Five reasons to include user generated content, (UGC), in your digital PR

U.S. Kids Golf European Championship Media Coverage

Young golf stars swing into action with UGC videos that deliver winning social media and digital PR results for golf tournament

UGC digital pr activity

CHANCES are Rory McIlroy’s career probably started a bit differently to this bunch of mini golfers. While they’re highly skilled and hugely motivated, they’re all under 5ft tall!

A record-breaking 700 children from all around the world recently flew into Scotland to play in Europe’s biggest junior golf tournament,  U.S. Kids Golf European Championship 2018 and we were on hand to tee up this competition for PR success.

When we were challenged to deliver a high-impact digital and social media campaign at short notice to massively boost likes, followers and interactions, we were all over it – conceiving and delivering a hugely successful project to harness the power of user generated content – often known as UGC.

Swinging into action we contacted the parents of young competitors encouraging the talented youngsters to submit  short videos – shot on smartphones – letting us know who they are, where they are from and what they were most looking forward to at the tournament.

The results were stellar and included:

  • More than 40 videos submitted by young competitors in the weeks before the tournament
  • Those achieved 49,700 views with a reach of 11,500 on Facebook 
  • A total of 15,900 minutes of video was viewed in this time, with 640 reactions from Facebook users 
  • A whopping 30% increase in Followers to the tournament’s Facebook page in just a month (up from 1,038 to 1,345)
  • A similar 30% increase in page Likes – rocketing from 992 to 1,282

Even better, the campaign inspired the young players, who showed amazing creativity in coming up with their videos, which featured some impressive tricks and practice shots. And all of it created eminently shareable content to the U.S. Kids Golf European Championship Facebook page. Simple, but highly effective.

The final results prove just how successful incorporating UGC into a digital PR plan can be, so here’s a list of the top five best performing videos (none of the posts required paid promotion, all of the numbers are purely organic):


 

1. John William Burke (Ireland)

This young man was so successful, he’s already got his own post: https://www.holyroodpr.co.uk/pr-video-scores-hole-in-one/

John William Burke took Facebook by storm when he solved a Rubik’s cube in the same time it took to sink a 30 ft putt. Unsurprisingly, this was the most popular video over the four-week period:

  • Views – 3,583
  • Total reach – 7,005
  • Engagements (likes, comments, reactions) – 316
  • Total minutes viewed – 1,500

2. Lena Geier (Germany)

  • Views – 3,229
  • Total reach – 5,617
  • Engagements – 151
  • Total minutes viewed – 1,400

3. Niall Connelly (Ireland)

  • Views – 2,716
  • Total reach – 4,837
  • Engagements – 595
  • Total minutes viewed – 923

4.  Lisa Coetzer (South Africa)

  • Views – 2,657
  • Total reach – 5,212
  • Engagements – 428
  • Total minutes viewed – 894

5. Parker Bonnes (Northern Ireland)

  • Views – 2,612
  • Total reach – 6,012
  • Engagements – 240
  • Total minutes viewed – 740

These top videos, alongside the rest, helped us to boost the presence of the USKG European Championship on Facebook before the competition had even begun. Posting a stream of videos helped to create a snowball effect, encouraging more and more kids to make their own as time went on.

At the beginning of May, there were 1,038 page followers, increasing to 1,345 by the May 31. Total page likes increased too, from 992 at the start of the month, to 1,282 by the end. That was without compromising on time, budget or resources – in fact, these rising stars did most of the work for us!

Want to find out how our digital PR experts can inject additional success into your business?

The digital PR team at Holyrood PR are always on hand to help your business tell its stories to the world. Get in touch with us today by calling us on 0131 561 2244 or by filling in the contact form below:

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