Engagement refers to the act of creating high-quality, original content and sharing it smartly and pervasively. Markets themselves are not always responsible for all aspects of this type of creation, and those professionals who step in to do the work do not need to be of any special position or talent. 

This is precisely why businesses adore user-generated content. This resource saves time for employees and promotes a brand through the voice of the users themselves. Most consumers utilize user-generated content to make their buying decisions, and this type of content has been shown to be viewed as more trustworthy and honest than that generated by the company itself. User-generated content comes from peers and others just like the consumer looking to purchase in the first place. It also shows success of a business, as increases in this type of content suggest that users love the brand and want others to know about it. 

One of the most straightforward ways to instigate user-generated content is to use hashtag campaigns—a strategy to link together messages from Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter that have similar content. A successful hashtag is a short one, and one that is well-promoted. By advertising a hashtag in deliveries, on fliers, through social media posts, and in website copy, a business is infinitely boosting the change of user compliance. Furthermore, once a hashtag campaign is started by a business, that business needs to play a part in the conversation. Brand initiated responses and rewards are crucial to the validation of user contributions to hashtags. Hashtag campaigns allow users to feel like they are a part of the business, and in fact, they are. Boosting consumer engagement, boosts consumer engagement!