Want to know how to engage your audience and build a trusting relationship with your customer base? The answer is simple… introduce user-generated content to your marketing strategy!
Contents:
What is User-generated content (UGC)?
UGC, otherwise known as user-generated content, is content posted by users online about a product or service. Typically posted to a social media platform, and used by brands on their website for social proofing, UGC is a highly effective method as it is created by customers, rather than the brand itself.
Popular forms of UGC include photo, video, testimonial, blog, and audio, which can all be repurposed by a brand to excel their marketing strategy. UGC is commonly used across the entirety of the customers purchasing journey, from when they are first exposed to a brand, to that final advertisement that pushes them to purchase.
The main purpose of UGC is to provide social proof and relatable content to an audience, that encourage a customer to both trust a brand, and purchase their product or service.
Why is User-Generated Content important?
User-generated content is important as it shows real life reviews and opinions of your product or service, which encourage customers to purchase and become loyal users of your brand.
Brand Loyalty & Social Proofing
By creating loyalty & providing social proof, UGC creates a sense of community and trust that makes a brand desirable. 86% of people are more likely to trust a brand if they share UGC content (source 1), so its important to share UGC to build confidence in the consumer to maximise your conversions.
Quality Assurance and Authenticity
Consumer confidence in your product or service is key to company success. If you can confirm the quality and authenticity of your products through review style formats, it will encourage others to order. 90% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding what brands they choose (source 2) so if you are using UGC for your brand, you are more likely to confirm authenticity and increase your customer base.
Cost-Effective Marketing Method
With user-generated content, it is likely for the content to be repurposed by the brand at no extra cost. Brands can pay put thousands into influencer marketing to capture UGC, but repurposing consumer content requires little money and all sized companies can utilise it. 86% of companies are using UGC in some form in their marketing strategy (source 3), showing how you can scale your business without investing tons of money into big campaigns.
Diversify Content
UGC allows for a whole different perspective to become available to the consumer, especially if they are used to a brand being heavily edited and staged in their content. It allows a brand to share customers content from different background and cultures, as well as different angles you may not have thought of.
Types of UGC?
Testimonal
Testimonials are a common type of UGC used across marketing. Their review style format can display positive ratings and opinions of your brand, and reinforce your brand values. They can be applied to the website for social proofing, or be repurposed for ad creative; both effective ways of communicating feedback of your brand.
Video
Video can be effectively used in both short and long form UGC content. TikTok and Instagram reels are more commonly used as shorter form review style content, whereas YouTube videos dominate the online space for long form styles. TikTok as a platform is particularly popular for UGC, with many reaching for the TikTok app over Google as their preferred search engine.
Image
Images are the most popular form of UGC, due to the ease of recommending a product of service via photograph on organic social media. Repeated posts include images showcasing beauty, fashion and homeware products or services, with even entire accounts dedicated to recommending products in particular industries.
Blog
A blog is a popular way to display written UGC content. This can range from a recommendation of your brand in a blog post, to a whole blog dedicated to your brand. This content can then be repurposed into written ad creative to reach a whole new audience.
Audio
Audio can be used in a variety of ways when it comes to UGC. This includes voiceovers and clips in videos that are reviewing a brand, as well as podcast content that may organically mention your product or service. Paid advertising in UGC style content is popular amongst podcasts, with the main host commonly talking about a product they love, whilst being paid to do so.
Paid Media
All forms of UGC, as mentioned above, can be repurposed into image and video content that can be used across paid media platforms. Organic UGC where your brand is mentioned is always great, but if this can be repurposed and elevated to reach a paid audience, it helps build that consumer trust even further.
UGC Best Practices
Ensure UGC Aligns with Brand Values
Make sure that the UGC you are reposting highlights your brand purpose, as people are more likely to support your brand if your morals align with their own.
Always Request Permission
If you see content made about your brand that you wish to post to your feed, or use as paid media, ask permission first. Espeically in a paid space, as content creators may not be willing for you to profit off of their content without it benefiting themselves!
Use as Many Formats of UGC as Possible
Include reviews and testimonials on your website, have paid media campaigns dedicated to UGC, repost organic UGC to your brand page and stories – the more the better!
Have a Content Plan
If you are asking a creator for content, or if someone is creating UGC for your brand with the idea of repurposing in mind, make sure you outline what you want the content to achieve, and any specifics to the creator beforehand.
Credit the Creator
If repurposing organic UGC, be sure to credit the original maker of the content. Creators will notice this and be more likely to support your brand in the future.
If your brand could benefit from incorporating user-generated content into your marketing strategy and you need assistance from a marketing specialists team, contact SOMO. We will support you in adapting your strategy and content to build strong customer relationships, as well as exploring additional avenues to maximise performance.
