Customers in every industry always trust user-generated content over traditional advertising. That’s why it’s a good idea for business owners to learn how to use user-generated content in content marketing. User-generated content (UGC) is unbiased and powerful social proof created by actual customers of your brand. UGC is a great way to influence a buyer’s journey because people perceive them as authentic and honest.

What’s the importance of UGC, where can you get them, and how can you use them to boost your brand? In this article, we’ll be discussing everything about user-generated content for marketing. 

What is User Generated Content? 

User-generated content or UGC is any form of content created by customers rather than brands. This content could be in any form, including text, images, videos, reviews, etc. Usually, customers create UGC voluntarily and post it on their social media platforms or other channels. In most cases, user-generated content is not paid for or sponsored by the brand. 

Examples of user-generated content could be someone showing off their pretty jewelry or posting pictures of food from a restaurant. So basically, UGC is any content that users or customers create rather than the brand promoting itself. Your customers and fans do the work of creating content for you, and yours is to reshare on your platforms.

UGC often comes from the following: 

• Customers

From unboxing videos to reviews and testimonials, customers are one of the most important people you can get your UGC. Your customers can decide to share content related to your brand organically, or you can encourage them to do so. 

• Employees: 

User-generated content isn’t just to get people to buy your products but also to connect with your brand. Employee-generated content may include a video showcasing the work culture at your company or a picture of an employee attending to customers. This user generated content example is important because it showcases your brand values and builds your brand identity. 

• Influencers:

A great way to get user-generated content is by teaming up with influencers in your niche. Usually, your brand influencers will create specific UGC to reach new audiences. Also, you can work with them to create content featuring them as brand advocates. 

Why is User Generated Content Important? 

UGC influences people’s purchasing decisions by showcasing your brand or product in a positive light. Therefore, knowing how to use UGC can help you with higher followers and increased engagements. Here are some reasons you should have a user-generated content strategy : 

1. People Trust Word-of-Mouth Marketing

User-generated content is a form of word-of-mouth marketing because it comes from actual customers with experience using your product/services. A brand may talk about how good its product is, but you may not trust them. However, if a customer unrelated to the brand gushes about the product, you are likely to trust their judgment. Now, as a brand, your job is to help your audience see the unbiased content and review from your customers. 

2. Helps Establish Trust Brand Loyalty 

One of the benefits of user-generated content is that it helps build trust between your brand and customers. UGC is an authentic form of content showing people your product will deliver. By posting content created by customers, you highlight social proof that shows customers that your product is credible. 

3. Opens Up Conversation Between You and Customers

UGC increases brand engagement and lets you interact more with your audience. Most times, sharing UGC opens up a level of interaction between you and your customers. For some consumers, getting a feature from a brand they like can be a delightful experience. When you feature a customer’s content, you also grow their visibility. Sometimes, customers even create UGC with the hopes of getting a feature on a brand’s platform. Also, customers are likely to buy from brands that reshare their posts. 

4. Time-Saving and Cost-Effective 

Another reason why user-generated content is so important is that it saves you a lot of time and money.  

How?

Creating content from scratch often requires a lot of time and resources. You need to shoot the video, edit it, upload it, find the proper caption, and so on. Also, you may need to pay graphic designers or other talents to help create the content. 

However, that’s not the case with UGC because the customers create the content for you. Your job is to find this content and use them on your platforms. Glossier, a skincare brand, has its Instagram full of UGC, so they barely need to create content from scratch. 

5. Increase Leads and Conversions

The main aim of every marketing strategy is to increase sales, and user-generated content helps achieve that. As mentioned earlier, UGC is a social proof that tells customers that your products are worth buying. Therefore, user-generated content will influence your audience to buy from you.  

Types of User-Generated Content

Now that you know what user-generated content is, let’s get into some UGC content types for your brand. There are different forms of user generated content, and some of the most common are: 

• Videos and Images 

Videos and images are the most popular types of user generated content. Customers often post pictures of products or brands they love online. You can reshare these pictures or content on your platforms. 

• Unboxing Content

Another popular user-generated content example is unboxing content. This type of UGC showcases a customer unboxing their purchased package to unveil the products they got. 

• Social Media Takeover

Takeover started as an Instagram trend involving having someone take over your social media channels for a time. You could have an influencer or a brand loyalist showcase a day in their life on your platforms. 

• Reviews and Testimonials

One of the benefits of user-generated content like reviews is that they influence shopping decisions. Take a screenshot of customer reviews and post it on your platform. You can also make a mashup of different reviews to make a video.  

Rave Reviews O’clock💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽 #zaronbrownskin #reviews #brownskingirl pic.twitter.com/kW8H5dnMHm

— ZARON COSMETICS (@ZaronCosmetics) May 23, 2021

• Blog Posts

Some reviewers and customers sometimes write blog posts to detail their experience with a brand or product. You can reshare articles like this on your platform. 

How to Use User-Generated Content in Content Marketing

Just like other aspects of your content marketing, you need a plan to use UGC properly. Here are some tips to keep in mind when for your user generated content: 

1. Decide on Your UGC Goals

Before you start collecting UGC or getting someone to create one, it’s best to set your goals. This will help you know the kind of content to gather and how to use it. Some of the most popular UGC goals include: 

• Increase conversions: Many people research brands before deciding to make a purchase. A great way to encourage them to buy from you is through user generated content. If your goal is to increase conversions, it’s best to gather UGC like reviews, unboxing videos, takeovers, and testimonials. 
• Increase brand awareness and engagement: Want more likes? Comments and followers? Consider sharing pictures and videos created by your customers. 
• Influence buying decisions: You can use influencers’ buying decisions through UGC like reviews and unboxing videos. 

2. Always be on the Lookout for UGC

If your business has been here a while, there is a chance that your customers are already posting user-generated content. It would help if you were on the lookout for such posts to create your user-generated content campaigns. Identify the platforms your customers use the most and start looking for content related to your brand. 

3. Create a System To Collect UGC

T-mobile, a network provider, once asked customers to submit a breakup letter explaining why they left their current provider. The brand collected up to 100,000, and they used a system on their website to receive them. You need a way to store or collect content created by your customers. Meanwhile, your UGC collection method doesn’t have to be an app; you could just create a folder to save them. 

4. Ask Customers for UGC

You may not find UGC from your audience, and that’s okay. What you can do is to ask or encourage your customers to create content. For example, you could ask customers to share pictures when they use your product or ask for reviews you can reshare. Another way to get user generated content is by creating campaigns centered around your brand. 

5. Use Different Types of UGC

One of the great things about user generated content is that you get to have different creative user generated content from customers. You don’t have to stick to one type of content when you can share all of them. However, you should always identify the best type of content for your different platforms. For example, takeovers often work best for Instagram, and reviews are great for your website. 

6. Promote Your UGC

Now that you have materials for your user generated content campaigns, start promoting them on your various platforms. Use your UGC everywhere: on your blog, newsletters, social media platforms, packaging materials, and more. 

7. Request Permission

It’s not a good idea to lift content off customers’ pages without requesting their permission. Just because customers shared a post featuring your product or brand doesn’t mean you can reshare them. Sometimes people can share your products without knowing it’s your brand, and sharing without permission may be annoying. So when you see the content you like, reach out to the creator and ask for consent before resharing.

8. Credit Original Creator

After posting user-generated content, it’s essential to appreciate the original creator by giving credit. This may include writing their name or tagging their handle to acknowledge them. Also, tagging the original creator shows that the content is by a customer and not the brand. 

9. Track the Success of Your UGC Campaigns

How do you know if your user-generated content campaigns are successful if you don’t track the performance? By tracking the performance of your campaigns, you can get to know which content works best. Some performance metrics you can track include: 

• Number of reach 
• Organic traffic 
• Conversion rate
• Number of followers or subscribers 
• Click-through rates 

How To Get User-Generated Content

First, to get user generated content, you must turn your customers into brand advocates. When customers are brand advocates, they share content willingly based on their positive experience with your company. However, sometimes, you may need to push a little to make customers your brand advocates. Here are some tips to help you out: 

1. Social Listening 

Social listening involves tracking what customers are saying about your brand. When done right, you get to find content and conversations happening around your brand online. Since most customers share user generated content on social media, it’s best to start monitoring your customers through social listening. 

2. Hold a Hashtag Contest

Another way to obtain user generated content is by holding a contest or giveaway. Contest is already a great marketing strategy to boost brand awareness. Add user generated content to the mix, and you have better results.  You can host a contest that requires participants to share user-generated content alongside your branded hashtag. For example, you could offer a 20% discount for people who share unboxing videos on their social media pages.

3. Ask Your Customers 

Sometimes, simply asking customers for UGC can get you rolling in a lot of content in no time. You can ask customers for reviews after getting your product. You can include a message in their packages, reach out to them via mail or just ask them. Also, you can ask customers what type of content you want by adding a CTA like ‘tag us in your unboxing video’ on your social media platforms. 

One of the best examples of user generated content was Coca Cola Share a Coke Campaign. Coca-Cola made bottles personalised with people’s names from different parts of the world. Next, the brand encouraged people to share pictures of themselves with their personalised bottles. Meanwhile, sometimes you may need to incentivise customers to get the user-generated content you need. 

4. Create a Shareable Experience

Customers are more likely to share UGC when you create a shareable experience. For example, customers will likely share products with great packaging or personal touches like a thank you note. If your packaging box or products are aesthetically pleasing, users will want to document the experience. There are creative people out there who create content for your brand if you give them a reason.

Final Thoughts;

Now is a great time to learn how to use user generated content in content marketing. The value of UGC, such as increased brand awareness, makes it an excellent choice for marketers to boost brand growth. With the above tips, you can easily get user generated content from customers and use them correctly.