Calling time on 'user generated content'
It is not that I don’t understand the term ‘User generated content’ (UGC), I just still can’t understand why it is different from organic content, other than the insistence that content creators need to be told what to say, how to say it and how it should look.
I have been a PR for over twenty years and have been taught by some of the best in the business. Each of my teachers, mentors and peers have instilled in me how valuable it is to champion the organic. Be that in relationships, content, or partnerships, ‘organic’ is always the place to start.
We built relationships that meant we could have authentic and productive conversations which resulted in powerful, exciting and enduring content; first in print, then in digital. I still believe that all of these (albeit often overused) terms ring true as we navigate the ever-changing face of social.
Launching The Tape Agency has meant that I have been learning and working in the talent management space for the last eight years. The agency has evolved to become a multi-functional digital and social-first communications agency with decades of experience in PR and brand partnership.
The commercial conversations, clients and collaborations that we have worked on have been equally powerful, exciting and enduring, but there has been a time and place for them. We have fought hard to ensure the briefs we work on celebrate our clients voice, inform their followers and champion the brand partner and creator equally.
The reason I have been able to move my career forward is in part down to my enduring passion for letting the creator create. Supporting their narrative whether it is the written word, video content or still image. But now is the time we pivot, as an industry and as a business, just as the creator has had to do so quickly and so many times in the last decade.
And so, The Tape Dispenser was born. Born out of frustration at what was happening to our beautifully nurtured organic relationships and the changing language of what PR means, but also grown with the hope that we can take all we know about PR – relationships, human communication, talent management and the delicate balance between brand and creator – and use it to educate, inform and share insights with the most powerful segment of creators that are out there at present: the nano.
We want The Tape Dispenser to be part of the intricate journey that a creator embarks on as their support network, their access to advocacy and education and most importantly, human contact, so they can enjoy the content creator journey and have some fun. We want to be a partner to everyone, be that brand, “competitor” platform, affiliate platform, agency or in-house.
We want everyone to join, regardless of follower count. Join if you are thinking about starting an Instagram feed or if you have 9,999 followers. We exist for the community. We exist for the creators. We exist for you to be able to ask questions. Walk into a room, both physically and metaphorically, with us by your side until you are ready to go it alone.
The Tape Dispenser is a Nano Creator Community subscription platform. We want the 'small but mighty'-s. We want those who are just getting started and have all the questions. We also want to help brands communicate better with Nano creators and be their conduit; through our expertise in PR, Communications, Talent Management and Brand Brokering, to help them create relationships that last. You can always sit with us.
Things we say
We talk community because we are part of it. We want to be part of where the creator is and support them all the way.
We want to keep learning. This is a two-way street. We will learn from you and you will learn from us.
The Tape Dispenser will always be known for sharing, caring, kindness, people, community and purpose.
Things we don’t say
There is really only one term that is off the table at The Tape Dispenser: UGC. Of course, we will continue to create organic content opportunities for our community, but the way that the umbrella term of UGC has been used is incredibly misleading. User generated content is organic content with a proviso on it. We want to create relationships for our community that means that they start organically and when they work, both parties evolve the relationship and see the benefits of this. Equally. Let’s be real, organic gifting might work the first time, it might work the fifth time but expect it to work the fiftieth time and you are missing the golden opportunity to develop a relationship with a creator that clearly knows their audience and how to engage best with it for your brand, whether they are 50 followers or 5,000, if you do it right they will still convert for you if you pay the creator what they deserve and champion them and their voice as part of the evolution of your relationship with them.
The Tape Agency has become synonymous with passionate PR, being digitally different, social savants, being inside the Influencer conversation and creating with Creators. We are a female-founded start-up agency that works at a fast pace and thrives on creative thinking and collaboration. We want to share our connections and network for the good of everyone who partners with Tape.
Our values are pride, impact and joy. They ring true through all we do at The Tape Agency and The Tape Dispenser and we hope that this will resonate with others in the industry.
