17 Irresistible Benefits of UGC – Rock Your Biz! [Strategies Incl.]
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, user-generated content has emerged as a powerful tool for businesses. UGC refers to any content created and shared by users or customers, rather than the brand itself. It can take various forms, including reviews, testimonials, social media posts, images, videos, and more. Leveraging this content can be a game-changer for businesses, enhancing brand visibility, credibility, and engagement. In this article, we explore the 17 big benefits of UGC and offer actionable strategies you can use.
1. Build authenticity and credibility
One of the most significant advantages of content from users is its potential to establish authenticity and credibility for a brand. Think about it: real people sharing real experiences and honest reviews. This is the essence of user-generated content.
🗨️ Consumers are 2.4x more likely to say user content is authentic compared to brand-created content.
STACKLA
When your customers demonstrate their love for your products or services, it serves as a powerful endorsement, increasing the authenticity and credibility of your brand.
Strategy: Encourage customers to share their experiences with your brand by creating interactive social media campaigns and contests. Highlight this authentic material on your website and social channels to build unwavering trust and connection with potential customers.
2. Drive engaging conversations
The benefits of UGC are many, particularly when it comes to fostering engagement and driving meaningful conversations within an online community. One of the prominent windfalls is empowering audiences to become part of your brand’s storytelling, thus creating a diverse content portfolio.
Strategy: Design interactive challenges, polls, and Q&A sessions to inspire active participation. Respond to content with a genuine interest to fuel a vibrant and engaging atmosphere.
3. Showcase creativity
This type of content empowers audiences to become part of your brand’s storytelling, thus creating a diverse content portfolio. The user-generated content approach echoes brands like Coca Cola with their ‘Share a Coke’ campaign, which allowed customers to personalize bottles with their names, thus becoming co-creators in the brand’s story.
Strategy: Use various content formats, like customer photos, testimonials, and social media posts, to create a rich and diverse narrative that showcases your brand from multiple perspectives.
4. Boost brand awareness
The impressive list of user-generated content advantages would be incomplete without mentioning its role in amplifying brand awareness, particularly when coupled with strategies like influencer whitelisting.
Consider how Blendtec, the high-end kitchen appliance company, drastically increased its visibility. They initiated a unique video campaign called “Will It Blend?” where the company’s founder, Tom Dickson, attempted to blend various non-food items, from golf balls to mobile phones, using a Blendtec blender. The users eagerly awaited each video and began suggesting items to blend, generating a buzz around the brand. By doing so, Blendtec not only created unique, captivating content but also significantly expanded their reach, thus skyrocketing their brand awareness.
Strategy: Encourage customers to use a unique hashtag associated with your brand when they share content about your products or services. This approach increases your brand’s visibility, helping to elevate your brand awareness in the digital sphere.
5. Powerful social proof
🗨️ 84% of people say they trust peer recommendations above all other sources of advertising!
NIELSEN
Nearly everyone looks to recommendations from others. It serves as powerful social proof, helping build credibility and trust in your brand. This is yet another one of the many UGC benefits.
Strategy: Highlight the content featuring satisfied customers across your marketing channels, including website landing pages and email newsletters, to instill confidence in prospective buyers.
6. Create emotional appeal
The content has the potential to evoke emotions and create memorable connections. This is one of the most compelling benefits of UGC. Consider Make-A-Wish Foundation’s #ShareYourEars campaign with Disney. Participants shared photos of themselves wearing Mickey Mouse ears, and for every share, Disney donated five dollars to Make-A-Wish.
Strategy: Encourage customers to share stories, experiences, and photos related to your brand. This emotional connection creates a stronger bond with your audience.
7. Reach new audiences
User-generated content has an exceptional capacity to break down demographic and geographic barriers, enabling brands to reach entirely new audiences. Take the example of Airbnb’s ‘#LiveThere’ campaign. It encouraged users worldwide to share unique experiences in their city, thus reaching diverse audiences across the globe. The campaign not only showcased Airbnb’s broad range of accommodations but also spotlighted lesser-known destinations, appealing to travelers seeking novel experiences. This illustrates UGC benefits in a global context.
By considering these added benefits, it’s evident how user-generated content serves as a multi-faceted marketing strategy. From enhancing brand credibility to reaching untapped markets, the power is profound and significant in the current digital marketing landscape.
Strategy: Initiate campaigns that encourage participation across different demographics and geographical locations. Leverage user-generated content that resonates with diverse audiences to expand your brand’s reach and capture new markets.
8. Boost SEO
The impact of user content extends to SEO strategies as well. User-generated content can enhance online visibility by organically incorporating relevant keywords into your website’s content. This is another one of the key benefits of user generated content. Additionally, it’s much better at getting people to click through to visit your site or purchase your goods.
🗨️ UGC-based ads achieve 4x higher click-through rates and a 50% drop in cost-per-click compared to average ads.
ADWEEK
Strategy: Optimize your website’s product pages, blog posts, and testimonial sections that includes strategic keywords. This strategy signals search engines about your brand’s relevance, ultimately enhancing search rankings.
9. Cost effective
User-generated content provides a cost-effective marketing avenue. For example, GoPro’s user-generated content campaign involves customers submitting their GoPro footage for a chance to win cash rewards. This approach creates a continuous stream of user-generated promotional content at a relatively low cost.
Strategy: Engage with your loyal customers and turn them into enthusiastic brand advocates through the power of UGC vs branded content. Offering incentives for sharing their experiences generates a cost-effective marketing cycle, where authentic user-generated content becomes a driving force in spreading the word about your brand. By using this resource, you harness your customers’ enthusiasm. Consequently, this forms a community of supporters eager to promote your offerings. with the world. As a result, organic promotion not only cuts costs but also broadens your brand’s exposure and fosters a loyal customer base.
10. Save time
This type of content offers a time and cost-effective solution for content generation, reducing the workload on your marketing team. Major fashion brands like Zara regularly feature user-generated content on their social media platforms, providing fresh, diverse content at minimal cost.
Strategy: Implement content creation campaigns, contests, or challenges to source high-quality content efficiently and cost-effectively.
11. Community
User-generated content has a unique ability to amplify a sense of community and belonging among users. For example, Lululemon’s #thesweatlife campaign encouraged their community to share their fitness journeys, thus fostering a sense of belonging and connection among their customers.
Strategy: Host live events, webinars, and Q&A sessions that promote interactions and content sharing within your community. This strategy reinforces the sense of belonging that underpins your brand.
12. Valuable feedback loop
User-generated content also serves as a goldmine for valuable feedback. Customer reviews and suggestions provide insights for product improvement and innovation. Major brands like Lego often use customers to gather ideas for new products.
Strategy: Seek customer feedback actively through campaigns and surveys. Use this data to improve your products and services.
13. Viral potential
Campaigns often have the potential to go viral, as demonstrated by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. User-generated content that resonates with your audience can reach a wider audience organically, boosting your brand’s visibility exponentially.
Strategy: Design content campaigns with shareability in mind. Create fun challenges or entertaining content that encourages users to share with their networks.
14. Cater to niche interests
Content from real people helps you cater to specific niches within your target audience. For instance, Sephora’s Beauty Insider Community allows customers to share reviews, participate in discussions, and offer advice, creating niche-specific content that resonates deeply with beauty enthusiasts.
Strategy: Encourage users to create content that aligns with their unique interests or preferences related to your brand. This creates content that resonates deeply with specific audience segments.
15. Lower customer acquisition costs
An additional benefit of UGC is the considerable reduction in customer acquisition costs of CAC. Traditional marketing avenues can often be an expensive proposition with uncertain returns. But this type of material , in its organic form, often provides an affordable and efficient solution.
Take the example of Faded Moon, a trendy online clothing brand catering to teenagers and young adults. The founder, who also juggles her responsibilities as a high school student, saw the potential amidst the challenges of limited resources and a nascent brand image. Her main goals were to track social awareness, empower her social followers, and build loyalty within her inclusive community.
Despite the simplicity of their product offering – a few sweatshirts, and being a solo entrepreneur with no previous experience, she was able to turn her online friendships into a thriving business, particularly during COVID times. She successfully created an engaged community of brand ambassadors who not only promote the brand through their own networks but have also established interpersonal connections, forming Instagram and Snapchat group chats.
Her strategy is a shining example of how a small brand community can become a powerful force for brand promotion. The ambassadors’ active involvement and the community they’ve formed have significantly reduced the brand’s customer acquisition costs while creating a robust and loyal customer base. [See the complete Faded Moon case study!]
Strategy: Create an engaging community around your brand. Make your customers feel like they are a part of your brand’s story. Encourage them to share their experiences with your products or services and to engage with one another. This kind of organic promotion can significantly lower your customer acquisition costs while building an authentic and dedicated community.
16. Boost customer loyalty
User-generated content also plays a crucial role in enhancing customer loyalty. By acknowledging and celebrating customers who participate in campaigns, brands can deepen their connection and loyalty with their customers.
Strategy: Celebrate customers who actively participate in content campaigns. This acknowledgement fosters a sense of pride and deepens their loyalty.
17. Expand global reach
Content from customers enables your brand to break language and cultural barriers, expanding your global reach. For example, Spotify users around the world generate and share playlists, creating a diverse community of users from various cultural backgrounds.
Strategy: Encourage users from different regions to create material in their native languages. This extends your brand’s influence globally.
Takeaways
Remember that although user-generated content offers an array of perks, it requires a strategic approach and diligent moderation to maximize its potential. As you weave user content into your marketing strategy, maintain patience and remain receptive to change and innovation. The world of digital marketing is ever-evolving, and success usually favors those who are agile and ready to adapt.
In conclusion, user-generated content can be a game-changing tool for businesses in the digital marketing landscape. If you still don’t believe us, you really need to consider the top 2023 user-generated content statistics. By embracing UGC, companies can tap into the authentic voice of their customer base, foster community, enhance credibility, and cultivate a rich narrative around their brand. However, unlocking the full potential requires a thoughtful strategy that encourages user participation and leverages user content effectively.
Feature image: Image courtesy of mypassportchronicles.com