Permission Request and Comment Best Practices

Before using collected user-generated content (UGC) on your website, social, or other marketing channels, you'll first need to ask permission from the original poster of the content.

Based on their API limitations, permission request templates are usable only for the following platforms:

• Instagram
  It is not possible to comment directly if the content does not have an @mention of the linked account for your brand. Instead, you can copy and paste the template text to Instagram.

• Facebook

• X (formerly Twitter)

Due to the API limitations of Youtube and TikTok, it is not possible to directly request permission through Emplifi UGC. To request permission from these social networks, you must contact the content creator outside of Emplifi UGC. Once permission has been granted, you can mark the content as permissioned and attach the proof for future reference.

Learn more:
Send Permission Requests

Permission Request Template Best Practices

As you create your templates, remember that whether your request for permission is the first direct contact your brand has with a particular user or is one of many interactions, you are working with people first and not content.

Because many social networks have tools in place to reduce spam from bots, it’s important to make your Permission Request Templates personable so that your comments are not automatically removed. Some networks, such as Facebook and Instagram, may even “shadow ban” your account if they improperly identify your actions as bot-like.

Here are some other recommended best practices for your permission request templates:

• Create at least 8 to 10 different permission requests within your Templates. This will help reduce the chance your comments are marked as spam when you send out multiple permission requests at once.

• Explain exactly where you plan to feature the content that you are requesting permission to use.

• Ask the user to explicitly give their consent:

  • If your template uses the Auto marked permissioned option, ask the user to reply to your comment with the hashtag you specified in the request template, and your brand handle. Both the hashtag and brand handle must be present in order for Emplifi UGC to read the response.

  • Give the submitter a couple days to respond before you attempt to contact them again.

• Include a link to your own Terms and Conditions with URL shorteners such as https://bitly.com/ or https://tinyurl.com/app.
  For Instagram and Facebook, do not include a link to anywhere outside the platform as links are not supported in comments and have a higher likelihood of being flagged as spam. Send users to your bio or an in-network post that contains the link for any additional information regarding promotions or legal terms.

When requesting permission for Instagram mentioned content, you can use the "Mentions" filter in the inbox/approved section + the multi-select feature.

Comment Best Practices

The more you engage with individual customers, the stronger impression you can leave on them. Humanize your brand by staying active and engaged on social media. This way your customers are more likely to reciprocate. 

Here are some recommended best practices when messaging your customers:

• Regularly interact with your customers to leave a good impression.

• Maintain a friendly and conversational tone to avoid sounding robotic.

• Start a conversation - perhaps asking your customer an appropriate question for further interaction.

• Spend the time to click on their profile to personalize your message.

Example Comments

Here are some example comments you can modify and use:

• Hey there, we love your photo and would like to feature it in our marketing channels (email, social, website). If you approve, please respond with #yesbrand and @<brand_handle>. You can visit our bio for the terms and conditions. Thank you!  

• These photos are amazing! We'd love to use them on our website! Respond back with a quick #yesbrand and @<brand_handle> if you're okay with it!

• This looks like such a relaxing trip! Mind if we use this image? Reply #yesbrand and @<brand_handle> in the comments if that’s okay. Thank you! Full terms and conditions are in our bio.

• Thank you for sharing, we love this photo! Please reply with #yesbrand and @<brand_handle> to be featured on our website, newsletter, social & partner websites. (See full terms in our bio.)

• We love this photo and want to possibly feature it on our site or elsewhere with proper credit! If that's OK, reply with #yesbrand and @<brand_handle>.  

• Love your pic! We'd like to use it in the brand gallery & possibly _________, website and emails. Confirm that you consent & have read & accept our terms (see bio) by replying #okbrand and @<brand_handle>.