Information in this blog post was obtained from Social Media Examiner, Moz, HubSpot, and Sprout Social Blog.
Introduction: What is User-Generated Content?
Have you ever published content on your social media giving your take on a brand, product, or experience? If you answered yes to the previous question, you would be considered a user-generated content creator, also referred to as a UGC creator! User-generated content is an organic marketing strategy that seeks to build a brand's trust through word-of-mouth marketing.
Content is created by real customers who share their honest opinions - good or bad! In today's digital age, this form of marketing has quickly taken precedence over influencer marketing. As a customer, don't we want to hear the juicy details about a product or experience? I would rather know as much as I can before purchasing rather than hearing unreliable information from someone who only provides information in exchange for a paycheck. Brands and social media users - keep reading to learn more about how user-generated content can be incorporated into your social media marketing strategy!
Benefits of User-Generated Content
User-generated content is exactly how it sounds - content made by consumers! For brands, it is the best of both worlds as they receive quality content shareable to their social media channels at little to no cost. Research shows smaller followings lead to higher engagement as the creator has built a reputation among their followers. An influencer with a larger following may not have true connections with their followers, therefore reducing the emphasis of their opinions on products and services.
Challenges of User-Generated Content
As with any marketing strategy, there are obstacles to overcome. With user-generated content, it can be challenging to ensure the creators' content aligns with the brand's style. This is why brands need to establish a creative brief if they are looking for content to share.
A creative brief should contain the following:
Guidelines that establish who the target audience is
Campaign Objectives
A competitor analysis
Intended tone and style of message
A timeline for creators
Another challenge brands face when working with user-generated content creators is the licensing to post creators content. It is essential that permission is always granted before sharing any content not created by the brand. When conducting UGC campaigns the permission of release should always be included within the campaign contract. It is also extremely important that brands give full credit to the creator.
What Types of Content are Consumers Looking For?
When brands choose to incorporate user-generated content into their social media strategy it is essential they are up to date on trends that will engage customers. User-generated content can come in many shapes and forms. Some commonly used formats include videos, images, blogs, reviews, hashtags, and podcasts. Each of these has unique strengths. It is important for brands to understand which formats work best with their platforms and audience. Within those media formats, content can be categorized based on topics. Let's look further into some of the most popular types of user-generated content shown on social media today.
Lifestyle Content
Lifestyle content shows the product or brand in action. This style of content can incorporate a variety of topics. A few popular lifestyle content topics include travel, fitness, fashion, and cooking. Lifestyle content allows the brand to showcase their product incorporated into someone's life.
Unboxing Content
Viewers love to see unboxing videos especially when a brand has visually appealing packaging. This style of content seeks to get customers excited about receiving their own package! One benefit of unboxing content is the ability to see real, authentic first impressions. Viewers get an inside look at a brand's products prior to purchasing the products for themselves. This can serve as valuable information for potential customers regarding the product's look, quality, and how it works!
Reviews and Testimonials
Arguably, one of the most important types of content for building a brand's reliability through UGC is reviews and testimonials from customers. This type of content shares real stories and experiences from customers, which provides the brand with information on which to make improvements. Customer reviews and testimonials also influence purchasing decisions, as a positive review can lead to increased interest in the product. Reviews and testimonials also have the ability to negatively impact a brand. It is important that a brand responds thoughtfully and professionally to content that portrays the brand negatively. This is the brand's chance to redeem themselves.
How-To Tutorials
How-to tutorials can engage an audience by showing the product in action. This provides potential customers with prior knowledge as to how the product works before purchasing the product. This style of content has high engagement rates, which in turn keeps viewers intrigued as to what the end result of the product will be. It is important that when brands incorporate how-to tutorials into their social media platforms, they select content relevant to the majority of their brand's audience.
How to Incorporate UGC Into Social Media
Now that you know more about what user-generated content is and the most popular content styles, let's talk about how brands can effectively incorporate it into their social media marketing strategy. When done correctly, user-generated content can increase engagement and conversions.
Establish Goals
When looking to incorporate user-generated content into a marketing strategy, it is important to first establish goals. Moz recommends asking 3 questions when determining goals:
1. Who are you talking to?
2. What are their needs?
3. How can we meaningfully meet those needs?
Based on the answers to these three questions, marketers can better align their content strategy with their target audience. Establishing clear, measurable goals is essential to an effective marketing strategy.
Encourage Customers to Share Content
Without customers sharing content, brands would not have user-generated content to share on their platforms. It is important that brands encourage their customers to create content about their brand. One way this can be encouraged is through brand challenges. This may include a hashtag associated with the brand that customers can use featuring one of the brand's products. Another method would be asking customers to create a video about a certain product or brand-related topic and then choosing a winner based on the content they created.
Provide Incentives
Incentives are a great way to encourage customers to share on social media. The incentives may include a discount for the brand or a giveaway for a free trip. It is important that brands consider their audience and how much user-generated content they already receive when considering incentives. Many content creators simply appreciate that they are also building their personal brand when their content is shared and tagged.
Regularly Share User-Generated Content
Once content has been submitted or shared, it is important to feature it regularly on social media platforms. This encourages other customers to create content while providing the brand with marketing content at little to no cost. It is also essential that brands regularly interact with the content they are featured in, whether they choose to repost or not.
Conclusion
In conclusion, user-generated content is essential for brands who are looking to stay up to date on social media trends. This method of organic marketing is low-cost and promotes honesty, which spreads a positive image for the brand, therefore establishing trust among customers.
Brands should ensure they are staying up to date on user-generated content styles, as well as how to effectively include it in their social media presence. It is important that brands encourage their customers to share content to build relationships with customers and grow their presence on social media platforms!
Resources
Gray, T. (2023, October 30). A Marketer’s Guide to Launching a UGC Strategy for SEO. Moz. https://moz.com/blog/ugc-strategy-guide-for-seo
Shahid, K. (2023, November 28). User-generated content (UGC): what it is and why it matters for your brand. Sprout Blog. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/user-generated-content-guide/
Sonnenberg, A. (2023, February 27). How to Improve Your Social Marketing with User-Generated Content. Social Media Examiner. https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-improve-your-social-marketing-with-user-generated-content/
Principe, C. (2024, July 14). When UGC Goes Wrong: How Smart Brands React to Controversy. Hubspot. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/ugc-controversy
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