Convenience stores are transactional in nature: a quick stop to get what you need with little effort. So, could a convenience store flip that dynamic on its head and actually build loyalty and community — and in the process get really compelling content out of its customers?
Circle K was willing to make that bet. As a global leader in convenience and fuel retail, Circle K knew it had tried and true customers nationwide. Fans who craved the coffee, praised the Polar Pop, and freaked for its Froster.
The challenge soon became: how could Circle K efficiently find these customers, easily amplify authentic creators, and encourage and reward more community participation?
To tap into the power of this user generated content (UGC), Circle K teamed up with EnTribe to build a community that would celebrate creator content and promote the Circle K brand and products.
Circle K deployed EnTribe’s managed services to establish a creator network from scratch.
With the help of EnTribe, Circle K created a portal where customers could upload their photos for a chance to be featured on the brand’s social media channels and website and win exclusive Circle K swag and prizes.
The brand also encourages fans to use the hashtag #MyCircleK when posting and sharing on social media and provides tips to get the most optimal shots from its community.
Through this program, Circle K can get better quality content from its creators by creating more one-to-one relationships and being specific on the content it is looking for, without sacrificing the authenticity.
These tactics help Circle K build more momentum on social, influence sales, and create positive association with the brand.
Within a matter of a few months, Circle K went from zero creators and pieces of UGC to nearly 400 creators. The team was able to leverage the UGC collected via EnTribe to create an engaged following, launching a “Friday Top Five” program where the top five pieces of UGC received that week are featured on Instagram. The series has gone on to produce some of Circle K’s top performing posts on Instagram in terms of engagement.
"EnTribe helped us build our UGC strategy from the ground up. The use of our Friday Top Five Feature, where we show the top five pieces of UGC from that week, has increased our social content engagement by 100%. With EnTribe, we can run this and other campaigns continuously, showcasing high-quality content from our creators while inspiring others to follow suit." - Brittany Strother, Director of Marketing Campaigns US at Circle K
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