With the boom in social media in recent years,it has not only entertained the people but has also influenced them in many other ways. The brands marketing strategies have changed and now revolve around engaging people on social media to generate experiences.
Whether it’s about purchasing any products or services or going for any leisure activities or restaurants, people prefer to look for online feedback. Users share their experience on social media via pictures, reviews and product rating. And this is exactly what user generated content is all about.
In this blog, we will learn what user-generated content, its importance, and its benefits for any marketing campaign.
What is User-Generated Content?
User-Generated Content or UGC is any sort of content that is created by the users and it is shared on any digital platform by them. In short, it’s the content by the users and for the users. It’s all about sharing the content related to the user experiences.
UGC is the best type of content for any marketer or brand. It is the most trusted content as it is willingly created by the users to share their user experience on any social media platforms by them personally.
User-generated content comes in different forms and formats. They can likely be in images, videos, testimonials, text reviews, Instagram stories, etc.
Benefits of User-Generated Content for Your Brand Marketing
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Access to Authentic Content
UGC is the prime source for authentic content by the users according to their experience with your brand. When a brand creates content either for the blogs, social media campaigns, etc. they create with the sole purpose of marketing.
However, content created by the users builds trust in a brand and adds authenticity to their brand name. It generates social proof in the market helping brands to increase their audience base.
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Build Trust & Reliability
When we decide to buy any product or services, the first thing we do is “research”. We look online for the product reviews by the existing users.
It is known that the majority of online purchases happens after reviewing the recommendations by users, unlike branded content. As branded content is driven by the content developed by the brands or marketing efforts, it is likely to grab users’ attention.
UGC offers real-experiences shared by the users on their authentic social media accounts from where they create brand awareness and inspire people to go for your product.
Also Read: Social Media Feed Widget: The Ultimate Tool To Boost Growth
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Boost User Engagement
UGC in the form of images, videos, reviews, etc. adds a human element to the content leading to a higher engagement rate. Moreover, because UGC is often visually creative and gives a real-life experience of the products, it conveys the value that your brand offers to its audience.
Also, people get inspired to make a purchase to get a chance to feature in the branded content and become brand advocates. This often strengthens the communication between the business and customers. Customers can share the good side and can suggest the scope of improvements.
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Higher Conversion & Sales
Boost in user engagement leads to more conversions, which is every brand’s end goal. A positive UGC helps brands to build trust and creates brand awareness in a faster and efficient way.
You can use UGC in dynamic and creative ways to make buyers’ journey better. For example, you are on your website which will help your visitors to see real-life product usage, display UGC in events to build brand awareness, display on store signage to enhance customer experience, etc.
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Dynamic, Unique & Cost-Efficient Content
Your users produce a large amount of unique content that is relevant to your brand. Leverage the benefit from this freshly produced dynamic content for your marketing efforts.
The fact that this content shows a varying perspective of different users makes it extremely unique & trustworthy in nature. Moreover, you don’t need to spend money on creating content for your marketing and no need to spend on influencer marketing as well.
Now, when we have seen the benefits of user-generated content, it’s important to learn the challenges that come along while managing this enormous amount of content.
User-Generated Content Challenges
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Content Research To Check Authenticity
Though the content created by the users is authentic, it becomes challenging for brands to check for the valid source of the content. Brands need to share the good quality of content in their marketing campaigns otherwise it can cause a negative impact on their growth.
They need a tool that can either automate the process or give access to moderate the content. There are a few tools in the market that allow moderation of UGC.
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User Rights Management
Though online platforms offer access to millions of user-generated content but to repurpose any content, you need user consent. It is illegal for any brand to use user’s content without getting rights from them.
Getting UGC rights becomes easy and manageable with tools like powerful UGC platforms. These tools make it simple for brands to get rights from users to repurpose their content.
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Spam Content or Bad Comments
The content present on digital platforms can be good or bad. It depends on how the user finds your product. Sometimes, it is possible that the user is inexperienced and doesn’t know the actual usage of the product. This will lead to negative comments about your products and services.
Thus, it’s a challenge for your marketing team to identify such content and exclude them from your marketing strategies.
A Solution to the Above Challenges
Now that we know UGC and its importance, it’s time to find a perfect solution that helps you to leverage UGC for your brand.
It’s important how you use & display UGC for your brand, finding the right opportunity to enhance user-engagement is crucial. UGC tools opens up a complete new omnidirectional platform for brands to use UGC efficiently.
With the help of tolols, you can collect, curate and display UGC anywhere. A social wall created from UGC is the best way to reach and engage larger audiences at one time. You can display this social wall on screens in events, digital signages in store, embed social wall on the website, etc.
These tools offers advanced features like UGC rights management, moderation, personalization, analytics, etc. which help to manage marketing campaign performance.
With all these features in hand at one platform, you can boost brand growth, awareness, and conversions.
