What is user-generated content on Instagram?

It would be complete truth to say that user-generated content is the heart of visual social media platforms like Instagram. Turning the customers into the main characters of your brand’s story and treating them appropriately is the way to win the true love of followers and get a loyal fan base willing to buy.

User-generated content – what is it?

User-generated content or UGC is the practice when users and customers contribute to the brand’s content creation. People love sharing their lifestyle through the products and services they use.

And while content creation is an everyday burden for marketers, it could be all fun for customers who post lots of content. With UGC, you can let your customers speak for your brand and show real, creative, engaging pictures of your product or service.

Reposting and sharing user-generated content is mutually beneficial for both brand and customer. As users are featured on the brand’s page, they gain more followers and get their moment of glory.

If used right, user-generated content is one of the most powerful tools in fashion marketing.

User-generated content on Instagram: why is it crucial for your brand

Let the impressive statistics on Instagram say for itself.

Instagram has over a billion monthly active users as of June 2018 (and we guess this number just got higher) and over 500 million active daily users. Nearly half a billion users use Instagram Stories every day. Instagram users find brands on the platform to be more popular, creative, and entertaining than those who are not.

What’s more, 89% of marketers claim that Instagram is the most important social media platform for influencer marketing. And 69% of US marketers plan to spend most of their influencer budget on Instagram.

According to the 2017 Internet Trends report, UGC has up to 6,9 times higher engagement on Instagram compared to the regular piece of content.

User-generated content: fashion marketing

Fashion is the most followed topic on Instagram, as fashion brands have an average of 35m followers worldwide.  It is also the industry most worked with and mentioned by Instagram influencers: here we have more than 1,5m mentions and nearly 310k influencers as of the year 2019.

It is the industry where customers care about brands and labels, wishing to be part of the fashion world. Your customer posts the photo of his or her boots and tags your brand or makes the review on his or her new backpack in Insta Stories, – that’s just a few examples of user-generated content in fashion.

Using UGC in fashion marketing:

• Builds up a sense of authenticity and trust among customers

You’re showcasing real experiences and emotions of real people who have already chosen your product.

• Increases brand desirability

We want something we see on others, we want to know the reason for all that hype (Yeezy sneakers, anyone?)

• Showcases your brand advocacy

Customers who already trust your brand and voluntarily share positive content about your brand are attracting new buyers.

• Gives access to tons of original content with your brand for free

Isn’t it the greatest thing about user-generated content? You don’t need to spend a massive amount of money and time on professional photoshoots since you have loyal customers who are ready and – what’s more – happy to share visuals you can leverage for your campaigns.

• Boost up conversions and sales

User-generated content on Instagram has a 4,5% higher conversion rate, which means people trust brands on the platform and are ready to discover and buy items here. More UGC leads to more engagement, and that leads to more sales!

With Instagram, you can establish a strong contact with followers, inspire them to take action, find new clients, and strengthen your connection with existing ones. It helps to make the customer journey exciting and accompany them throughout this journey.

User-generated content on Instagram: how to use it

• Reshare and repost

• Ask a question

• Create a hashtag and start a hashtag trend

• Start a contest

• Create a giveaway

• Share reviews, unboxings, and testimonials

• And, of course, partner with an influencer (with the help of Insense). Collaborating with content creators and influencers gives you confidence that you’ll get user-generated content that suits your brand. What’s more, it helps you to build up a more robust community around your brand.

What is essential to keep in mind is that you always have to ask permission, give credits, and give thanks to your followers. People took the time to share their emotions on your product, so it’s nice to respect it. And giving thanks will make them feel special: it’s incredibly cool when a brand – no matter big or small one – interacts with a human touch.

Using Insense for user-generated content fashion marketing

One of the examples of UGC in fashion is Teddy Blake brand partnership with Insense. Insense helped the brand find and work with creators and influencers who were already fans of the brand and connected Teddy Blake with a variety of new influencers. Using organic content and targeted ads brought amazing results:

Using the influencer content running on the brand handle — and especially using this in retargeting — the brand also saw a strong 2.15X ROAS.

Using the influencer’s post as an ad running on the influencer’s handle, the brand saw an incredible 12X ROAS.

Learn more about this case and join Insense to start an effective collaboration with influencers. Let’s boost up your brand’s Instagram together!

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