What is User Generated Content?
User-generated content (UGC) is anything specific to a brand that a consumer creates independently that endorses it. It can be a photo on Instagram, a video on Youtube, a review on a website, or a streamer on Twitch endorsing a product while they’re live.
Essentially, UGC is digital word of mouth. As a result, it has tremendous value on top of digital word of mouth because it carries close to the same amount of weight as a personal recommendation to a consumer. Except unlike a person-to-person endorsement, these get in the ears of hundreds to thousands of people, instead of maybe a handful.
It’s been proven time and time again that consumers trust online content from other consumers almost as much as they do personal recommendations. Now imagine putting that to work for your brand online. The return on investment can be truly enormous.
How does User Generated Content Help Your Brand?
Authenticity. Like we touched on before, this is a massive value to your brand. Consumers are more likely to pay attention to content that is organic over a paid ad spot. They’re more inclined to think it’s more objectively favoring your products instead of being biased. It’s over twice as likely that they’ll view it that way, in fact.
Brand Awareness. The more consumers that talk about your brand online, the more word of mouth will spread and build your brand awareness. The more your existing customers share content about you on their social media, the more likely new audiences will discover your brand.
Community building. People enjoy being part of something larger. Whether it’s teams, clubs, or other groups that give them some amount of identity, consumers gravitate toward them. It’s also fun to meet people with similar interests. Unsurprisingly, some consumers enjoy joining an exclusive social circle that comes with owning a certain brand. Brands like Subaru encourage this, with a car culture with an extended set of rules and etiquette to identify each other by.
Trust. Similar to authenticity, user-generated content builds confidence from possible consumers. If other people just like them are satisfied with your product, why wouldn’t they enjoy it too? It makes it easier for them to connect those dots and take a chance on your product.
Creativity. User-generated content is also incredibly versatile. You can encourage consumers to submit pictures of them wearing your brand, and get a chance to be a model for your brand on a gallery page. You can use video testimonials as a way to showcase consumers’ favorite features, or to talk about why they picked your brand. The limit really is only held back by your imagination.
Ready to work with an influencer to get more user-generated content? Contact us today for a free demo.
Jenna Wessinger
