User-generated content is one of the most promising things for brand promotion. It works like a snowball. One review or publication can draw attention to a company and create a real buzz. Therefore, we will tell you about how to use it and what it is for.
User-generated content: some statistics
1. Nearly 80% of people surveyed confirmed the significant impact of user-generated content on the final purchase decision.
2. Users with high trust relate to online reviews and in 76% of cases rely on them in the same way as on the recommendations of friends.
3. User-generated content is one of the things that influences purchasing decisions for 84% of millennials.
4. Compared to professional photography, user photography is more likely to encourage millennials to buy or research a product. Values vary by industry: 74% (travel), 83% (everyday goods) and 85% (fashion industry).
5. According to the survey, users trust information from reviews more than that created by the company. The first is believed by 54% of the respondents. Brand information is trusted by 20% of users.
6. The combination of professional and user-generated content increases audience engagement by 28%.
7. User-generated content can be used not only on social media. According to surveys, it was used on microsites (27%), presentations (25%), email marketing (50%), and advertising campaigns (58%).
What is User Generated Content?
UGC is any content not created and published by a company, but by its customers. And it’s about users. User Content does not include opinion leader reviews. This is more about brand advocates. Any photo, review, video, or post created by the user in order to share their impressions of the product – UGC.
Why should brands use user-generated content?
Companies invest large sums in ad campaigns. And users really participate in them. The tricky part is that, by becoming a part of it, people don’t trust marketing campaigns. Users rely more on the experience of other customers.
UGC differentiates itself from many other marketing activities in that it puts people in the center of attention. More precisely, users of the brand’s products. The company gets the opportunity to abandon aggressive marketing, replacing it with native. This is especially true when considering the behavior of people in relation to advertising. 25.8% of users are already using ad blockers. According to experts’ forecasts, this figure will only grow.
For your custom marketing to be effective, you need to monitor market trends constantly, study consumers, and use new tools. To do this, you can check out online courses, training, and communicating with experts in this industry. This is the only way you can get the best results.
How to start?
User generated content is a powerful tool for solving a wide variety of tasks. Before launching an ad campaign, you must define its goals and performance indicators. For some companies, this may be an increase in awareness, and for others, an expansion of the audience on social networks.
Specialist for connect roku to vpn says that you have to be clear about what you are using the user generated content for, otherwise you may be disappointed. Suppose this tool is needed to form a positive image and get content that can be used on your social networks. Then you should think about how to start encouraging users to take photos / videos and share them.
For example, you can offer existing customers an additional discount or bonuses for mentioning a brand on your profile. Also a common method is holding sweepstakes and contests.
To understand which option is most optimal for your business, you need to try each of them and evaluate the effectiveness. Remember, the reward should be commensurate with the actions you want from the user, otherwise you are unlikely to achieve the desired effect.
GoPro is very good at this. The brand organizes awesome contests that attract many users.
How does a brand use user-generated content?
Make your content truly creative
Creative content always grabs attention. Moreover, it is one of the guarantees of a successful marketing campaign. User-generated content provides a new vision for the product. Constantly working on one task, employees of the company can look at the product less and less diverse and creative. And that’s okay.
However, users always see your product differently. It is quite possible that this is exactly what you need. The use of user-generated content gives access to a huge variety of fresh, creative and unpredictable ideas. With a minimum of effort, you get engaging content.
Confirmation of this is the GoPro brand. The company encourages the publication of content created with its products. What users really like. They enjoy making awesome videos for travel, vacation, or other activities. The brand gets great content.
The bottom line is that users buy GoPro to create compelling videos and get approval. They are happy to post them on brand resources. People are watching user-generated videos, and they want to buy a GoPro too to create an equally impressive video.
Increase your reach
User-generated content engages much more than ad content. This increases the likelihood of engagement and conversion rates. Also, the use of user-generated content leads to an impressive increase in reach.
The business attracts new customers. UGC includes any relevant content. Accordingly, you can attract audiences from funny industries, bypassing any demographic and geographic restrictions. However, for this, it is important to collect user-generated content in one place. For example, by launching your own hashtag.
A striking example of the implementation of such an idea is the experience of the Coca-Cola brand. In 2014, the company released products in unique packaging, which featured popular names. The campaign was named “Share the Coke”. The brand asked to share photos of a person enjoying a drink with their name on it.
However, the results of the campaign were overwhelming. She caused a real stir. Millions of people from different parts of the world wanted to share Coca-Cola.
Provide social proof
Social proof is one of the most effective tools for building brand trust. User content, in fact, is it. Therefore, people are looking for reviews about products.
It’s important to note that brands cannot provide social proof on their own. After all, the presentation of a product by a company is advertising. They don’t believe it. User-generated content can be used not only on social media but also in marketing campaigns, increasing the degree of trust.
Lululemon is a great example of this. It makes yoga clothes. Through a single hashtag, the brand has created an entire community. Users could tag pictures of them playing sports in Lululemon clothing.
On the one hand, this is a great advertisement. On the other hand, people who were thinking about buying got the opportunity to see the product in real life. Last but not least, it is a great motivation for doing sports.
The results were as follows:
- over 7,000 photos posted on Instagram and Twitter in a month;
- over 40 thousand new visitors were attracted through the #sweatlife gallery.
Stimulate the desire to purchase the product
People are social beings and they are prone to imitate the behavior of those around them. Therefore, if, for example, a girl saw a photo of a friend with a new lipstick, which significantly increased the attractiveness of a friend, she is more likely to want it. Likewise, it works if a brand page contains photos of customers who have experienced the value of the product in a casual manner, making user-generated content a great tool to drive demand. If you are currently at the stage of bringing a product to market, consider using UGC.
Build brand loyalty
User generated content is an amazing thing that helps brands at different stages of development and solves a variety of problems. With it, you can form a positive image. By being in the public eye and showing satisfied customers using your product, you can significantly increase brand loyalty.
How do I find user-generated content on social media?
The most strategically correct way is to organize a community dedicated to your brand. For this, they come up with a unique hashtag. It is desirable that it be simple and memorable. This will make it easier for users to add and increase the likelihood that the brand will be noted.
You can also stimulate it. For example, in the following ways:
- a discount or gift for a review;
- Placement of user publications on the site;
- Launch of a challenge;
- Contests in social networks;
- Adding user-generated content to Instagram and Highlights.
If there is no hashtag yet, then you can track brand mentions by marks in publications. Sometimes users indicate a location. If the business operates in the service sector, then there is a high probability that it will be possible to find references in this way. True, this is a laborious task.
Conclusion
Every day, companies come up with new ways to advertise brands. Marketing is developing at an insane speed. On the one hand, this opens up new business opportunities. On the other hand, users are becoming more skeptical and demanding.
It’s not enough just to be now. Truly successful companies work closely with users and deliver value. Using UGC accomplishes both goals. Plus, it allows you to know the vision of the company by the clients Consequently, you will be able to gain a clearer and more objective understanding of brand weaknesses and growth directions.
In addition, UGC reduces the burden of content creation. You receive unique and emotionally charged images/testimonials/videos that build brand confidence. Therefore, we strongly recommend using UGC. It’s an easy way to get closer to your customers. So, sincere.
