“Make your customers the hero of your stories.” – Ann Handley, Head of Content at MarketingProfs

We live in an exciting time to market ourselves and our businesses online. The digital landscape is ever-changing and the ways in which we interact with our customers are moving just as quickly. Traditionally, marketing has been a matter of a professional team painstakingly shooting, designing, and churning out content on a regular basis. The more polished meant the more professional and credible. The more a brand shared meant more sales.

This still rings true – somewhat. Of course, it’s important for brands to be recognizable online through a unique style of branding, but we cannot dismiss the true value of social media and other channels: being social.

Enter user-generated content: a treasure trove of media that is rising in popularity. Let’s take a deeper dive into what it is and how it’s impacting brands.

What is UGC?

UGC, short for User-Generated Content, refers to authentic content that is created by customers and shared on social media or other channels, specifically related to a brand or product.

Thanks to the digital hive of social platforms, anyone with a smartphone and internet access can post media and join online conversations. This has opened a world of vocal consumers who share their experiences with friends, family, and wider audiences.

The data tells us that UGC is not just a marketing buzzword but is here to stay. According to Nielsen’s Global Trust in Advertising study, 89 percent of people trust recommendations from friends or family (word of mouth). The positive impact of online reviews has been proven time and again.

User-generated content can take many forms but it’s most commonly associated with:

Images and photographs (See #mycalvins on Instagram)
Videos (See GoPro of the World November Winner on YouTube)
Reviews (See Sonary reviews)
Testimonials
Blog posts (See Elementor.com guest bloggers here)
Social media posts (See an example of an Instagram influencer ad)
Even a comment on a social media or a blog post!

Where Does UGC Come From?

UGC can be found in the spaces where people are talking about brands. This is often social media platforms, online communities, blogs, forums, and websites.

The people contributing to the content and their relationship with the brand can be diverse and include:

Customers: Reviews, ratings, and feedback on a company’s website or third-party review sites or sharing their experiences and opinions on social media. This is particularly relevant to industries where product or service reviews are important, such as e-commerce, travel, and hospitality.
Brand loyalists: The group that’s most enthusiastic about a brand. Loyalists, advocates, or fans are the most dedicated customers who consistently choose certain products or services over others. Since loyalists associate themselves so passionately with the brand, this audience segment is most likely to respond well to requests for specific UGC content.
Influencers: People who actively create and share UGC on social media, blogs, or other platforms. Creators can be social media users who share reviews with their audience or an influencer who specializes in a particular niche. Influencers have a social media following (that can be significant, depending on the influencer), and enter brand partnerships to promote or recommend items on social media.

The fact is, UGC has an enormous scope. As of 2022, there are 4.62 billion social media users around the world spending an average of 147 minutes posting, tweeting and watching videos every day.

It’s no wonder that leading brands like T-Mobile, Lululemon, Coca Cola and GoPro have all made UGC a successful part of their content marketing strategy.

UGC Examples

GoPro UGC

GoPro is a company that almost seems designed around the idea of UGC. An estimated 6,000 GoPro-tagged videos are uploaded to YouTube per day. The GoPro community on YouTube has reached over 10 million subscribers. GoPro has amassed such a following because they have tapped into the global community of adventure lovers who buy into the brand’s lifestyle.

“I think our slow, humble beginnings in surf shops, ski shops, bike shops, and motorcycle shops have been extremely important for our success. GoPro is all about celebrating an active lifestyle and sharing that with other people. It’s authentic. It’s not a brand that we went out and bought a bunch of ads to create.” — Nick Woodman (Founder & CEO of GoPro)

Amazon: Customer Reviews

Amazon places customer feedback at the forefront of its platform, and it’s no wonder why. The e-commerce giant understands that many shoppers rely on reviews to make informed buying decisions.

After a purchase, Amazon proactively reaches out to its customers with a reminder to provide feedback in the form of a starred rating and an optional written review. The average starred rating features at the top of any product page, and customers have the option to sort and filter products based on their ratings. This demonstrates the importance of customer feedback throughout the purchasing process.

LEGO Ideas

LEGO Ideas launched in 2014 as a platform for LEGO enthusiasts to showcase their original creations. Fans of the brand are invited to submit their designs to the LEGO Ideas website and gain public support. When a project reaches 10,000 supporters, then the LEGO board reviews the creation and decides whether to produce and distribute it worldwide as a LEGO product.

Yosemite Moments: Winter

Great photography can inspire people to take action, from buying a product to visiting a location. Given its breathtaking natural beauty, Yosemite National Park is a prime location for photography enthusiasts.

During the quieter months in winter, The Yosemite Conservancy runs an annual campaign called “Yosemite Moments: Winter”. The aim is to encourage people to share their best park photographs although the campaign last ran in 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic).

The winner of the ‘competition’ gets a year-long pass to the park and park gear, but The Yosemite Conservancy benefits just as much. The campaign generates an abundance of free, captivating photos that place the park on the must-visit list of social media users worldwide.

Why do brands lean on UGC to promote their offerings? The reasons for this are as numerous as there are business objectives, but we will unpack the key benefits below.

UGC Benefits

UGC Builds Trust

“Trust is the foundation of every successful sale.” – Adam Rogers, Senior Content Manager, Shopify

Let’s face it, people trust other people more than they trust traditional advertising. A 2022 SalesForce survey found only 52% of customers say they generally trust companies, while a survey conducted by Crowdtap and Ipsos found that UGC is 50% more trusted by millennials than other media.

It’s tough to encourage people to buy from a company they don’t know or trust, especially if they’re buying online. That’s why it’s important to earn people’s trust, and an effective way to do that is with UGC. People are looking for stories, connections, and interaction with other humans, not pushy sales tactics. That’s why UGC is so effective – it feels like a personal recommendation from a friend or family member.

UGC Is Authentic

Let’s imagine a scenario here. You have recently picked up trail running and decided to invest in a pair of good shoes. Like most consumers today, you browse the web to see what’s on the market. One article pops up where a sportswear brand is promoting its running shoe’s slick appearance and engineered comfort. Another piece features runners sharing their real experiences running in a particular shoe with detailed feedback on its cushioning, stability, and ground feel. Who do you trust more?

Probably the latter. In most cases, genuine recommendations and word of mouth win. Authentic content is a powerful tool for building trust because it is more relatable than brand-generated content.

UGC Fosters Community

People thrive on being part of something greater than themselves and UGC invites customers to be part of a brand’s community.

Many businesses are now prioritizing building an active brand community as part of their marketing strategy. When a brand inspires a community to form around it, there are more 1-to-1 interactions between the brand and its followers, as well as between followers themselves.

UGC encourages people to share their emotional connection or excitement around a product or service as a way to be involved in the community.

Gymshark is a prime example of a brand that has successfully created a thriving community centered around its fitness apparel. Aside from famously focusing on influencer marketing, the Gymshark community is brought together through fitness and support for each other. The Gymshark Central blog serves as a go-to hub for fitness-related information. Offline, customers have numerous opportunities to engage with the brand at pop-up shops with exclusive gear and “Gymshark athlete” appearances.

UGC Increases Conversions

60% of customers are more likely to purchase from a site that features UGC content or social proof. Social proof can be particularly effective in the final stages of the buyer’s journey when a consumer is ready to convert and make a purchase.

‘The Conversion Impact’ report conducted by Power Reviews looked at how various components of user-generated content impact conversion rates. The study found that people who visit online product pages are 8.5% more likely to convert, while those who interact with UGC are 100.6% more likely to convert.

UGC Is Cost-effective

Brands and businesses spend an average of $72,000 per year on professional content. By nature, one of the most significant advantages of UGC is that it can cost less than branded content. Brands can spend fewer resources creating content and rather leverage their existing customers to create content that is authentic, engaging, and resonates with their audience.

And, when customers create engaging content about a brand, they share it with their followers, friends, and family. This can lead to a snowball effect, where the content is shared and seen by an even larger audience, without the business having to spend money on paid advertising. It’s important to note that this kind of organic reach can be influenced by the quality of the content created by customers. Businesses must therefore focus on creating high-quality products and campaigns that motivate valuable UGC.

UGC Is Adaptable and Flexible

Because UGC comes in many shapes and forms, brands can choose the type of UGC that aligns with their objectives and use it in different ways to achieve specific marketing goals. For example, images can be used to showcase a product or service, reviews, and testimonials to build credibility, and videos to tell a story or demonstrate how to use a product.

How to Use UGC

“The success of any user-generated, content-related project should be judged in the long term. Try not to use it as a one-off campaign activation idea. Think of it instead as the beginning or continuation of an ongoing dialogue with your consumers.” – Damian Thompson, Journalist

User-generated content can be a regular fixture in your marketing plan, with a variety of avenues for sourcing, curating, and showcasing. Here’s a quick guide for selecting and showcasing your user content:

Select the content pieces that resonate with your business objectives. For example, if you want to showcase practical use cases, then lifestyle pictures of customers enjoying your product could work well.
Customize and personalize the content to align with the brand image and tone of voice. This might entail design elements or words and phrases around the content that help with positioning.
Based on the preferences of your target audience, decide where to showcase the selected content. Customer reviews can boost credibility on your website but can also be incorporated into the creative design for social media.

The best part about UGC is its flexibility to meet different marketing objectives. Brands can encourage more UGC by running campaigns or contests incentivizing customers to create and share content. Alternatively, content can be collected organically and used when needed. UGC can be scaled up or down based on the needs of the brand.

However, for brands choose to use UGC, there is an etiquette to bear in mind when sharing content created by other people.

Tips for Sharing UGC

Here are a few best practices to be aware of as you prepare your UGC strategy.

Always request permission: Reach out to the person in the DMs or comment section and ask if you can repost their content to your profile.
Credit the creator: This can mean including the person’s name, handle, or a link to the original content. Not only is this an act of goodwill, but it sends the message that UGC is encouraged and rewarded.
Be clear about what type of content you’re looking for: Define the tone, style, format, and subject matter you’re interested in. This helps to ensure the UGC you receive is relevant, engaging, and aligned with your brand values.
Be strategic and set goals: Do you want to increase engagement on social media, drive more traffic to your website or build brand awareness? By setting clear goals and measuring your results, you can evaluate the effectiveness of your UGC campaigns and adjust where needed.

UGC Content Tools

There are various tools available for creating and managing UGC content. These platforms offer features that allow brands to not only create and share but analyze and moderate the content.

Social media platforms make it easy to create and share content with others with features like hashtags, mentions, and tagging
Dedicated UGC platforms like CrowdRiff, Social Native, and TINT allow brands to collect and curate UGC content from their customers and fans.
Content management systems (CMS) tools such as Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress, and allow users to create and share content on websites and blogs.
Visual content creation tools such as Canva, Piktochart, and Adobe Express offer a range of templates and design elements to create visually appealing UGC content. Here’s how Squarespace CMS and Canva design tools can complement each other.
Influencer marketing platforms such as AspirelQ, Upfluence, and Grin allow brands to connect with influencers and creators who can create and share content on their behalf.

How to Leverage the Power of UGC

User-generated content can help businesses of all sizes to build trust, boost engagement and increase conversations. By leveraging the power of UGC, businesses can create authentic connections with their audience, drive brand loyalty and improve their overall marketing performance. Implementing a successful strategy requires careful planning, curation, and implementation. At the end of the day, the route to success is engaging with the community around the brand and valuing brand loyalists and content creators.

Janna Mae Rubin