Global domination on your mind? You need user-generated content to boost brand awareness and engagement today. Learn how to make it work.
With so much online noise these days, it can feel near impossible to cut through. But what if we told you there was a cheap way to triple your clicks and build brand trust – trust being today’s strongest currency?
User-generated content (UGC) campaigns stand out as a refreshing and authentic take on business-to-consumer marketing.
Here’s why UGC is so powerful, and how you can use it to drive growth.
While traditional advertising still has its place (especially for targeting cold audiences), UGC has become the go-to strategy for expanding organic reach and increasing conversions and engagement. Its success ties in with the powerful appeal of social proof.
From our old tribal days gathered around fires, humans have been addicted to stories for their ability to teach from lived experiences.
That’s why we rely so much on online reviews before making purchase decisions – we want to know what we can expect to manage our risk, and want to feel safe whenever our money is spent.
Fun fact: 84% of people trust online reviews as much as friends.
UGC marketing is where brands collate positive customer and brand experiences as they’re shared online. In doing so, they show greater brand authenticity and reliability because it highlights everyday people sharing unscripted, relatable content that connects with other similar, everyday people.
We hear this objection a lot but authenticity is the key to consumer trust. And 90% of consumers trust user-generated content more than traditional ads.
Don’t just take our word on it though – trust the data (it never lies).
Here’s a highlights reel of show-stopping comparisons from when our friends over at DataSauce helped our clients shift from traditional assets to UGC.
UGC content tends to be split into two arms: visual content, and customer reviews or ratings.
Visual UGC looks like:
Customer Reviews & Ratings look like:
Due to basic trust, greater recall than other ‘staged’ forms, and general presence in our everyday lives, UGC has become one of the most influential types of content.
So, now that you’re wriggling with excitement and a strong sense of possibility, here are some simple and effective ways to get UGC working for your marketing strategy – whether you’re in the business of services or products, homeware, haircare or menswear.
At Sticki – we’ll build you your very own custom content studio – except you’ll have thousands of cameras, thousands of creators at your fingertips, without having to trade either quality, time or resourcing.
We have a database of over 130million influencers, so don’t worry, we will have one for you.
Create a unique hashtag and invite your fans and customers to play along. Fashion brand, Review started a campaign with its #ReviewGirl tag, encouraging customers to share snaps of themselves styling their outfits in everyday life.
We’ve all been to a café and snapped our gourmet eggs benny and vat of coffee. If employees or customers tag you in a post or story, jump on the opportunity to reshare their content on your account (noting it’s courteous to request their permission to do so).
The lowest-hanging fruit. You can try incentivising your existing database with rewards points or gift cards to boost your response rate. From there, pull these reviews and use them in your social media content, in your email campaigns, and across your website and sales pages. The possibilities are endless!
While it may be tempting to throw caution to the wind and jump in with no holds barred, your UGC campaigns will perform best when they are tied to strategic goals and objectives.
Looking for assistance with your UGC content? You know who to call. Contact us.
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