads and their children, generate brand awareness, and instill customer loyalty through empathic commentary and heartwarming stories.

UGC helps you collect these stories and moments that you can then share with your followers on social media, via email, and on your product pages or website. And, the added social proof UGC provides will encourage new shoppers to try out your products, creating buyer confidence that leads to loyal customers.

Book a demo with Okendo