What is User Generated Content (UGC) and how can it help your business?

UGC (User-generated content), also known as user-generated content, is content that is created and published by the audience itself. It includes any user activity: reviews, comments, surveys, photographs, videos, memes, reels, in general, everything that clients can come up with. This content is not about sales, but about emotions and sincerity. It has been recognized as one of the most effective tools for developing and promoting brands.

Social networks have been and remain the main platform for such activity. The advantage is that UGC benefits both parties: the audience gets acquainted and learns more about the brand’s products or services, and the company receives new information on an ongoing basis content. Since the authors are your clients, all you need to do is encourage them to create and publish material, and then use it correctly. Moreover, in this way you can arouse interest in the product even among a cold audience, since for people the experience and opinion of other people is always more important than just advertising.

If we resort to statistics in this topic, we will see the following:

• Consumer’s trust “polished” brand advertising 70% less than user-generated content;
• 72% of users trust reviews of other people as much as individual recommendations;
• 79% of buyers say that User-generated content significantly influenced their purchasing decision;
• photos from social networks increase the number of product purchases by 6 times.

In an environment where online shopping prevails over regular shopping trips, online stores are increasingly publishing content from social networks on their resources. This is done not only to make the site’s visuals diverse, but also to form a trusting relationship with a potential client.

Types and examples of User-generated content

Almost all types of user-generated content are related to social media. Below we will look at each in detail.

Testimonials

This is the most effective and popular type of user-generated content, which affects both brand awareness and its image. If users are talking about your product, it means they are using it, and it is of some interest.

Whatever the feedback – positive or negative, in any case it is useful and valuable. If the reviews are positive, they can be reposted to a business account, and given that potential buyers most often decide to purchase a product precisely because of the reviews of other people, the number of sales will also increase. Negative reviews are always an opportunity to show potential customers how you can resolve various issues, and in addition, it is also a chance to improve or finalize your product.

The image shows an example of negative feedback from people who visited a cafe in Lviv. A good example of UGC content.

Reviews

This is almost the same as reviews, only reviews are more detailed and informative, which gives the user the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the product in more detail. Most often, reviews are published in text or video format on social networks or on portals selling equipment and electronics.

Reviews are not as popular as the same reviews for the reason that they require a lot of effort and time. And the audience, which is just beginning to get acquainted with a product or service, reacts without much enthusiasm.

Photos

This is a fairly common variant of UGC. Typically, the user takes a photo of the product and tags the brand in the photo, posting it on social networks. Or is photographed together with the product. If you provide certain services, then most often they take “Before” and “After” photos and also post them on social networks with the tag of your company.

This type of user-generated content is sure to attract attention, but it will also help prepare your audience for a purchase. You can also motivate clients to take photos in exchange for small gifts, so you will get even more activity.

This image shows a photo of a dog “Before” and “After” visiting a grooming salon. Which is also a good example of user-generated content.

Videos

Although this is a technically complex option, it is nevertheless a fairly popular type of content. In addition to the usual video review, you can make a video review, unboxing of a product, a video about the company itself, a creative video with a product, etc. The main platforms and sources of user videos are YouTube and TikTok. They have the highest number of monthly unique users.

The advantage of video is that a potential buyer can look at the product from all sides. And if there are comments from other users under the video, then this will certainly attract attention.

Memes

Yes, they are also classified as User-generated content, and this type is one of the most engaging. Memes are commented on, reposted and played upon, and often go viral. It also happens that after some time the audience gives them a second wind, and you again find yourself at the peak of popularity.

So, it’s not such a bad thing if people make memes about your product or service. This way you are constantly visible.

This is a meme dedicated to dental services. What is UGC content?

Blog Posts

In today’s world, being a blogger is one of many fashion trends. Blogs often talk about products or services and show them clearly. Articles like “How to use…”, “Pros and cons…” or “What is useful…” are becoming popular.

Anything that can benefit the audience or is simply interesting to read and review can be published on blogs, benefiting both visitors and brands.

Comments

They also belong to UGC. This is the simplest type of user-generated content. You can find everything in the comments: questions, answers, suggestions for improving the product, and user experience. You just need to periodically take the time and re-read them – then they will be really useful. Usually, comments are left when there is something to share, something to say.

A good example of how a store responds to a customer’s dissatisfaction and tries to resolve the situation in order to continue doing business with that person.

How to attract users to create user-generated content?

Sometimes it’s not so easy for even well-known companies to get good and high-quality User-generated content. And even more so for small and medium-sized businesses. The presence of user-generated content shows the audience’s trust in the brand and says a lot about the quality of your product or service. In order not to wait months or years for UGC, there are several tricks to speed up the process, which we will consider below.

1. Direct request to the audience
   This is one of the easiest ways to generate UGC, but will bring more results to already popular brands. You can simply ask existing customers to leave a review of your product or service. For many, it will be quite easy to do this, especially if they cooperate with the company on an ongoing basis, because users themselves will be happy if the brand continues to delight them with its product. Young companies can also try this method, but don’t expect stunning results.
2. Holding a competition
   If your audience is not yet loyal enough to respond to the first option, you can launch a competition with gifts and thus motivate users to create content. It will be necessary to allocate certain funds for such an event, but this investment will most likely pay off. At the same time, you can choose the type of user content (review, photo, Instagram story) and set the conditions of the competition. And the effect of the competition will last for a long time.
3. Bonus program
   This method is suitable if your clients are not very active, especially if the company is young. For creating User-generated content, various bonuses are offered (discount, small gift, points that can be exchanged during purchase). In this case, practically nothing is required from the audience: just make a purchase or use a service, leave a review, and receive a nice gift in return. Most people will happily agree to such an offer.
4. Interaction with bloggers
   This is a fairly effective option for creating UGC. The partnership can be carried out either for payment or through barter. You can usually get enough new leads from bloggers because they are trusted. The choice of a blogger, and especially his audience, should be approached carefully so as not to waste money or time, but to get the maximum benefit from your cooperation in the form of increased sales.
5. Attracting influencers
   You can always turn to the pros for help (communities or private pages). Here everything works almost the same as in the case of bloggers. A popular author shares the benefits of a product or service with his audience, and accordingly, users cannot help but pay attention to the product because they consider the source reliable. Of course, some potential clients will be eliminated, since not everyone will watch the “ad” to the end, but some will become your customers.
6. Payment to freelancer
   You can also turn to a freelancer to receive user-generated content of any kind. For a small fee, they will create high-quality and unique content for you that will definitely arouse the interest of potential clients. Such content can be published both on the website and in in social networks, and on YouTube. The main thing is to approach the issue wisely so that you are not suspected of buying reviews, otherwise the brand’s reputation may suffer, and this can lead to the loss of customers.
7. Create content yourself
   This option is quite acceptable if your company is just beginning to develop and there are not many clients yet. The main thing in this process is to look and evaluate the product from the consumer’s point of view and create sincere and truthful content, not just selling content. The audience will definitely appreciate it. Friends, acquaintances and colleagues can participate in the process.

How can UGC help your business?

User-generated content has quite a few benefits that have a positive impact on your business. We will look at them below.

Creates and strengthens audience trust

People trust other people more than brand advertising – that’s a fact. Therefore, it is logical that when making purchases on the Internet, users look for signs of trust, and UGC is just such a sign from real customers. It helps to find out the audience’s impressions of purchases and the company’s responses to reviews, which in turn forms attitude and trust in the brand.

Increases engagement and conversions

Engagement increases when users are motivated to create content. According to statistics, conversion increases by 25% if a company uses photos of ordinary customers with a product instead of professional photos. User-generated content can be located at each stage sales funnels: from informing about the product to making a decision to purchase it. It creates a whole path for a person to complete the target action.

Encourages purchase

User-generated content influences potential buyers, or rather, their purchasing decisions, as it is the most real and sincere form of content. If you publish positive reviews about your product or service, they will only be an additional incentive to purchase the product.

Benefits for SEO promotion

UGC definitely has a good effect on SEO: content may contain keywords related to the company and product; your site may be linked to, and these are natural links that are important for ranking; such content is more attractive to users, which means they will spend more time on your site. Thanks to the above, traffic increases and your site ranks higher in search results. This increases your audience, which in turn increases sales and your profits.

Valuable Feedback

User-generated content is a great opportunity to get frank and fair feedback from customers. This will help you identify the shortcomings of the product and eliminate them to become better.

Variety of content

User-generated content helps to attract more users because it is credible, unique, fresh, interesting, useful and constantly updated. And this always causes positive emotions.

To summarize

In the article, we looked at what User-generated content is, what types of it exist, and how it benefits your business. Such content builds the reputation and image of your brand, helps you gain the trust of your audience and fully understand their needs and interests. And its use cannot fail to attract attention with its sincerity. If you introduce it into your business, then new horizons will definitely open up for you.

Olha Tyshchenko

Editor

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