Elevate Your Next Marketing Campaign with User-Generated Content
It’s no secret that technology is rapidly evolving, sometimes faster than we can keep up. To stay ahead and remain relevant, organizations need to elevate their content marketing strategy to adapt to these changing trends. In turn, this will increase customer engagement, boost brand loyalty, and enable you to build a lasting legacy.
But what if new social technology allowed your brand to market your services more effectively than your best marketers ever could? Moreover, what if it only costs a small fraction–or even ZERO percent–of your current marketing budget?
Thankfully, this isn’t a “what if” situation. User-generated content (UGC) is a real advancement in content creation, and it doesn’t require adding super complex personalization tools to your eCommerce platforms. In fact, this highly effective marketing strategy doesn’t even need your marketing team to make anything other than a great product.
Read on to learn more about this mitochondria of marketing and how conversion rates can skyrocket when your customers do the selling for you.
What is User-Generated Content (UGC)?
User-generated content is any content about a product or service created by a consumer of that product or service—not by the brand itself. This content can include images, reviews, videos, social media posts, and more. You may also hear this referred to as “consumer-generated content” because, in some ways, it’s like “free advertising.”
Thanks to TikTok and Instagram, it’s easier, now more than ever, for consumers to share their thoughts on a product with their community. When you offer a great product, service, or solution that works well, user-generated content is a great modern marketing strategy. Instead of painstakingly brainstorming and developing ad campaigns, user-generated content spreads the word about your product via social media or online product review pages faster than you can imagine. Plus, this style of advertising comes from the perspective of a fellow consumer, which is often perceived as more authentic to potential consumers.
Today, brands continue to recognize the undeniable power of social proof and user-generated content. Whether the brand is small and in the beginning stages of scaling a business or a well-known leader in its industry, marketing teams are now building campaigns around this channel. With the use of hashtag strategies and influencer marketing, this approach is making it as easy as possible for people to interact and share their thoughts on their products and services.
Why Does User-Generated Content Work?
According to a recent Statista report on consumer purchasing decisions, U.S. Millennials and Gen Z are commonly influenced by factors like positive product reviews and the opinions of their friends and family.
These factors are actually why user-generated content works so well.
Gen Z and Millennial Consumers Have High Expectations, and They Aren’t Just Taking a Brand’s Word on Quality
When trusted friends, family, or influencers talk about your product, customers are more likely to value their feedback—and that goes a long way when it comes to conversion. In fact, recent research conducted by Brand Rated (shared by Globe Newswire) reports a staggering 95% of consumers check product reviews before they consider buying a product.
But reviews don’t just influence whether someone decides to buy something.
The same study showed that 58% of the surveyed consumers said they’d be willing to pay more for products with good reviews.
User-generated content takes customer reviews to an unprecedented level, spreading awareness at much faster rates and reaching significantly wider audiences. To put it simply, your product offer is no longer confined to your website or branded social media pages. Instead, a happy customer can share their passion for your product on their TikTok, in a blog post, or in their YouTube video, benefiting brands far beyond just increased word of mouth.
User-Generated Content Takes the Power of Social Proof to a New Level
User-generated content functions as a form of “social proof” as it gives consumers insight into your product or service without your brand agenda skewing perceptions of product quality. Even if you’re 100% accurate and honest about how well your product works, people are less likely to believe you because you have a vested interest in the success of your product.
User-generated content (like product reviews and testimonials) works so well because it’s created by real people who have personally experienced your product and can give an informed and unbiased opinion on its quality.
That’s why product review pages are one of the first and most important places consumers visit when shopping online.
Sponsored reviews can also be an effective tool to add to your marketing campaign. But, trustworthiness also needs to be prioritized. To do this, you can make it explicitly clear that the content creator is sponsored and has no obligation to say anything other than their honest opinion.
According to HubSpot’s 2024 Marketing Trends Report, “17% of social media users report buying a product on social media, 87% of social sellers say it’s effective, and 59% say they made more sales on social in 2023 than in 2022.”
A format where most of us have experienced this style of sponsored content is YouTube. Even creators with smaller followings can get sponsorships, and trustworthy influencers make it very clear they only accepted the sponsorship deal because they either already love the product or service, or they are encouraged to give their honest opinions without reservation.
Recognizing Different Types of User-Generated Content
User-generated content comes in multiple formats, giving you a lot of options based on your marketing budget and ways to repurpose the content once it goes live. The following shares some of the most popular examples of user-generated content.
Customer Reviews and Testimonials
When we think of customer feedback, we think of reviews left by people who have bought a product or service. And as highlighted before, modern consumers rely heavily on product reviews when making buying decisions.
One brand that understands how to effectively harness customer reviews is Amazon. From the user-friendliness of their feedback process (including the ability to include videos in customer reviews), and their strategy to get customer reviews, even a short time exploring practically any product page on Amazon is rich with inspiration.
Sponsored Influencer Collaborations
The format you use and the influencer you choose to work with will depend on where and how your ideal customer spends their time online. Video is always an effective marketing format. According to eMarketer, it is estimated that nearly 60% of the time spent using social media will be watching video content. That’s why platforms like TikTok, Instagram (Reels), and YouTube are great opportunities to let users see your product in action, and better understand how it works.
If you want to take user-generated content marketing to the next level, collaborating with influencers in your industry is a great way to build awareness with the exact people you want to convert. There are multiple collaboration opportunities, but some of the most popular include:
Sending products for an influencer to review on their platform. You see this option a lot with creators in creative niches such as sending a set of markers to an artist influencer to try out or sending an ingredient or piece of cookware to a food influencer.
Short or long-term sponsorship deals. This pertains to paid sponsorships where influencers and content creators shout out your brand or a product within a piece of content that isn’t focused solely on your product.
Unsponsored Social Media Posts
This type of user-generated content can be any form of online content created by an individual who isn’t affiliated with your brand. In other words, these are people who have used your product and independently decided to share their thoughts on it.
People tend to do this when they create “Favorite Things'' posts either as videos, TikToks, Reels, or even blogs. A great way to capitalize on this type of content is by creating hashtags or encouraging people to tag you when they post. If you engage with posts featuring your product or brand, users may also be more inclined to use your hashtags and tag you–all of which makes it easier for you to track and capitalize on social proof as it is published.
The Do’s and Don’ts of User-Generated Content Marketing
Now that we know what user-generated content is, and why your brand should make it a priority in 2024, we’ll share some helpful tips on how to maximize its impact. Use these strategies as a jumping off point, but understand that if you are going to start committing to this type of marketing, you need the market research to back it up. With that in mind, here’s your first tip.
Tip #1: Do Your Research
Hopefully, you already have clear and detailed documentation about your target consumer, including which social platforms they use the most. This information enables you to:
Compile a list of relevant influencers for potential collaborations
Develop an effective hashtag campaign
Know which of your own brand social media accounts to use to build awareness campaigns on (and invite followers to tag you in posts featuring your product)
Analyze how competitor brands effectively use user-generated content for inspiration and how it can set your brand apart from the competition
Tip #2: Encourage Customers To Leave Reviews and Testimonials (and Make it EASY)
After someone completes a purchase, invite buyers to leave reviews of their purchase and customer service experience.
Most importantly: make it very easy to do. The less friction in any user experience, the better the results will be. Provide product review forms on the product page, or send an automated survey via email that goes out a week or two after the product is purchased.
Again, Amazon is one of the first brands that comes to mind regarding customer reviews because they make the process so easy. “Alexa” owners have likely heard her ask for feedback on recent purchases, and Alexa also lets customers provide verbal star ratings right then and there–the customer doesn’t even have to type!
They also add prompts beside items in your Amazon “orders” list, so there’s multiple strategies to remind users to leave reviews.
Tip #3: Don’t Use Paid or Fake Reviews
Paid and fake reviews are less effective, and can actually hurt your credibility. It’s usually pretty easy to tell when a review isn’t genuine, or based on an agenda beyond sharing feedback.
If people find out that your brand allows fake reviews, you’ll seem less trustworthy. If consumers don’t feel 100% confident they can trust you, they will never buy from you. A 2022 Power Review Survey showed that fake reviews worry 81% of US shoppers. The last thing you want is to have a customer feel concerned about your product or the way you do business.
Tip #4: Never Ignore, Delete, or Report Negative Reviews or User-Generated Content
Seeing a bad review can trigger really unpleasant feelings. It’s tempting to delete it or ignore it because you don’t want to draw attention to a dissatisfied customer–especially if it’s an outlier among many happy customers. However, a negative review is actually an incredible opportunity.
Here’s why you don’t want to delete them:
If people see a bad review… and then they don’t all of a sudden, it looks like you’re trying to hide something, or you’re not open to feedback. And if the person who originally posted the review realizes their comment was hidden or deleted… they may go much farther to express not only their dissatisfaction with the product they received–but with your brand as a whole.
You don’t want to ignore a bad review because failing to respond can make that already frustrated customer even more angry with your brand, especially if you actively engage with positive feedback.
Here’s what you can do instead:
Remember that a bad review is actually someone asking for help. The person leaving that review usually made a purchase because they wanted your product. They had high hopes and expectations, so if something goes wrong, and they bring it to your attention, they’re doing you a massive favor by taking time to make you aware of a problem (be it item quality, delivery, damage, etc), and giving you an opportunity to fix it.
Respond quickly. Apologize for the problem and reach out to that customer privately with questions about their issue. If possible, resolve the problem, but never delay too long in replying. Time is of the essence, and if an unhappy customer receives a courteous and timely resolution, it can compel them to give you another chance.
Always thank them. Even if there’s nothing you can do to resolve the issue, always thank that customer for taking the time to share their feedback. Showing grace is compelling, and when others see you show respect to a customer, even when they aren’t saying something positive, it builds trust.
Tip #5: Engage and build relationships
If someone tags your brand in a post, leaves a review (good or bad), or you happen across a piece of content talking about your brand or product—comment, like, and share it.
Expert marketers understand that a key component of effective social media marketing is starting conversations. Your social accounts are the best way to humanize your brand and connect with the people creating content. Some conversation starter ideas include:
Thanking users for their feedback
Answering any questions asked by the content creator–or someone who leaves a comment
Offer solutions, or try to heal any rifts if your product doesn’t satisfy them
You may not have the resources for everyone if you have a massive social media presence but try as much as you can. A social media manager is an excellent addition to your team if you want to really accelerate your user-generated marketing.
Making connections and building relationships goes a long way. If you treat people with respect and gratitude, people will hold your brand in higher regard than they might a competitor who doesn’t do the same.
The Most Important Thing To Do with User-Generated Content
The most beautiful aspect of user-generated content is its adaptability. Not only can you repost or share this content on your brand social media pages, but it can be repurposed into a multitude of high-value marketing assets:
Create case studies
Include them in supporting sections of your sales pages
Make them the topic of, or mention them, in your email marketing
Include them in marketing materials like eBooks
Turn video reviews into blog posts
And so much more…
Just remember that you should always get permission from the original creator/reviewer/commenter before republishing their content or reviews. Even though it is your product they’re talking about it, it’s a smart (and respectful) idea to reach out and make sure they don’t mind if you use their work.
Most of the time they’re more than happy to share. You can even offer them a thank you gift–which they may end up making additional content about to celebrate their great experience, not just with your product, but your brand as a whole.
While some content creators may not mind you using their content, others may want some anonymity. Exposure to your brand’s online following, which may be much larger than their own, could be uncomfortable or intimidating.
Ready to harness the power of user-generated content for your brand? Schedule your free 20-minute consultation today.