Ever wondered how a little bit of office fun might just skyrocket your brand's social media engagement? Well, let me tell you about a tiny little company called Google—you may have heard of them. Now, Google is the North Pole of office environments. Every cubicle? A winter wonderland. Every desk? A North Pole outpost. They encourage employees to personalize their spaces, and guess what? Some brilliant marketers over there realized, "Hey, why not turn this into a UGC goldmine?" Enter the Desk Decorating Contest, with themes like "Winter Wonderland" and "Tech Utopia."
What Google cleverly capitalized on isn't just creative expression—it was free content. As employees decked out their desks, took photos, and enthusiastically shared them on social media, a floodgate of user-generated content (UGC) opened up—a marketer's dream. Google got exposure, team engagement, and a whole lot of free branding. All from a simple desk decorating contest. Genius, right?
So, what can we learn from this? Well, if Google can turn a few tinsel-draped desks into a free social campaign machine, what's stopping your team from doing the same with a twist of humor and creativity? The secret sauce? UGC. It's powerful, it's engaging, and best of all—it's genuine. And that, my friends, is marketing gold. So buckle up, because we're diving into some high-octane desk decorating contest ideas that will have your office buzzing with creativity and your social media filled with pure user-generated awesomeness!
Let's break it down: Desk decorating contests aren't just fun for your team—they're also a UGC factory. When you combine a little healthy competition, a social media hashtag, and some office holiday spirit, you're setting the stage for employees to voluntarily create marketing content. UGC is not only trusted by audiences (92% of consumers say they trust UGC over traditional content!), but it's also a way to boost engagement, reach, and brand awareness.
Now, you might be thinking, "But Byron, I don't have Google's budget!" Two things:
Now here's the action plan:
Pick a strong theme that excites people and you'll have them engaged faster than you can say "Elf on the Shelf." Go spooky for Halloween, green and groovy for Earth Day, or whimsical with a "DIY Disneyland" station. Themed contests connect well on social media as it's aesthetically pleasing and easily shareable.
Top Tip: Create a unique contest hashtag, and include a strong call-to-action encouraging participation. DeskDecorDreams, anyone?
Who doesn't love winning...anything? But let's make those prizes juicier than just coffee mugs. How about an extra day of remote work? A prime parking space? Hmmm, now you're talking! The point is: when people have a reason to compete, they're way more likely to bring out their inner Picasso—whether with cubicle snowflakes or a DIY cardboard Hogwarts.
Up the engagement game by hosting your judging panel live on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. Let the audience vote! Not only are you getting real-time reactions, but you're driving more eyes to your brand. Plus, employees get their 15 minutes of fame—a win-win.
Everyone's got that one co-worker who's basically Instagram famous, right? Rope them into your contest and have them share their extravagant desk to their followers. Boom, instant reach. Bonus points if you can figure out how to get a local influencer or two involved.
Okay, you could just ask people to upload photos of their desks. Or, you could use FAISCO and add a competitive twist. With FAISCO's game mechanics, like spin-to-win or leaderboards, you can have employees earn entries for various actions—uploading their pic, getting the most likes on their photo, sharing with others. These simple game mechanics not only increase participation but also help turn every entrant into a potential marketer for your brand.
Not everyone's decor style is the same—and that's totally OK! You can create different categories like:
These categories let people play to their strengths. The best part? Every category means another opportunity for a new piece of content to share on social.
People love "behind the scenes" content, so encourage participants to post progress pics or time-lapse videos of their decoration setup. It's a simple but effective way to keep your social media feed fresh—and hey, it's another piece of UGC.
After running these desk decorating contests, we've heard some fantastic feedback from teams that've used FAISCO to kick their UGC strategies into high gear:
Jenna K. from Phoenix: "We ran a 'Winter Wonderland' desk contest for our holiday party, and using FAISCO made it so easy to track entries and votes. The engagement from our team was through the roof—people were tagging our Instagram page like crazy!"
Carlos M. from Dallas: "Honestly, I just wanted an excuse to fill my desk with plants. But adding FAISCO's gamification turned it into way more. Our department is now obsessed with gamifying EVERYTHING."
Mike S. from New York: "We did a 'Best 90's Throwback' theme and used FAISCO to collect votes. It went viral in our company Slack channel, and my Nirvana-inspired desk won!"
So, now that your creative juices are flowing and you're seriously considering hosting the most epic desk decorating contest of all time, let me introduce you to the not-so-secret weapon that'll elevate your desk decorating game to UGC royalty: FAISCO.
FAISCO is the tool that makes creating desk decorating contests as easy as finding a way to fit another cactus on your desk. With its ready-to-go interactive templates and user-friendly dashboard, you can have your contest live in under three minutes. Whether you're looking to roll out a fun Spin-to-Win game, offer daily desk-decor challenges, or track who's getting the most social shares, FAISCO has your back.
Here's why FAISCO is the ultimate boss:
Ready to jump on the UGC train and start turning desks into content magnets? Sign up with FAISCO today and take your contest from "nice try" to "UGC powerhouse" in just a few clicks!