The days of businesses developing one-dimensional marketing strategies are long gone. Consumers hold the key to success in the modern era, and brands are becoming more consumer-focused. In response, companies are taking advantage of opportunities to engage and interact with users to support their marketing initiatives. One of these techniques is encouraging user-generated content.
What is User-Generated Content?
User-generated content (UGC) is original content produced by a brand’s audience. It can take any form, including
- Social media posts (e.g., tweets or IG stories about the product)
- Video content
- Reviews and testimonials
- Blog posts
- Q&A forums and comments
- Case studies
- Live streams
UGC can come from customers, brand advocates, and employees.
Customers: Companies generate UGC from consumers by asking for it or because they naturally choose to share information about the product or service.
Brand Advocates: These are supporters, loyalists, or defenders of what the brand stands for. This audience group is excellent for approaching and requesting UGC content since they are passionate about the brand.
Employees: EGC or employee-generated content can be images of staff members packing or assembling goods or a video of the team discussing why they enjoy working for your business. This behind-the-scenes content promotes authenticity across online media while establishing brand identification.
In many cases, user-generated content is far more effective than traditional content. UGC serves as real-world social proof that your product is a worthwhile purchase.
Strategies to Increase User-Generated Content
Adopt a Hashtag Strategy
User-generated material is not just about you; It’s also about your clients. It has to do with how they interact with your brand and use your products. Therefore, even if your customers might be tempted to hashtag an image with #YourBrandName, it might be in your best interest to develop a unique hashtag that puts the emphasis back on the consumers.
Promote CTAs in Key Locations
Place compelling calls-to-action (CTA) in the areas of your website where visitors are most likely to interact with your content. You can use them to users to include your hashtags when sharing branded photographs.
You can place CTAs in your Instagram bio, location tag, or description of your posts. You can also attract UGC by adding CTAs in your other social media posts, blog posts, and catalogs, among other places.
Collaborate with Influencers
Digital influencers are regarded as leaders in their social circles. They frequently boast sizable, engaged followings and captivating photo feeds. When consumers view their posts, users are more likely to contribute their own images to the discussion.
Incentivize UGC
Consumers adore incentives, from coupons to buy one, get one promotions. User-generated content is a fantastic method to encourage your audience to engage with your business. To boost involvement, make little concessions like discounts and freebies. You can also take the opportunity to do something unusual and unexpected that ties to your business.
Establish UGC Guidelines
Establishing explicit guidelines and exercising control over the UGC posted on your site ensures that only positive interactions are shown on your platforms. Before publishing, review all UGC. Although it could slow the natural content flow and reduce interaction, it will ensure that nothing damaging is published on your site.
A UGC moderator can be useful if you want to rely extensively on user-generated content. They would keep an eye on any newly published content and ensure that all policies are followed. Alternatively, companies can also outsource social media management.
Benefits of User-Generated Content
Both businesses and customers gain from the utilization of UGC. The company benefits from a volume of original content and new ideas. Meanwhile, users’ contributions to UGC allow them to work with their favored brands, express their creativity, earn rewards and discounts, and influence the business in little but meaningful ways.
Here are other benefits of utilizing user-generated content for digital marketing campaigns.
- Establish Trust
People are strongly influenced by social proof. This means that people are more likely to believe people than corporate entities. If consumers see that the people they know and trust are using and promoting the brand, they will view this as a stamp of approval.
- Increase Social Media Mentions
The more social media buzz there is about your website, the better. And entities can increase their social media shares by getting user-generated material. With UGC, your site is exposed to a new audience you previously could not reach. This is because you’re tapping into the viewers of the users generating unique materials for you.
- Boost SEO
Allowing user-generated material will increase the quantity of newly produced text. This results in more keywords being indexed by search engines. As a result, it raises the possibility that some of them may satisfy Google’s algorithm and be given a high SERP rating.
Moreover, user-generated content such as posts, comments, photographs, and videos ensures that visitors stay on the site longer. This increases the website’s engagement rate and dwell time, which influences SEO ranking.
- Creates Brand Community
Individuals thrive when they are a part of something bigger than themselves. Developing UGC enables users to create a brand community and participate in it. UGC also facilitates dialogue between a brand and its audience. By fostering and strengthening ties between the audience and the brand, sharing audience material also helps to increase brand loyalty.
Conclusion
User-generated content is a cost-effective, creative, and rewarding method to improve a brand’s digital presence. It can boost viewership and interaction on several channels, including your social media pages, homepage, product pages, and microsites.
Users spend an increasing amount of time online, which means that businesses have much potential for participation and UGC creation. Fans will undoubtedly help promote your items for you if you can generate buzz around your brand by collaborating with influencers and incentivizing UGC. And with the right support from a social media marketing company Philippines, brands can amplify the benefits of their UGC strategies.
References:
https://www.nosto.com/blog/user-generated-content-seo/#
https://instapage.com/blog/what-is-user-generated-content
https://sendpulse.com/support/glossary/user-generated-content
https://www.studioid.com/springboard/how-to/10-ideas-for-getting-more-user-generated-content/
Jomer B. Gregorio is a well-rounded expert when it comes digital marketing. Jomer is also known as a semantic SEO evangelist and practitioner. Check out our Digital Marketing Services today and let us help you in achieving positive and profitable results for your business.