User generated content (UGC) is a powerful tool marketers can use to engage with consumers and build trust in their brand. It's fast, easy and relatively inexpensive for companies to create UGC, but there's still a lot of confusion surrounding what it is and how to use it effectively. In this post, we'll explore the basics of UGC and provide tips for incorporating user-generated content into your marketing strategy.
What is User Generated Content?
User generated content (UGC) is a term used to describe content that has been created by customers, users, fans and other people who are interested in your brand or product. It's a great way to engage with your audience and can be used for many purposes—including promoting your brand, products and services.
Types of User Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) is any content that a user creates on their own. It can be images, videos, articles, blog posts and more.
There are many different types of UGC. The following is a list of some of the most common types:
User reviews and ratings
User polls and surveys
Blogs and forum posts (i.e., comments)
These are just some examples; there are far more uses for UGC than these three alone!
User-generated content has been around since the beginning of the internet. In fact, some of the earliest UGC was people uploading their digital photos to websites like GeoCities or Photobucket.
Today, UGC is used in many different ways by companies across all industries and sectors—marketing, customer service and product development are just a few examples of how it's utilized today. And with new technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) being developed every day, there's no doubt that this form of marketing will continue to grow in popularity in the years ahead as well!
How to Use UGC in Your Marketing Strategy
Telling the brand story: UGC can be used to tell the brand's story, whether it's about a new product or service, or how something has helped them in their daily lives. By sharing user-generated content on social media, you can show your followers that there is a personal connection between you and your customer base.
Promoting new products and services: Sharing this type of content not only helps promote upcoming products or services but also increases engagement with current customers. This will help build trust between the consumer and company because they will see that what they are offering is truly valuable to others in their community who have had positive experiences with it already.
Increasing brand awareness: The more people who know who you are as a company, the better off you'll be—especially if these users include potential clients! By using UGC for marketing purposes (or any other purpose), companies will be able to reach more people through different channels such as email campaigns and newsletters - not just social media posts alone which could limit exposure depending on where those posts appear (elements such as hashtags).
How Do You Get User Generated Content?
There are many different ways to go about getting UGC. Here are some ideas:
Ask your customers directly to post pictures of your product/service on their social media accounts. This will help build buzz around the product, which can lead to increased sales in the long run.
Create contests that encourage UGC by giving away prizes like gift cards or other items based on photos posted with specific hashtags or keywords attached. You might also want to consider offering discounts as an incentive for people who share images related to a certain topic (e.g., “Share an image showing how you've used our product!”).
Pay influencers (big and small) from all genres of life—from celebrities and athletes down through ordinary people who have large followings online—to promote your brand on their page(s), where they'll likely attract even more attention from potential buyers for companies like yours than if those accounts had been created solely because there was some monetary gain involved first thing off the bat!
To Conclude...
We hope we’ve given you a good understanding of user-generated content and how it can be used in your marketing strategy. Remember, UGC is meant to be authentic and personal, so make sure that you give your customers plenty of opportunities to share their stories. If you have any questions about UGC or would like help getting started with UGC campaigns in your business, book a call with us today!