User-Generated Content: How to Unlock This Social Proof Powerhouse

 

Are you an entrepreneur that wants to leverage User Generated Content (UGC) to boost your marketing efforts?

UGC is a powerful tool to engage with customers and increase brand awareness. In this article, we’ll cover tips for collecting UGC as well as tools that can help you gather and use customer-created content.

Table of Contents

• What is User-Generated Content
• Types of User-generated content
• UGC Benefits to Businesses
• How to Create a UGC Strategy
• Using Social Media Platforms for User-Generated Content
• What To Do With Your User-Generated Content
• Tips for Collecting User-Generated Content
• Tools for Gather and Using User-Generated Content
• User-Generated Content Success Stories
• Conclusion

What is User Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is a type of content that is created and published by end-users on online platforms. It is typically associated with social media but also applies to blogs, websites, wikis, and any other platform where users can create content.

UGC plays an important role in marketing and promotion as it gives customers a chance to express their opinion on products or services – companies see them as a valuable source of feedback that helps inform the development of their brand.

Let’s look into the different types of user-generated content.

Types of User-Generated Content

User-generated content comes in many forms – from reviews and surveys to blog posts and social media posts.

Popular UGC examples include

Social Media Posts

Users may post about brands on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms.

Reviews

Customers often leave online reviews for products/services on websites like Amazon or Yelp.

Photos & Videos

These are popular among users who take photos or video content of their experiences with a product or service.

Comments

Users may leave comments on blogs, social media platforms, or news articles related to a product/service.

By leveraging your best user-generated content, businesses can gain valuable insights into customer attitudes towards their product or service which can help inform their marketing strategy.

UGC Benefits to Businesses

User-generated content offers several benefits to businesses such as:

Increased Engagement

UGC can help boost engagement levels on social media platforms, as customers will be more likely to interact with content if they see that it was posted by real people.

Higher Conversion Rates

Customers are more likely to purchase a product when they see positive reviews from other customers. It’s one of the superpowers of Social Proof. Incorporating UGC into your website or social media campaigns can help increase sales.

Improved Brand Awareness

UGC helps create brand loyalty as it humanizes your brand and creates an emotional connection with potential customers.

How to Create a UGC Strategy

Creating an effective user-generated content strategy involves several steps. Let’s review how you can get started with a UGC strategy for your business.

Identifying Content Opportunities

Analyze existing channels for opportunities to leverage user-generated content. Social listening tools can be used here to determine which topics work well for achieving maximum engagement with potential customers.

Encouraging Participation

Develop creative campaigns to inspire users to share their experiences with your products/services on social media channels. Promotions are often used here as incentives for participating in campaigns such as giveaways, discounts, and other events.

Monitoring & Responding

Keep track of any conversations around your brand and respond promptly if there is negative feedback regarding your products/services.

Using Social Media Platforms for UGC

Social media is a great way to collect user-generated content. It allows businesses to interact with customers in real time and create meaningful conversations.

Here are some tips for using social media to effectively gather user-generated content:

• Make sure your posts invite responses and feedback from users. If you don’t ask for engagement, most people will not respond or engage.
• Use engaging visuals such as photos, videos, or GIFs on your posts to capture attention. Think of visuals that will stop the scroll and get your target audience’s attention.
• Utilize hashtags to get more engagement from users who are searching for specific topics.
• Respond quickly to comments and questions on your social media pages. You can even use autoresponders for some of these responses.

What To Do With Your User-Generated Content

Once you’ve collected user-generated content, it’s important to know what to do with it. Here are some ideas for leveraging UGC

Share Your UGC Across Different Platforms

One of the best ways to get mileage out of your user-generated content is to share it across different digital platforms. This could include your corporate website, blog, and social media pages. By sharing UGC on multiple channels, you’ll be able to reach a broader audience and generate more leads.

Utilize Customer Stories or Reviews in Ads

Customer stories and reviews are a great way to show potential customers what your product or service can do for them. If you have positive customer reviews, consider using them in ads or other marketing materials. This is a great way to build trust with potential customers and turn them into paying customers.

Create a Customer Appreciation Page

Another great way to leverage UGC is to create a customer appreciation page on your website. This is a page where you can showcase user-generated content, such as photos, videos, or written testimonials. This is a great way to build goodwill with your customers and shows that you appreciate their business.

Use UGC in Email Campaigns

User-generated content can also be used in email campaigns to showcase how people are using your products or services. This is a great way to engage with your customers and keep them updated on what’s new with your company.

Tips for Collecting User-Generated Content

Collecting and using UGC doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are some tips to keep in mind when collecting UGC:

Make it Easy

Make sure your process for collecting UGC is easy to use and understand, or else people won’t bother. Most social media users are used to seeing requests for UGC so don’t overcomplicate or overthink the process.

Set Goals

Determine what you want to achieve with user-generated content and set measurable goals that will help you measure the success of your campaigns.

Quality over Quantity

Focus on quality rather than quantity; make sure the content being shared is relevant and interesting, otherwise, it’s a waste of time.

Foster Engagement

Encourage people to engage with each other’s content, such as commenting and sharing posts – this will help increase engagement with your brand.

Monitor & Respond

Regularly monitor conversations around your brand and respond to any negative feedback as quickly as possible.

Tools to Gather and Use User-Generated Content

There are many tools available to help businesses collect and use user-generated content. Here are some of the most popular:

Markerly

Markerly allows marketers to collect UGC from influencers or customers and monitor performance metrics such as likes, shares, etc.

Hashtagify

Hashtagify helps you find relevant hashtags and tracks conversations taking place around them on social media channels.

SocialStudio

SocialStudio helps brands manage their presence on social media by providing reports, analytics, and insights into customer behavior.

PostBeyond

PostBeyond is used to create employee advocacy programs that allow employees to share content from company profiles across social networks.

ZOHO Social

Zoho Social can be used to manage a business’s presence across multiple social networks as well as provide analytics about engagement levels for different types of posts.

User-Generated Content Success Stories

Successful implementations of UGC strategies have yielded great results for businesses across various industries. Here are some user-generated content examples.

Coca-Cola’s UGC Success

#ShareACoke campaign achieved tremendous success by encouraging fans to buy personalized bottles of Coke branded with different names – this campaign saw over 6 million shares on Instagram alone!

REI’s UGC Success

REI encouraged its followers to post pictures outdoors using the hashtag #OptOutside during Black Friday weekend – this campaign resulted in 1 million+ uses of the hashtag during the first 24 hours!

By seeing how others have successfully implemented UGC strategies, companies can gain insights into what works best for them when creating their own strategies.

Conclusion

Collecting and using user-generated content is a great way to connect with customers, build brand awareness, and increase engagement. By leveraging the right tools and strategies, businesses can effectively use UGC to boost their marketing efforts.

Make sure to monitor conversations and posts regularly so you can respond quickly to feedback or questions from customers.