UGC or User Generated Content is one of the most effective ways to promote products. Whether you want to increase sales figures or brand awareness, it is important to utilize user-generated content.
The reason is that currently recommendations from fellow users influence consumer purchasing decisions more than brand advertising content. That is why the hard selling approach tends not to have a big influence on product sales.
So, if you want to know what User Generated Content is, see the complete explanation in this article!
What is User Generated Content?
User Generated Content is content created by brand users without being paid, which can be in the form of reviews, feedback, case studies, or posts on other social media.
So, instead of you doing the marketing, users will be the ones to promote your product voluntarily. Well, users who create content about this brand are called UGC creators.
User generated content is an effective marketing strategy because promotional content has a more natural impression than advertising. This impression can be seen from the way UGC creators explain product use accompanied by personal experiences.
For example, in the content made by users about skincare, the question of the user’s skin type and the length of time the product has been used are also explained.
With this customer-generated content, you can utilize word of mouth marketing strategies to increase consumer trust. Because, consumers are more confident when they see that social media accounts that provide reviews of your brand belong to real people and not bots.
Tips for Using User-Generated Content in Your Business
So that your brand marketing strategy can be maximized with UGC, there are several tips for using User Generated Content that you can follow:
1. Choose the right social media
The first tip for practicing UGC is don’t promote directly on Instagram or other platforms without knowing where your target audience is.
Consider the characteristics and demographics of users on various social media platforms to choose the one that best suits your target market.
For example, if you want to target a younger, creative audience, Instagram or TikTok may be a better fit than Facebook.
Then, focus on the most effective social media for running marketing campaigns with User Generated Content.
2. Determine the purpose of creating user generated content
Before launching a user-generated content campaign, define clear goals.
Do you want to increase brand awareness, increase user participation, or increase sales? Clear goals will help you design a more effective strategy and make it easier for you to measure its success.
3. Give rewards to customers
Providing rewards to customers who contribute to the creation of User Generated Content can increase their participation and engagement.
For example, you can hold a contest with prizes or give special discounts to users who post the most creative content.
4. Give credit to the original content owner
When you share User Generated Content on social media, make sure to always give credit to the UGC creator in your post.
Apart from content creators feeling more appreciated, audiences can also immediately confirm that the content you upload is authentic and truly created by fellow consumers.
5. Evaluate your marketing strategy
Evaluation of marketing strategy with UGC is a step that is often overlooked.
Although evaluation is no less important to know the development of marketing campaigns. For that, detail the business development every week, month, quarter, to year.
By understanding which strategies work and which don’t, you can continually improve and optimize your marketing campaigns to achieve better results.
Functions of User Generated Content (UGC)
In general, User Generated Content functions to increase the trust of potential consumers so that they want to buy a product.
But apart from that, there are other UGC functions that are no less important, such as:
- Creating authentic content: Using user-generated content allows businesses to get content that is authentic and comes from real experiences. This can build brand trust and credibility in the eyes of consumers.
- Increase brand loyalty: Involving users in creating content means involving them in the branding and marketing process of the brand. That way, you can foster a sense of ownership which can increase user loyalty. So, UGC is the right strategy to build user loyalty.
- Increasing consumer confidence: User-generated product content provides tangible evidence of a user’s experience with a product or service. This helps increase the trust of potential consumers, because they get the perspective of independent fellow consumers.
- Influence purchase decisions: Seeing other users’ positive experiences with a product or service can influence potential consumers’ purchasing decisions. User reviews and testimonials help build confidence and strengthen the reasons for choosing that brand.
- Reduce marketing budget: Using user-generated content is a more cost-effective marketing strategy. Compared to traditional marketing campaigns, leveraging UGC can reduce content production and distribution costs and increase the efficiency of marketing campaigns.
Ready to Implement a Marketing Strategy with User-Generated Content?
User Generated Content is an effective strategy for increasing brand awareness. Combining your marketing plan with the right UGC tactics will help your brand become top-of-mind for consumers.
