Why User Generated Content Must Drive Your Marketing
Let’s start with the basic question: what exactly is user generated content? It is nothing but any type of content, be it photos, endorsements, videos, reviews, complements posted by those who matter to your business: your super happy customers. User generated content (UGC) allows you to build a social proof and create awareness about your brand. What is better than your own customer reviewing and endorsing your brand publicly? UGC is essentially the word-of-mouth of digital age.
“The next wave of the Web is going to be user-generated content.” — John Doerr, Venture Capitalist.
Here’s why you should be using UGC in your marketing efforts:
UGC CREATES AN UNMATCHED LEVEL OF TRUST:
The truth is your customers trust visual content that comes from real people. A recent Forrester Research study on the topic revealed that 70 percent of consumers are strongly affected by real-life user endorsements when making a decision to purchase a product or service. The same study revealed that only 14 percent of US consumers trust an ad created by a brand compared to 48 percent of users who trust the words, pictures and videos created by other consumers. User generated content is the next wave of authentic marketing.
UGC HELPS YOU BUILD LASTING RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS:
When you appreciate a user for her creation, you open up a new channel of communication. UGC enables you to create the sense of loyalty and engagement around your brand. When you feature a customer photo on your website, it also allows you to create a sense of attachment with your customer. It in turn helps you build a strong social community of fans and influencers around your brand.
UGC essentially removes the line between the brand and the customers, and brings everyone together in one big happy family.
UGC STIMULATES IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOUR:
More than anything, the clever use of user generated content can significantly help you increase your sales. A photo gallery on your website showing the photos of your customers using your product, can stimulate your casual visitors to try the product.
User generated content can inspire your customers to not only make the purchase but also become active brand advocates.
In doing so, brands naturally take up the role of navigator, cleverly guiding the user journey.
Integrating UGC into your social media maximizes brand loyalty. For example, eyewear company Warby Parker proactively listens to its customers on all social channels and runs multiple UGC campaigns in a year. It even encourages users to model their new specs and post to their social channels, creating fun and entertaining content.
HOW YOU CAN WIN WITH UGC:
Incent Social’s Instagram marketing suite helps you create compelling brand stories and build a strong community around your brand. With our app, you can now
- Incentivize and reward your customers to share their photos, selfies, endorsements on Instagram.
- Identify and collect user-generated photos on Instagram that relate to your brand and get the content rights.
- Create stunning shoppable galleries connecting customer photos with actual products to inspire impulse buying behaviour.
This post was first published here.