When it comes to planning and executing your online marketing campaigns, incorporating UGC content into your strategy can be significantly beneficial.
So, what exactly is UGC content, what are the benefits of using UGC user generated content, and how can it be used to deliver impressive results for your brand? Let’s find out.
What is the UGC definition user generated content?
UGC content refers to any form of content, such as text, images, video, created by people other than a brand themselves. This content can then be published by either the creator or the brand, and shared on websites, social media platforms etc.
A good example of user generated content is a YouTube user sharing a product review video on their channel.
For most brands, social media outlets are the prime platforms for user generated content as people are able to freely share your brand’s product or services with their followers.
So, why is user generated content UGC important, and what benefits can it offer your business? Let’s dig deeper.
What are the benefits of using UGC user generated content?
User generated content is arguably a marketing strategy you should implement. Here’s why:
- It provides authenticity. 90% of consumers feel that authenticity is important when determining which brands to support. Social media users see ads in their feed on a daily basis. Consumers are more likely to recognize ads featuring their favorite influencers, and it integrates more seamlessly into a consumers life.
- It offers a low production cost. UGC is produced by consumers for consumers, costing around ten times less than standard video production. For brands with lower marketing budgets, user generated content delivers quality content within your means.
- It offers creativity. By using influencers you’re allowing creative people to be hands on with your brand. Many creators are great at thinking outside the box, providing an innovative approach of showcasing your products or services. You can even provide a brief to several different creators, so you have a mixed selection of creatives to choose from.
- It enhances trust. 81% of consumers trust the advice of friends or family over a business. For brands, using familiar faces like creators is an effective way to increase the trust factor with their audience as they act as testimonials for your products or services.
- It increases engagement. A mix of user generated content and brand content improves engagement rates by 28%. That statistic isn’t so surprising when you consider that 56% of consumers prefer to view UGC images and video.
- It powers conversions. Did you know that user generated images are 5 times more likely to lead to conversions than brand images? And, if you feature UGC on your website, you can expect a boost of 29% in conversions.
While these impressive statistics may encourage you to start incorporating user generated content in your marketing campaigns, you’re probably wondering how exactly you can use UGC, and how to work with creators on a brand campaign.
Luckily, it’s fairly straightforward. Let’s take a look.
How to use online user generated content UGC for your brand
Before you implement any marketing campaign, it's essential to create a plan of action. If you’re looking to use UGC, here’s how to do so:
Determine your overall goal
Do you want to create more brand awareness, increase conversions, or drive a desire for your brand? Once you’ve established an end goal, it’s much easier to understand how to use online user generated content UGC for your company.
For example, if you want to increase trust and conversions, user generated content in the form of a product review or testing video can be effective. Additionally, this type of UGC can work well in answering customers pre-sale questions.
Beauty brand, ELF cosmetics, showcase user generated content on their Instagram account. This type of content helps consumers to learn how to use their products, as well as discovering what they look like on varying skin tones:
Know how to compile UGC
Contemplate how you’re going to collate user generated content. Do you have a specific hashtag you can use to collect UGC on social media? Maybe you prefer to use a webpage to collect user submissions. Build a content library so you can easily use UGC for your brand.
Promote new products or services
UGC is ideal for promoting your new products or services. Creators can show their audience how to use a product, give a product review, or do an unboxing video. This helps to promote brand desire. After all, if someone’s favorite influencer uses your product, then it inspires others to want to use it too!
Showcase brand loyalty
Once you’ve got people to experience your products or services, it’s time to turn them into loyal customers. Brand loyalty focuses on building a long-term relationship with your customers. Obviously, there are many ways in which to establish brand loyalty, but UGC is an effective marketing strategy for showcasing your raving fans to new customers.
Let’s face it. If a user is willing to create brand related content, they’re likely to have a meaningful relationship with your business. And, by showcasing your customers, you’re showing your audience that they mean something to you too! Take a look at this Instagram example by Colorpop:
Ask permission
If you’re not running a paid marketing campaign, always ask permission from a user first before you use any content. Even if a post contains your branded hashtag, it’s still a good idea to gain permission before using content on your own website or social media platforms. Here’s how Zalando ask for permission to share user posts:
Give something in return
If you’re a small or new brand that needs to build up a content library of UGC, working with creators through a platform like Insense can help your business to create content marketing campaigns in return for money or a product.
Insense is the ultimate platform for user generated content because we have over 8000 personally vetted creators who are ready to create content for any marketing campaign you desire. You can search for your ideal creators via the search bar. For example, you can search for creators by country, gender, age, or price:
Insense acts as an open marketplace so you can also directly chat with creators, which is ideal if you wish to negotiate a fee for a marketing campaign.
Create a specific brief
When it comes to working with creators, it’s best to have a specific brief. This lets the creator know the exact details of the marketing campaign, including what type of content to create, what the exact deliverables are, and the deadline for submission.
At Insense, we manually review every brief that’s submitted. This ensures that both parties are aware of the exact details of the campaign. Your brief should include a campaign name, objective, start and end dates, and a description of the product/service being promoted by the creator:
Once your brief has been reviewed and accepted by us, you can select your chosen creators.
Where you can place UGC content
When you’ve built up a content library of user generated content, you may be wondering where to place it.
Here are a few places where you can post UGC images and video:
- Your own website – show off your raving fans on your front page, or create a specific page solely dedicated to your loyal customers. Make use of good customizable website templates for better user experience.
- Landing page/sales page – using UGC on a sales page can encourage people to buy
- All types of emails - especially promotional emails which encourage readers to purchase from you
- Social media ads – UGC is ideal for using in Instagram, Facebook or YouTube ads
- Print adverts – for example, in magazines, newspapers, or billboards
- Your social media platforms – use UGC images and videos for your social content, whether that’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or YouTube
- In physical stores – if you have a physical store, why not showcase your dedicated following
- On your product packaging/digital goods – UGC can be used on your packaging or in your digital products like an e-book or course
- Webinar – you can place UGC in slides, such as for making a pitch to investors
Start using UGC content today
It’s never too late to start using UGC for your brand. Use our top tips for implementing UGC user generated content and start making a bigger impact for your brand, whether that’s increased brand awareness, more engagement, or a boost in sales.
Want to start working with creators? Try Insense today and connect with over 35 000 vetted creators.
