The power of user generated content

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Oct 27, 2017 / by
The power of user generated content

User-generated content (UGC) is an excellent tool for building brand loyalty and leveraging word-of-mouth marketing. When people feel as if they’re a part of the brand, they will want to talk about it with their friends.

Put simply, if you’re not using UGC as part of your marketing strategy, you’re missing out. Here are some of the tactics you can use to make an impact with user generated content.

Host contests

There is a reason why contests have been part of marketing strategies since forever. People simply love receiving free value. Six out of ten adults have Instagram accounts, and it’s a great platform for soliciting user generated content in the form of contest entries.

By requesting that participants submit their entries using an official hashtag, people can browse the other entries and feel part of a community. If your contest is humorous, people will definitely enjoy sharing their entries with their friends, which promotes your brand in the process. If you promote an Instagram contest properly, the exposure will be more than worth the cost of giving away something free of charge.

Sharing is caring

Say what you may about Taco Bell’s food, the brand understands how to form relationships with its customers. On Twitter and Instagram, you constantly see Taco Bell sharing posts made by customers regarding their experiences with the brand. This not only makes customers feel cherished, it gives you some awesome content to post and attract new customers with.

Reviews

User reviewsEvery marketer knows that it’s nearly impossible to make a sale without social proof. Particularly when you’re marketing to cold traffic that doesn’t know your brand, they need some indicators that you are who you claim to be and that your product is as good as you say it is. Unfortunately, there are some unscrupulous marketers out there trying to profit by selling bad products, and as a consequence, people have a radar for marketing that doesn’t add up.

Reviews are one of the best types of UGC. Whenever someone is browsing a product page, it’s ideal to have a handful of user reviews which corroborate with your sales copy. If every review is glowing and sugarcoated, this can actually have a harmful effect because it sounds unnatural. However, if you include reviews with minor grievances, it seems much more believable (no company is perfect).

According to Hubspot, people are 4X as likely to watch a video about a product than read about it. If you can solicit video reviews from your customers, these are considered to be highly trustworthy. You may wish to offer a discount to your customers in exchange for a video review or testimonial.

Vikram Rajan states:

Have you ever given someone a testimonial? Did they use it on their website? Don’t you feel honored and appreciated? Giving a testimonial increases your emotional bond with that business and with the person who asked. Imagine the results of making every one of your clients feel appreciated.

Using user-generated content helps to humanise a brand

In a digital economy, it can sometimes feel soulless performing transactions with businesses. User-generated content helps to humanize a brand and build a sense of belongingness with your customers.

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