Cinnabon is doing just that with their own content marketing version of “Facebook for Cinnabon lovers” on Instagram. Consumers are encouraged to post photos of themselves with the product and the more engaging or unusual the situation the better — as long as it is in good taste of course!
So, how are sticky buns better than SEO for customer engagement? Simple, consumers love to see their photos on line. They share the moment with friends via social media shares and voila — you’ve got viral. Try doing that with key words in your headlines or content.
Cinnabon is not the only restaurant to catch on to the fact that consumers love to have their 15 seconds of fame. UPshow gives business owners the ability to create curated in-house channels where customer photos stream to TV screens in real time (with a slight delay for curation to ensure the content is appropriate.)
Why does providing a forum for user generated content work so well? Probably because it is the digital reincarnation of two of the most powerful marketing techniques ever — the satisfaction of personal recognition and the credibility of word-of-mouth endorsement.
At MossWarner we believe these powerful motivators can be harnessed for the B2B space just as effectively as these eateries are doing it in the B2C world. The executions and forums need to be appropriate of course. But what customer doesn’t enjoy talking about what they do? Especially when they are publishing their successes. Take a look at this article from QSR magazine to get a feel for how the concept works.