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Inside John Deere's UGC Machine

Inside John Deere's UGC Machine
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This is an excerpt from MarketerHire's weekly newsletter, Raisin Bread. To get a tasty marketing snack in your inbox every week, subscribe here.

As the John Deere slogan goes (sort of): Nothing UGCs like a Deere.

“UGC is really the foundation of our Instagram,” Jen Hartmann, director of PR and social at John Deere, told MarketerHire.

Their Instagram account reposts tons of photos from its almost 1M followers, showing John Deere product cameos at Christmas, graduation and Easter.

And the #JohnDeere hashtag on TikTok has 2.8 billion views and counting — even though John Deere doesn’t have a TikTok account.

What makes John Deere’s UGC empire tick?

It’s powered by pride and natural light.

The core reason Deere owners make UGC, Hartmann argues, is “pride of ownership.”

John Deere is the BMW of tractors; Deere and BMW literally have a design partnership.

But why is the UGC so beautiful?

“The lifestyle [our customers] live is so ripe for beautiful photography,” Hartmann said. “You've got people working outdoors with sunsets and sunrises and nature and crops and construction sites.”

It’s a logistical marvel.

They’ve made it easy for customers to build their UGC pipeline.

Customers can submit their photos and videos through a web portal, JohnDeereStories.com, Hartmann explained, or give the company permission to share via Instagram DM with a simple “#okdeere.”

It’s complicated sometimes.

Not all UGC can be reshared. TikTok tightly regulates how brand accounts use trademarked music, for example.

Some TikToks don’t show best safety practices, either. “They've got kids around the equipment or they're dancing on the planters,” Hartmann said.

So for now, the social team appreciates John Deere’s earned TikTok clout from afar.

But it’s also delightful.

“Our audiences really appreciate either seeing what other farmers or customers are doing, what kind of equipment they operate, where they're from.”

It turns the brand’s social accounts into a community — one that can make farmers and landscapers social media famous for a day.

Our takeaway?

UGC is a powerful marketing tool — a tractor, you might say? — that can build community around your brand.

But it only works with curation, the right permissions, and a product your customers feel proud to use.

Mae RiceMae Rice
Mae Rice is editor in chief at MarketerHire. A long-time content marketer, she loves learning about the weird and wonderful feedback loops that connect marketing and culture.
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Explainers

Inside John Deere's UGC Machine

September 8, 2023
May 20, 2021
Mae Rice

On Instagram and TikTok, everyone wants to show off their John Deere tractor. Why? And what does that mean for the in-house marketing team? We asked John Deere's director of PR and social, Jen Hartmann.

Table of Contents

This is an excerpt from MarketerHire's weekly newsletter, Raisin Bread. To get a tasty marketing snack in your inbox every week, subscribe here.

As the John Deere slogan goes (sort of): Nothing UGCs like a Deere.

“UGC is really the foundation of our Instagram,” Jen Hartmann, director of PR and social at John Deere, told MarketerHire.

Their Instagram account reposts tons of photos from its almost 1M followers, showing John Deere product cameos at Christmas, graduation and Easter.

And the #JohnDeere hashtag on TikTok has 2.8 billion views and counting — even though John Deere doesn’t have a TikTok account.

What makes John Deere’s UGC empire tick?

It’s powered by pride and natural light.

The core reason Deere owners make UGC, Hartmann argues, is “pride of ownership.”

John Deere is the BMW of tractors; Deere and BMW literally have a design partnership.

But why is the UGC so beautiful?

“The lifestyle [our customers] live is so ripe for beautiful photography,” Hartmann said. “You've got people working outdoors with sunsets and sunrises and nature and crops and construction sites.”

It’s a logistical marvel.

They’ve made it easy for customers to build their UGC pipeline.

Customers can submit their photos and videos through a web portal, JohnDeereStories.com, Hartmann explained, or give the company permission to share via Instagram DM with a simple “#okdeere.”

It’s complicated sometimes.

Not all UGC can be reshared. TikTok tightly regulates how brand accounts use trademarked music, for example.

Some TikToks don’t show best safety practices, either. “They've got kids around the equipment or they're dancing on the planters,” Hartmann said.

So for now, the social team appreciates John Deere’s earned TikTok clout from afar.

But it’s also delightful.

“Our audiences really appreciate either seeing what other farmers or customers are doing, what kind of equipment they operate, where they're from.”

It turns the brand’s social accounts into a community — one that can make farmers and landscapers social media famous for a day.

Our takeaway?

UGC is a powerful marketing tool — a tractor, you might say? — that can build community around your brand.

But it only works with curation, the right permissions, and a product your customers feel proud to use.

Mae Rice
about the author

Mae Rice is editor in chief at MarketerHire. A long-time content marketer, she loves learning about the weird and wonderful feedback loops that connect marketing and culture.

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