Why You Should Leverage User-Generated Content For Your Ecom Tech Brand

User-generated content (UGC), although ancient, is still relevant in today's age. User-generated content is content created by people rather than brands. This can include tests, videos, reviews, etc. This is a tool for marketers as often, marketers will share UGC on their own platforms and marketing channels. Most brands nowadays rely on Instagram and Twitter for their primary UGC platform. Since users of these apps can make their own posts, comments, and retweets about a particular topic, they are indirectly advertising your brand.

Along with this, the UGC can also prove useful if you repost and share the content with your own audience. Doing this can significantly increase your credibility and impressions. In this article, we will explain how to use UGC in your marketing strategies and the many benefits that come along with it.

First, let's take a look at why you should use user-generated content. There are many reasons to use user-generated content in your marketing strategies, although, the three main ones that are key to success with it are as follows:

Create Trust

No matter the product, service, or output, customers have a desire to know what they're going to get before they even order. Roughly 30% of millennials would vote no on going to a restaurant if the restaurant's Instagram presence was not up to standard.

They exclaimed that they don't trust that the experience would be what they are looking for. Along with this, the people who check the Instagram page are likely checking the tagged photos, hashtags, and links as well.

The main goal is to create trust with your customers. Studies show that 92% of consumers trust people they know when it comes to recommendations and 70% of people trust online customer reviews.

Authenticity Promotion

Studies show that people are about 2.4 times more likely to perceive UGC as authentic compared to brand-created content. This means that if your brand says a product is good, and then a customer says it is good, people are more likely to believe the customer rather than you.

This offers brands a significant credibility boost, as most people state that less than half of companies market authentic content to their viewers.

Let's say the brand posts an image of somebody enjoying one of their products. People may see this as just another staged photoshoot with acting and a production crew, thus not giving a sense of authenticity. On the other hand, if a customer posts a photo of their family member or friend using a product on their personal account, it seems more authentic and people are more likely to believe that this product is beneficial.

Drive Your Customers Purchasing Decisions

The impact of purchasing decisions is likely the most important key element discussed so far. Marketers have concluded that 8 out of 10 people say user-generated content had a significant impact on their purchasing decisions. If user-generated content said a product was bad, 8 out of 10 people would seriously consider their opinion and likely choose not to purchase.

One of the easy tactics for sharing user-generated content is Instagram stories. Instagram stories allow you to repost other people's stories and give an emphasis on UGC. With stories being the first thing that pops up when you open the app, it's guaranteed that people will see yours. Combining this with the highlights option, you can create essentially an album of good reviews and then in turn keep costumes reeled in.

One of the biggest mistakes when it comes to running an Instagram page for your business would be to disregard this amazing tool. Not sharing UGC directly translates to sales and impressions.

Now that we've delved into why you should use UGC with your brand, we should look at the specifics on how to use it on social media.

Create a Sense of Desire For Your Brand

This goes without saying, humans are naturally an envious species. Sparking brand desire preys on this. Sharing user-generated content is a good way to spark a desire within potential customers. Depending on your product, it's effective to showcase what your product can do from their point of view.

For example, if you're advertising high-quality glasses, show a side-by-side comparison of the new colors and clarity that your glasses will bring customers. Show your visitors what they will feel and experience after their interaction with your business.

User-generated content can stack up thousands of likes and shares and thus it is one of your greatest tools to keep people interested in your brand.

Secondly, showcase and inspire significant brand loyalty. Creating a sense of desire is not only showing customers what they can expect, it also includes getting people to experience your brand firsthand. Building brand loyalty is about maintaining a long-term relationship with a customer, which then results in multiple sales from one person.

The customers that repost your content and post content of their own about your brand are likely to be your most important customers. They are your biggest fans. Most of the customers that will post your products on their own page have likely bought from you multiple times, and if they have only made one purchase, it was likely a very important one.

The utilization of UGC allows you to express that brand excitement and foster a sense of loyalty in people who may be less familiar with your brand.

Regardless of what sales models and marketing campaigns you have, sharing UGC can build brand loyalty like nothing else. Showcasing the customers how much you care about their experience says a lot and makes them more likely to recommend you to others.

Lastly, we'll look at how you can create content and build a library of it. In the grand scheme of things, it can be a constant challenge to create fresh, new, and high-quality content for all of your social media channels. Keeping this in mind, we can see that UGC campaigns are a way to help build up your content library quickly and easily but still ensure that you always have relevant media to share.

A great way to do this is to use a hashtag. Hashtags group together a bunch of posts that use the hashtag all into one page. This is great for keeping everything related to your personal hashtag in one place so viewers don't need to do much searching to find UGC.

Best Routes To Take When Sharing User-Generated Content

Always Ask Permission

As said above, hashtags are a great way to collect UGC but although a post may use your hashtag, you should still ask the owner if they are okay with you sharing their post.

People use hashtags so frequently it may be difficult to keep up. People may use your hashtag in a post completely unrelated not knowing that it is tied to your brand. Re-sharing the unrelated content without distinctive permission is an immediate way to kill goodwill and frustrate some of your most important advocates.

Offer Something of Value in Return

If you're looking for followers and fans to provide you with content, you have to give them something in return, people don't post stuff for no reason. A great way to do this is to hold social media content once in a while. This is a great way to bring in a substantial amount of UGC instantly.

Although, while you're doing this, try not to get too focused on rewarding creators with prizes. A study showed that only 32% of people created and shared UGC because they wanted to get a reward, while 60% said it was to get more likes and have their content shared.

Learn From the UGC, Whether You Share It Or Not

While it is a great marketing tool, UGC is also an amazing way to research your customers. Take the time to analyze the UGC your fans create and derive data from it that you can use to improve your marketing efforts.

Let's say your fans are using a product in a way you haven't considered or not how it was intended to be used. Or possibly you'll see that they use your product in combination with another product. Analyzing this gives you the resources you need to create a partnership with another brand to sell more and to a wider range of customers.

In addition to this, use the photos posted to examine your assumptions about how people think about your brand and products and alter your strategies to cater to their interests/vision.

Utilizing user-generated content is a strong tool for marketers and businesses. Creating a community, a sense of trust, and loyalty can be vital to ensuring your business thrives. Keeping these tactics and facts in mind about user-generated content can allow you to create a community of supporters and customers.

Creating this digital imprint can bring in customers from directions you may not have thought of and give you insights on how you can bring your products into the eyes of the media.

If you have some killer UGC that you want to push with paid ads and start supercharging your retargeting campaigns, click the link below and book a free Demo Call with our team.