How to Incorporate User Generated Content into Your Digital Marketing Strategy
Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2024 5:52 am
eople are always creating and sharing content on social media sites, chat and messaging apps, blogs, forums, email, and more. Today, companies are taking advantage of this limitless source of user-generated content and using it as part of their digital marketing strategies. But why?
User-generated content gives viewers a real look at businesses through the eyes of consumers. The information in these YouTube videos, TikTok reels, Instagram stories, and other social media posts does not come from an internal source.knowledge base; instead, they come from real people who have the power to influence their friends, family, and followers with what they say.
According to a2019 Stackla study79% of people agree that user-generated content strongly influences their purchasing decisions. This is a significant difference compared to the 13% who lean more towards company-generated content and the 8% who trust information from the company.Influencers.
With this data, it’s no surprise that UGC is becoming increasingly prominent on today’s digital platforms.
User-generated content: what is it and how does it work?
User-generated content is any type of social post that is unpaid or unsponsored malaysia telephone number data that people share across the various networks they use.
When you see someone post a review about the latest gadget they bought, that's UGC.
When your friends post a snapshot of a delicious meal they had at a local restaurant, that's UGC.
When a brand shares a tweet about someone attending an event they hosted, that is UGC.
Unlike publisher-generated content, which is explicitly created by a company for advertising purposes, UGC is organic and comes directly from people who have personal experiences and opinions about specific products or services.
Its reach is what gives it power. Since it can be published by anyone, anywhere, the limits on visibility, sharing, and resharing of a single UGC post can go quite far.
The most obvious source for UGC is customers sharing content as part of their normal social media behavior.
There are also brand loyalists who are eager to show their support and enthusiasm whenever possible, and your staff can also provide UGC by sharing their personal experiences and thoughts about your company.
At its core, the concept of user-generated content is simple: Consumers share original photos, videos, and text, and you feature those assets on your website and social media channels.
It's a win-win situation for you.Marketing TeamBecause you highlight your brand advocates and give them the recognition and appreciation they deserve, while also creating a more trustworthy image for your brand.
Benefits of user-generated content
Now that it's clear what user-generated content is, let's take a look at some of the benefits of using UGC in your digital marketing channels.
• Savings
One of the biggest advantages of opting for user-generated content is that it’s undoubtedly cheaper than producing content in-house. The reasons for using professional photography are obvious, but they can be quite expensive.
Luckily, there’s another option that doesn’t involve hiring an outside service provider: sourcing images from your social media supporters. As long as you get permission from their owners, you’ll have a nearly limitless supply of resources at your fingertips.
• Authentic content
Source
UGC brings to the table what no influencer marketing or traditional marketing can offer: authenticity.
Customer submissions, photos, and videos don’t go through the rigorous, vetting processes your typical company materials go through before they’re published. Instead, they can be quite amateur, crude, and very different in quality, language, or overall aesthetic, but that’s what makes them more authentic.
They are what they are: exactly what consumers want to see.
• Brand awareness
Word of mouth has a long-standing role in marketing, and thanks to advances in technology and the internet, word of mouth is further along than ever. Even a handful of people talking about your products online can significantly increase your brand awareness over time.
Source
According to a 2015 Nielsen Company report,66% of consumers trust reviews posted onlineCreating a space where users can read what others are saying about your products/services can help increase your conversion rates, as well as build trust and credibility.
• Getting engaged
As consumers look to UGC as part of their decision-making process, it makes sense that they are more likely to engage with similar material on your website, online store, and social media pages. In fact, user-generated content6.9 times higher engagementmore than just a brand-created post.
• Content diversity
One obvious but often overlooked benefit of user-generated content is its diversity. Food photos, tutorials on creating the perfect skincare routine, TikTok reels chronicling a concert experience—these and more are all possible when you delve into the bottomless pool of UGC.
• Community building
A community is all about having interactions around shared interests. When you promote user-generated content on your channels, you signal that you are open to real connections and conversations with your audience.
By making them feel more heard and seen, you increase the chances of them engaging with each other and your brand more regularly.
• Sales
User-generated content has been shown to increase consumer trust. The more positive reviews they see about your products, the more likely they are to make a purchase. You can expect to earn using UGCnew customers and brand advocatesand increase your sales.
5 types of user-generated content you can use
There are many types of user-generated content, and each can have a different impact on your business. Setting goals and expectations is essential to designing a digital marketing campaign that works effectively.
Here are some examples of user-generated content you can try:
1. Photos
Every day, people around the world take and share a million photos on their personal social platforms, many of them interacting with brands from travel agencies and hotels to restaurants and tech-focused companies.
Instagram is one of the most popular social platforms that focuses on photography. A single hashtag, word, phrase or tag search can generate a large number of posts, making it easy for brands to see relevant posts and reprogram them for their followers to see.
User-generated content gives viewers a real look at businesses through the eyes of consumers. The information in these YouTube videos, TikTok reels, Instagram stories, and other social media posts does not come from an internal source.knowledge base; instead, they come from real people who have the power to influence their friends, family, and followers with what they say.
According to a2019 Stackla study79% of people agree that user-generated content strongly influences their purchasing decisions. This is a significant difference compared to the 13% who lean more towards company-generated content and the 8% who trust information from the company.Influencers.
With this data, it’s no surprise that UGC is becoming increasingly prominent on today’s digital platforms.
User-generated content: what is it and how does it work?
User-generated content is any type of social post that is unpaid or unsponsored malaysia telephone number data that people share across the various networks they use.
When you see someone post a review about the latest gadget they bought, that's UGC.
When your friends post a snapshot of a delicious meal they had at a local restaurant, that's UGC.
When a brand shares a tweet about someone attending an event they hosted, that is UGC.
Unlike publisher-generated content, which is explicitly created by a company for advertising purposes, UGC is organic and comes directly from people who have personal experiences and opinions about specific products or services.
Its reach is what gives it power. Since it can be published by anyone, anywhere, the limits on visibility, sharing, and resharing of a single UGC post can go quite far.
The most obvious source for UGC is customers sharing content as part of their normal social media behavior.
There are also brand loyalists who are eager to show their support and enthusiasm whenever possible, and your staff can also provide UGC by sharing their personal experiences and thoughts about your company.
At its core, the concept of user-generated content is simple: Consumers share original photos, videos, and text, and you feature those assets on your website and social media channels.
It's a win-win situation for you.Marketing TeamBecause you highlight your brand advocates and give them the recognition and appreciation they deserve, while also creating a more trustworthy image for your brand.
Benefits of user-generated content
Now that it's clear what user-generated content is, let's take a look at some of the benefits of using UGC in your digital marketing channels.
• Savings
One of the biggest advantages of opting for user-generated content is that it’s undoubtedly cheaper than producing content in-house. The reasons for using professional photography are obvious, but they can be quite expensive.
Luckily, there’s another option that doesn’t involve hiring an outside service provider: sourcing images from your social media supporters. As long as you get permission from their owners, you’ll have a nearly limitless supply of resources at your fingertips.
• Authentic content
Source
UGC brings to the table what no influencer marketing or traditional marketing can offer: authenticity.
Customer submissions, photos, and videos don’t go through the rigorous, vetting processes your typical company materials go through before they’re published. Instead, they can be quite amateur, crude, and very different in quality, language, or overall aesthetic, but that’s what makes them more authentic.
They are what they are: exactly what consumers want to see.
• Brand awareness
Word of mouth has a long-standing role in marketing, and thanks to advances in technology and the internet, word of mouth is further along than ever. Even a handful of people talking about your products online can significantly increase your brand awareness over time.
Source
According to a 2015 Nielsen Company report,66% of consumers trust reviews posted onlineCreating a space where users can read what others are saying about your products/services can help increase your conversion rates, as well as build trust and credibility.
• Getting engaged
As consumers look to UGC as part of their decision-making process, it makes sense that they are more likely to engage with similar material on your website, online store, and social media pages. In fact, user-generated content6.9 times higher engagementmore than just a brand-created post.
• Content diversity
One obvious but often overlooked benefit of user-generated content is its diversity. Food photos, tutorials on creating the perfect skincare routine, TikTok reels chronicling a concert experience—these and more are all possible when you delve into the bottomless pool of UGC.
• Community building
A community is all about having interactions around shared interests. When you promote user-generated content on your channels, you signal that you are open to real connections and conversations with your audience.
By making them feel more heard and seen, you increase the chances of them engaging with each other and your brand more regularly.
• Sales
User-generated content has been shown to increase consumer trust. The more positive reviews they see about your products, the more likely they are to make a purchase. You can expect to earn using UGCnew customers and brand advocatesand increase your sales.
5 types of user-generated content you can use
There are many types of user-generated content, and each can have a different impact on your business. Setting goals and expectations is essential to designing a digital marketing campaign that works effectively.
Here are some examples of user-generated content you can try:
1. Photos
Every day, people around the world take and share a million photos on their personal social platforms, many of them interacting with brands from travel agencies and hotels to restaurants and tech-focused companies.
Instagram is one of the most popular social platforms that focuses on photography. A single hashtag, word, phrase or tag search can generate a large number of posts, making it easy for brands to see relevant posts and reprogram them for their followers to see.