#now i can just click the hashtag and boom it says “his personal life”
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sonny-boiiii · 19 days ago
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OKAY TUMBLR SO WHEN I TRY TO WRITE "addison yaps about their personal life" IT DOESNT AUTOMATICALLY CHANGE FROM "her personal life" WHEN I CLICK IT BUT I CHANGE IT TO "addison yaps about HIS personal life" ONCE AND IT COMPLETELY CHANGES??? WHAT THE FUCK
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bevioletskies · 8 years ago
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20 questions [2/20]
characters: peter/gamora, guardians-centric
fandom: avengers academy/marvel cinematic universe
summary: wasp has a new competition in store for the students of avengers academy, and there’s money involved. so obviously, peter and gamora have to pretend to be a couple in order to win. wait, what?
chapter preview: and so, the con begins! peter and gamora discuss the origins of their (fake) relationship, gamora has a girls’ night, and yondu has some tough love to give.  
word count: 4420 | total word count: 118k
a/n: the basic plot of guardians vol. 2 happened in this mashup universe of mine and is brought up in detail here, so spoilers if you haven’t seen it yet (but please go watch it, it’s an incredible movie).
ao3 | previously | next | masterpost
To Gamora’s relief, everyone woke up at different times, avoiding any residual awkwardness from last night’s discussion. However, she hadn't counted on Nebula waiting to catch her right outside the shower.
“Nebula - I am in a towel - ”
“What is this nonsense I'm hearing about you and Quill?” Her pitch-black eyes seemed darker than usual. “Have you become too attached, sister?”
“Relax,” Gamora said, her own stomach tensing up. She really needed breakfast, not an interrogation. “It is part of the ploy for units.”
“Is that all?” Nebula said mockingly, an unsettling grin creeping across her face. “You have grown so fond of your Guardians, but Quill in particular has become a fixation of yours.”
“I consider him a friend,” Gamora said carefully. “A friend who I constantly threaten with a blade. Never a romantic prospect, no.” She sniffed, yanking her arm out of Nebula’s grip. “If you will excuse me, I need to get dressed. I have a lecture with the All-Father in thirty minutes, and I have no plans to get locked out of the Bifrost.”
As Peter ambled along the pathways of the Academy, occasionally pausing to twirl in time to his music, he couldn’t help but feel like someone was watching him. He perked up. Could his moves finally be attracting some wanted attention?
“Star-Lord!” someone called. Ooh, a female voice. His head snapped up, a roguish grin plastered on his face as he removed his headphones, and unceremoniously found a microphone shoved into his face.
“Oh, it’s Patsy,” Peter said weakly, trying his best not to sound disappointed. Not that he wasn’t excited to see Hellcat - it was just that he wasn’t planning on getting ambushed for an interview today. He did his best to give her a charming wink and smile. “What can I do for you?”
She seemed unfazed by his switch in attitude. “Is it true that you and Gamora are dating?”
“I - what? How did...how did you hear about that?” Peter awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, wondering if this was a situation he could dance his way out of.
“Pepper informed me that the Guardians submitted their nomination forms this morning - in record time, by the way, I think the only other person more enthusiastic about this whole ordeal was Kamala - and noticed that you all put you and Gamora for Cutest Couple. Even Janet was surprised - she had no idea! What do you say to that?”
“Well.” Peter coughed, fumbling with the buttons on his Walkman. Dammit, he really should know by now how to escape a situation that didn’t welcome combat or his gun-slinging expertise. “Y’know, it’s something we’ve been wanting to tell people - so the ladies know I’m no longer available - but Gamora’s not a super PDA-y person. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to make it known.”
Patsy scoffed a little at Peter’s comment, but gave him a good-natured pat on the arm. “I’m happy for you two,” she said, a genuine warmth in her voice. “Oh, there she is now!”
“Wha - ” Peter spun to find Gamora practically sprinting towards him, her bookbag flying about behind her. He could practically hear the clatter of various knives rattling about inside. “Uh, hey, babe. You okay?”
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Gamora snapped, apparently not in the mood to play. “You were supposed to meet me at the Milano at 4 PM, remember?” She grabbed him by the bicep and dragged, putting on no pretense that she was going to even acknowledge Patsy’s presence.
“Uh - sorry - I can give you a full interview if you call me at - ” But Peter was gone.
Patsy turned towards the camera with a shrug. “Cheese and crackers,” she said, eyes wide. “That was interesting.”
______
Gamora stomped in silence all the way back to the ship, though Peter tried his best (and failed) to get her to talk. When they boarded the Milano, Peter moved towards the communal table, but Gamora clicked her tongue disapprovingly and pointed towards Peter’s bedroom door.
“Well, if you insist - ow!” Peter rubbed at his arm, holding up his hands in defeat. He ambled towards his room. “I’m sorry, Gamora, I totally lost track of time.”
To his surprise, she let out a defeated sigh, the tensing in her shoulders releasing as she followed him in and closed the door. “It’s okay. I just - we needed to talk about the details of this ruse of ours before we officially tell anyone else.”
“Well then maybe, we shouldn’t have submitted the forms so soon. Who did that, anyways?” Peter set his Walkman and headphones down on his bedside table, the quiet strains of Fooled Around and Fell in Love filling the room.
Gamora eyed the Walkman suspiciously as if it were about to bite before settling herself down at the foot of his bed. “My guess is Rocket intends to make this more difficult for us for...what was that phrase you used?”
“Shits and giggles.” Peter nodded seriously.
“That sounds like a disease,” Gamora informed him. “Regardless, we have to come up with a story, quick. I imagine people like Patsy and Janet will want to know how we started dating and for how long.”
Peter settled in next to her, the warmth of his body radiating heat through where their shoulders were touching. Gamora wondered if he was even aware of how close he was. She had never understood the need for tactile interaction until that night Peter had offered to show her one of his films from his childhood, their legs pressed together side-by-side as they had squished into his bed. Ever since then, he had gotten quite comfortable at sitting close to her or touching her arm to get her attention. It was different than the way she grabbed him out of urgency or heat-of-the-moment anger. It was...gentle. Comforting, even.
“Ha!” Peter’s sudden exclamation startled her out of her derailing train of thought. He was holding up his holo-tab to her face, showing her a picture of...was that Ego the Living Planet?
“What does that have to do with anything?” she asked confusedly, though she reached for the tablet regardless.
“Four months ago, we...well, killed my dad.” Peter cleared his throat, suddenly sobering up from his unbridled joy. “It was an emotional moment, obviously. Led me to reflect on the people I had in my life and what they meant to me. Not to mention the most badass woman I know saved me from being used as a freaking battery for the next few millennia. So, after the battle was over, I told you I had a huge crush on you, and somehow, it turns out you felt the same way. We kissed, there was legit fireworks, and boom. Dating.”
Gamora stared at him for a moment before glancing back at the tablet. As requested by Director Fury, they had noted down every last detail of every mission into their reports (sometimes leaving things out to save their own asses, in all honesty. He didn’t need to know what Peter’s favour to Yondu was when they were doing a recovery mission on Contraxia). The most difficult mission the Guardians had taken on so far was bringing down Ego, as the other Academy students were too far away to call on for assistance, leaving them utterly alone. Although they were still apprehensive about their effectiveness as a team at the time, it was the realization that they were stronger as a family that had solidified their relationships with each other. Peter had been emotionally wrecked for at least a week afterwards, and even Rocket had left him alone to grieve for his mother all over again.
It was, in fact, the perfect plan. She could almost see Peter, in his melancholic, reflective state of mind, asking Gamora to meet him on the observation deck at midnight to tell her something important. Something he hadn’t really thought of before, but realized in the heat of the moment, in the seemingly endless void he had briefly been a part of as Ego had suspended him with “the light”. She could also imagine herself responding in kind, as the fight with Ego made her realize how important Peter was to her life, and the capacity in which she wanted to keep him there.
“That is...pretty smart, actually,” Gamora admitted, handing the tablet back. Peter pumped a fist in the air in victory. “It is short, to the point, and emotionally charged. I imagine Janet will cry when she hears it.”
“Exactly,” Peter nodded. “It doesn’t need extra details, it’s got death and tears and fireworks. It’s super romantic, right?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Gamora said quietly. Then she straightened up. “Four months then? Are there other things you think people will ask us about?”
“Knowing Janet? Everything,” Peter laughed. “She’s gonna dedicate like, fifty Instagram posts to us. Hashtag-relationship-goals.” He pulled up Janet’s blog. “What we do for dates, what our favourite things about each other are. I mean, we’re not just faking being a couple to fake being a couple, we have to be the cutest couple. Let’s start a list.”
“What do people usually do on dates?” Gamora asked, leaning over to scroll through the hundreds of posts Janet somehow had the time to make. “When you and I spend time together, it is usually combat training, studying, and missions.”
“We could say those are all forms of dates,” Peter said carefully. “Plus, y’know, listening to music. Watching movies.” His eyes widened so quickly that Gamora became briefly concerned they were to about to pop out of his skull. “I can tell people I got you to dance!”
“I thought we were trying to be realistic here, Quill,” Gamora said, narrowing her eyes at him. To her disappointment, that merely surprised a laugh out of him.
“Wait, are you really going to keep calling me Quill?” Peter said through his chuckles. “We have the opportunity for ridiculous pet names here.”
Gamora turned away in exasperation, only to find Peter’s room catching her attention in the process. She had only been in here a handful of times - Groot and Mantis tended to enjoy hanging out with Peter in here, whereas it seemed too intimate at times for her tastes - but he seemed to have decorated even more since the last time. His collection of 80s memorabilia was neatly laid out on the shelf above his headboard, a stark contrast to the haphazardness of the rest of his decor. Posters, stickers, photos, news clippings, all plastered along his walls, gifted to him from the other Terran students to help him catch up on their culture. The majority of the posters of attractive women, she suspected, were from Stark. On the wall locker Peter used to store his clothes, was that…?
“You have photos of us. The team,” she added hastily. Gamora remembered that day well - soon after being accepted into the Academy, Janet had taught the Guardians about social media and the importance of selfies. Peter was the only one who took interest, and managed to get a picture with each of his teammates. Drax was staring off at the wrong spot, Rocket was snarling at Peter, Groot was waving happily to the camera, Mantis was doing an awful impression of a smile, and in his photo with her…he was looking at Gamora instead of the camera, an odd expression on his face.
Next to that picture was an old, yellowed photo of Peter and his mother. Gamora had never seen it before, though she could recall the moments in which Peter described his mother and how beautiful she was, inside and out. She could definitely agree - blonde curls, bluer-than-blue eyes, and a sunny grin that positively radiated light. She was the light inside Quill, not Ego, Gamora thought to herself, turning back to look at him. “She is very pretty,” she said, gesturing at the picture.
“She was amazing,” Peter replied, smiling fondly. “I uh, don’t know if I ever told you guys this. My mom, she called me her little Star-Lord. I have a feeling she knew what my dad really was, since she told me I came from the stars.”
Gamora’s face softened. “That’s sweet. Although I suppose she would hate to know what your father’s true nature meant for you.”
Peter shrugged. “Not something I really want to dwell on. So, pet names? I’m a nickname kind of guy. I’ll probably just call you whatever pops into my head.”
“I call you Star-Lord sometimes, though mostly out of annoyance. It will not be a stretch for me to use it fondly as well,” Gamora suggested. “If people ask, I can explain its significance to your close relationship with your mother. I wish to honor her in our relationship by calling you that as well.”
He nodded, finally setting down the tablet. “Sure, sure. And uh, favourite things about each other? I can start.” Gamora nodded at him to continue. “Um. Okay. I think you’ve got really pretty hair. I admire how strong you are in battle, and how fiercely protective you are of your team and your sister. You’re also a freaking rockstar when you’re up on stage, even though we don’t have the same taste in music. And also, you’re secretly kind of funny. And nice.”
She felt herself gaping at him in shock, wondering how much of it was true. Gamora had expected him to make a lewd comment about her looks and a throwaway statement about her fighting prowess, not...this, this thoughtful, generous commentary on her as a person. Maybe Peter wasn’t such a hopeless case after all. “And how about me? Too many to count?” He grinned at her. Okay, never mind.
“You are the emotional centre of our group,” Gamora said carefully, staring down at the silver rings that adorned her fingers. She had no desire to put all her cards on the table. “You provide a breath of fresh air to our lives, especially when we have all suffered such hardships. I appreciate your ability to help us feel deserving of redemption.” She paused, letting her words sink in. She could practically feel Peter’s doe-eyed stare again. “You are also not terrible-looking.”
“Score,” Peter said, twirling a finger in the air as if to wave a flag. “I’m not terrible-looking!”
“Hush.” Gamora couldn’t help but chuckle at his enthusiasm. “You have a low standard for compliments, don’t you?” She stood, stretching, in hopes that the conversation could soon be over. She was starting to feel...things. “Public displays will not be initiated by you, only me. People expect me to be distant, and it will be more surprising - and romantic - to see me opting to hold your hand or kiss your cheek. Plus, I don’t want to run the risk of accidentally impaling you if you try to touch me.”
Peter wisely didn’t point out the fact he often grabbed her arm in public already, and nodded. “Smart. Maybe you should run strategy on the next mission.”
Gamora rolled her eyes as she opened the door. “I practically do anyways. Your ‘twelve-percent-of-a-plan’ business was getting old.” The door slid shut before he could protest.
______
Hours later, Gamora found herself standing outside Janet’s dorm room, her hand hovering over the door with a sense of hesitancy. Wasp often hosted “girls’ nights” and had invited the women of the Guardians, but Nebula had predictably said no, and Mantis had to remain on the Milano to look after Groot, who had thrown a tantrum for unknown reasons and required Mantis’s gentle care.
They will definitely ask me about Quill, Gamora thought resignedly. At least our story is straight. Time to campaign for Cutest Couple, starting now.
Before she could knock, the door swung open, revealing the unimpressed face of one Natasha Romanoff. Gamora was slightly relieved, to be honest - Natasha was one of the few non-Guardian friends she had made here, as they shared more similarities than she expected. “Gamora,” she greeted monotonously, stepping aside to let her in.
Janet’s dorm room was enormous, having talked Fury’s ear off until she got an entire four-person bedroom to herself. Not that Janet was selfish, no, she just wanted space for sleepovers and get-togethers like this. Gamora suspected she would become better at negotiations than the Director himself someday. There was a garish amount of yellow everywhere, from the bedspread to the paintings of bees, flowers, and sunsets. It honestly hurt her eyes a little bit.
Upon glancing around the room, Gamora spotted Patsy, Kamala, Jessica Drew, Daisy, and strangely enough, Elektra. Was this secretly an assassin’s club meeting?
Janet burst out of her ensuite bathroom, inexplicably wearing a fluffy yellow feather boa and a straw sunhat. “Gamora, you came!” she said happily. “Oh good, now the party can really get started. Sit, sit.”
Gamora found herself squished between Natasha and Elektra, who was staring at her reflection in one of her sai. “Can we get started already? I’m bored. You won’t like me when I’m bored.” She swung her dark hair out of her face, nearly hitting Gamora in the eye, her multitude of silver bangles clacking away on her arm. “Matthew tells me I’m dangerous when I’m bored.”
“You’re dangerous all the time!” Janet said cheerfully, settling down on one of her enormous yellow beanbags and removing her extraneous accessories. “Alright, ladies. Let’s discuss who we wrote in for our nominations.”
“Is that what this is about? You promised me that Tony had new stingers ready,” Natasha said, frowning.
“Later.” Janet waved a dismissive hand. “Who wants to start? Kamala?”
“I have too many ships,” Kamala said sadly, looking down at the list she had copied out from her form. “It took longer than I expected. But I did write down Captain America and Captain Marvel for Cutest Couple, even though it’s not technically canon.”
“I understood about half of what you said,” Jessica said amusedly, picking at her nails.
“I don’t know if that nomination will count, but it’s a good effort.” Janet clapped her hands together. “What did everyone else put for Cutest Couple?”
“My sister and Luke, obviously,” Patsy grinned. “She adores him, even though she refuses to say it out loud.”
“I didn’t put anyone,” Jessica admitted. “I was more interested in the other categories.”
“Same,” Daisy said quietly, and Gamora felt a moment of pity for her. She seemed oddly distant from the entire student body, even in Gamora’s eyes. Janet had been trying to break her out of her shell since her arrival, but her efforts could only accomplish so much.
“Myself and Matthew.” Elektra tipped her chin forward as if to dare the others to question her. “We have had interesting dates on the roof of SHIELD HQ. You wouldn’t believe the gossip we hear sometimes.”
“Cap and Agent Carter,” Natasha volunteered reluctantly when Janet fixed her with a challenging stare. Wasp then turned to look at Gamora, who felt herself shriveling up inside.
“I wrote myself and my boyfriend,” Gamora said, the word tasting foreign on her tongue.
There was a sudden flurry of noise and movement as everyone leapt up in surprise. Gamora had to duck as Elektra nearly impaled her thigh with a dagger in alarm. A high-pitched shriek emanated from the other side of the room, and she wasn’t sure if it was Janet, Kamala, or both in an attempt to wake up the whole building.
“OTP!” Kamala squealed. “Ohmigosh, you and Peter, right?!”
“I - yes?” Gamora eyed the other girl suspiciously. “Do I want to know what OTP means?”
“You don’t,” Natasha said firmly, patting Gamora’s shoulder. “I didn’t know you and Quill were together.”
“It is something we recently decided to be truthful about,” Gamora said, twisting her rings absent-mindedly as she spoke. “I was apprehensive about making it public since I wasn’t sure if it would last, but I think we’ve proven to each other that we’re a good match.”
“How did it happen?” Daisy’s shy voice caused the rest of the group to fall silent in anticipation.
“Well, do you all remember the mission from about four months ago, when we had to defeat Ego the Living Planet?” Nods of scarily well-timed synchronicity. “Quill was forced to kill his father despite having searched for him his whole life. It took a toll on him, but it also led him to reflect on the people he cared about. Including me.” The words felt thick in Gamora’s throat, unlike the way Peter had first spoke them - with reverence, as if it was a real thing that had happened that he looked back on with fondness. “He asked if we could talk, the night we held a sort of funeral for his father, and confessed that he had a crush on me. I told him I felt the same way but had felt apprehensive about being in a romantic relationship up until that point.”
“And then?” Janet’s eyes were almost as big as Mantis’s at this point.
“And then he kissed me,” Gamora said with a sense of finality. More squealing followed. She cursed her body modifications for providing an enhanced sense of hearing. “We have been together since that night.”
“How sweet,” Jessica smiled encouragingly. “Quill does seem little bit of a...well. But I’m sure he’s a good boyfriend to you.”
“He does still flirt with many women here,” Gamora sighed. “At times, I wish he acted more loyal, the way that Cage does for Jones. Then again, it’s nice to know every Terran doesn’t behave like Star-Lord.”
Janet emitted another high-pitched noise that left Gamora questioning whether she should have been nicknamed after a bat instead of a wasp. “You call him Star-Lord, like, all the time. You must love him a lot.”
Gamora froze. “I think it’s too early for that,” she said nervously. “But it’s the nickname given to him by his mother, so I thought I would honor her by continuing to call him that.”
“And what kind of things do you two get up to?” Elektra purred almost seductively, leaning in far too close for Gamora’s comfort.
“He likes to show me movies from his childhood,” Gamora said, eliciting an “aww” from Janet, Kamala, and Jessica. “I think it brings him joy to share his culture with me, even if I don’t always understand it.”
“That’s not what I was asking,” Elektra said, wiggling her eyebrows dangerously.
“Leave her alone,” Natasha said, reaching around to shove at Elektra’s shoulder. “Not everyone wants to share those kinds of details.”
Elektra shrugged nonchalantly. “Life’s more fun on the edge, dear Widow. Are you telling me that the most dangerous woman in the galaxy wouldn’t be up to no good with her boyfriend?”
“We’re taking it slow,” Gamora interrupted before unnecessary bloodshed could occur, shooting Natasha what she hoped was a grateful look. “I think I’d like to stop talking about this now.”
“Agreed. No further questions,” Patsy piped up. “Who did everyone put for Nicest Abs, because honestly…”
_______
Peter yawned, rubbing at his sleep-weary eyes as he made his way down from the cockpit to the main deck of the Milano. He had managed to fix the nav system without Rocket’s help, but the ship still hadn’t quite recovered from yesterday’s literal crash-and-burn. If Rocket would finally stop arguing with Stark over who was the better engineer, Peter might finally be able to ask him for his help for stuff like this.
“Well, I’ll be.” Peter nearly jumped three feet in the air at the sound of Yondu’s voice. He was sitting on the kitchen counter, holding Peter’s holo-tab in one hand and an apple in the other. “You finally tell Gamora how you feel?”
“Shut up,” Peter exclaimed, darting forward to snatch the tablet back. It was open to Janet’s Instagram page, where she had posted a selfie of her and the other girls with the caption “#girlsnight is buzzing! Gamora’s giving us the latest scoop about her love life and I am atwitter! #besties #cute #squadgoals”.
“You’ve had a crush on her for how long now?” Yondu grinned, baring his rather awful teeth. “Ain’t never seen you been this excited over one girl before. And you finally got your act together.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re just pretending to be dating so we can win the prize money from Wasp’s yearbook thing. You were there when we decided!” Peter exclaimed. “Gamora went to girls’ night so she could establish a story.”
“Come on, now, boy.” Yondu snorted, hopping off the counter with a crunch of his boots. Peter winced, he didn’t want to know what was in there. “You’ve been soft on her since the beginning. S’okay. You’re a Guardian now, after all. If you were a Ravager still, might be a different story.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Peter glanced down at the picture, letting his eyes linger on Gamora’s half-smile for a moment before closing out of the browser window.
Yondu shrugged, tossing his apple back and forth in his hands, nonchalant. “The code, Quill. Can’t have a Ravager moping after a woman for too long, or he ain’t have his head in the game for thievin’.”
“I’m not moping!” Peter flailed his arms around aimlessly. “I’ve got plenty of other things to deal with - the broken ship, the lack of money, school. Gamora’s important to me and all, but not like that.”
“You keep lying to yourself, boy.” Yondu’s steps echoed as his boots clanged about on the metal walkway of the ship. “Don’t come cryin’ to me if you’ve got a broken heart at the end of all this.”
Peter, for once, was speechless. He had no snarky comment to throw at Yondu’s back. Instead, he opted to settle down on the couch and open up Janet’s Instagram account again, staring at the photo posted about an hour ago. The girls appeared to be doing some sort of mud mask, with varying success. Gamora had smeared hers on like warrior paint, emphasizing the silver markings on her face. Her smile, though rather half-hearted, left Peter smiling back. She was kind of adorable when she showed her gentler side, though Peter enjoyed her deadly nature with equal admiration.
Yes, being Gamora’s fake boyfriend could hardly result in anything going south, could it?
a/n: i love my guardians kids but i have a soft spot for avac!janet so she’s probably one of the more prominent “background” characters. also i don’t know if this happened for anyone else, but i hear “score, i’m not terrible-looking!” in andy dwyer’s voice moreso than peter’s haha
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hotspreadpage · 7 years ago
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User-Generated Content: Where Does It Fit in Your Content Marketing Strategy?
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I bet this customer of Badass Beard Care is now a brand advocate for life.
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Here are some of the ways you can improve your content marketing using UGC.
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Video reviews
Every e-commerce marketer knows that the conversion rate can fluctuate dramatically depending on the elements featured on the landing page.
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Video reviews are treated as a credible type of social proof because the visitor can hear the reviewer’s voice and assess how that person truly feels about a product. (Text reviews are easier to fake and often less organic than a video review.)
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In psychology, the theory of implicit egotism suggests that people are hardwired to give greater weight to opinions given by those resembling themselves. By featuring an abundance of video reviews on a product page – each represented by a distinct aspect of your buyer persona – you can help prospective buyers feel a greater level of trust when deciding to purchase.
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HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: How Content Influences the Purchasing Process: Tips for Content Marketers [Research]
Regramming
Given people’s inherent preference for stimulating images, coupled with the rise of mobile access, it’s no surprise image-oriented social media channels are surging.
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Buffer, a social media scheduling tool, makes excellent use of UGC on its Instagram page. By promoting the #buffercommunity, Buffer encourages its users around the world to frequently post (and Buffer reposts) amazing photographs of exotic locations.
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A post shared by Carlos Kan – 簡卡路 (@carloskan) on Aug 28, 2017 at 3:37pm PDT
//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js
A social media scheduling tool that uses its Instagram page for travel content may seem strange, but it makes perfect sense.
Buffer is a remote company with its employees scattered across the globe. As the company’s Instagram bio describes it: “A team of #digitalnomads around the world shaping the future of work.”
Buffer fits with my perspective. I got into internet marketing because I wanted to travel more and I was sick of the location constraints of my office job. Automation tools like Buffer give me more free time to enjoy the locations I visit, and, judging by the #buffercommunity activity, I’m not the only one.
By re-gramming beautiful visuals that emphasize the ethos of the company, you can create a powerful sense of belonging around your brand. People aren’t just scheduling social media posts when they use Buffer, they’re celebrating the freedom to explore the world and forging an evolved workplace culture for future generations.
Photo and video contests
Brands have been hosting contests to promote their businesses for centuries. Contests are effective because they leverage numerous psychological factors.
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You can improve your brand awareness by hosting contests that require entrants to submit UGC. In addition to the lure of the prize, people enjoy the community aspect of such contests and relish sharing their entries with their friends.
Host contests that require entrants to submit user-generated content to boost awareness, says @IamAaronAgius. Click To Tweet
Several years ago, National Geographic hosted a popular Instagram contest where photographers could submit inspirational travel photos using #WanderlustContest for a chance to win an incredible trip to Yosemite National Park.
The contest was a success for everyone. The travel photographers got their names associated with a premier brand, while National Geographic curated an incredible selection of photographs of the natural world to please its viewers.
If you can feature humor in your UGC contest, that’s even better.
Shoeboxed, a paper-to-digital data service company, offered a free iPad mini for the best photo of a messy desk – and there was no shortage of entries. The winner was decided by whichever photo received the most re-pins on Pinterest.
The company didn’t hope entrants would share, they made it almost a requirement – that was the way to win the contest – hustling to get re-pins from friends (and whomever else they knew). Every re-pin exposed the Shoeboxed brand to a potential customer – all through the work of the entrants’ UGC.
Events
While user-recorded phone footage can work well for e-commerce stores, it’s not appropriate for every scenario. If you’re selling high-ticket items and have a premium brand website, the low-tech version with its poor lighting and other inadequacies won’t match your brand’s voice.
But you still can leverage user-generated content through video. To get high-quality footage where you can control the scenery and substance, invite your audience to a live event.
Hire a professional video crew, says John Jantsch, founder of Duct Tape Marketing. Then let your attendees talk. They’ll give a relatable, third-party opinion and the footage will be an excellent quality so you can show it to your high-end prospects.
Additionally, promote a hashtag and encourage your audience to use it during the event. Give a goodie bag full of visually appealing gifts to encourage them to take and post photos on social media. (I base this idea on the law of reciprocity. A person given something of value will feel a subconscious urge to repay the favor.)
HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Every Event Should Be Time for Social Media
Warning
Before running any UGC campaign, carefully consider what would happen if things turned sour, and only begin if you’re equipped to deal with the consequences.
Before running any #UGC campaign, consider what would happen if things turned sour, says @IamAaronAgius. Click To Tweet
Several years ago, McDonald’s ran a campaign where users were encouraged to post their experiences with the brand using the hashtag #McDstories.
Instead of galvanizing people around the McDonald’s brand, the opposite occurred. People gathered together to discuss the inhumane treatment of farmed animals, health problems associated with fast food, and other terrible personal tales. Years later, the hashtag is still going strong.
Seriously @McDonalds !?!? #mcfail #mcdstories http://pic.twitter.com/UBWLJTCjLL
— NICK (@itsnickdamas) September 21, 2017
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Even for brands infinitely less polarizing than McDonald’s, the land of social media can be a ferocious place. Before you encourage UGC, think about the potential responses and develop a plan to address them.
HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:
3 Content Marketing Tactics to Defuse User-Generated Attacks
When Content Backfires: How to Handle Negative Feedback Online
  Summary
As with all marketing tactics, you’re most likely to succeed with UGC when your aim is to provide as much value as possible to your audience.
People need a reason to submit their awesome UGC to you – an incentive for posting a video review host, an amazing prize through an Instagram competition, or a sense of community to be part of something larger than themselves.
HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: How to Use User-Generated Content to Drive Sales
Can you think of any other ways to leverage user-generated content? Please let me know in the comments.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
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