Business Growth

Sales Enablement Through Community Created Content

If you’re like us, you probably have a lot to say about the products you’re putting into the world. Whether it’s a new beauty line, a new real estate listing, or a new high intensity workout class your fitness studio is launching. You’re proud of what you have to offer, but like any sales professional will tell you, it’s more important to show your audience what they should be interested in than it is to tell them.  Each piece of content should be geared towards providing value to its end-user which is why enabling sales teams with the right tools to create custom branded content can truly help them thrive.


Pro Tip: Authenticity Trumps All

Visual content and content distribution have become a huge part of every organization’s sales enablement process. When people hear information they’re likely to only remember 10% of what they heard three days later, but if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people will retain 65% of that information over those next three days. Reading is even harder on the mind than listening because every word being looked at is like a tiny image that requires analysis. 

 

Pro Tip: Save on Text and Go Big on Image

On the flip side – as customer expectations constantly grow, they expect to engage with people versus a brand. Savvy marketers are recognizing this so they’re leveraging community created content as a key part of their marketing strategy. 

What if we told you a majority of companies are missing out on leveraging one of their greatest assets? That one of their greatest marketing resources is sitting right next to them or in the office down the hall? Many companies still shy away from the idea of having employees and associates market on their behalf but with brand controlled content the benefits can outweigh the drawbacks when content is shared authentically across an individual’s network. 

Think – on average an individual has anywhere from 500–700 followers across their networks (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) Imagine, every time they share content about the work they do, the work they’re proud of, that network is leveraged, thus building the brand and public’s perception of it. It’s built in media value! 

Brand Management and Control

The relationship between a brand and its customers is one that relies on consistency. Maintaining control of a growing library of brand and marketing assets can be time-consuming and distracting, particularly when your sales force should be focused on lead generation initiatives. But what value does each employee or community’s network bring to a brand? LOTS. 

Thankfully, marketers are starting to see the value in this and creating or employing programs to support it while giving employees an opportunity to boast about their work – a win-win. 

Community Created Content (CCC)

While this term may be new to you, it’s certainly creating buzz in the industry as marketers build content communities across a distributed workforce as part of their marketing strategy, both internally and externally. 

Your organization’s recruitment team works hard to hire the best and brightest. There’s a lot of knowledge and talent sitting all around you – each with a unique perspective. Whether it’s expert knowledge about your product, service, industry or customers, each employee has valuable insights to share.

  • Cost Savings: Having employees create and/or share content will save marketing budget on content creation and generate higher earned media value than sponsored content.
  • Time Savings: Harnessing the collective efforts of your employees can save your marketing team a lot of time in the content creation process.
  • Culture Building: Building trust and loyalty into your culture by welcoming employees to become part of and own the brand.

At Photofy, we’ve learned a thing or two about enterprise brand owned content. Historically built as a photo editing and graphic overlay app, Photofy quickly realized the opportunity in the market to help companies leverage their brand, while remaining in complete control of both their assets AND the content being made. 

Photofy developed a comprehensive platform and program which allows brands to distribute branded Artwork, Logos, Templates, Videos, Animations and more, while providing transparency into the content their communities create – instantaneously. 

“At RE/MAX, our agents are independent contractors of individually owned and operated franchises. Their challenge is to differentiate and market themselves with the global RE/MAX brand to create hyper-local content that connects with their audience. Leveraging the customization, branded designs, and video capabilities of Photofy have provided our network with a turnkey marketing solution that instills confidence to create on-brand and engaging messaging to grow their business.” – James Schwartz, VP of Marketing, RE/MAX

With a majority of Photofy partners in the direct selling, real estate and franchise industries, partners saw an estimated $790k per month in total Media Value, over 55k individual pieces of content created per month, an average share rate of 1.8 totaling over 100k shares per month. Not to mention Photofy partners reported users had an average 6% increase in sales v. non-Photofy users within the same company (direct selling partner user report Fall 2020.)

 

 

While the community created content approach may not be a one-size fits all approach, there is proven opportunity in the market. As individuals demand more of brands, as both an employer and as a consumer, community created content puts the power of brand, authentically, into the hands of those eager to propel it forward. 

Have thoughts on this topic or how it could relate to your company and industry? Drop us a note.