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- LET'S TALK ABOUT UGC CONTENT
LET'S TALK ABOUT UGC CONTENT
and 5 of the (many) reasons it's so important
12 Creative
May 27, 2024
People seek more than just product information – they look for genuine interactions and a sense of connection with brands.
BUT these days, relying solely on traditional social media strategies falls short when it comes to creating lasting customer relationships… 💭
So, what’s the solution?
⭐ LEVERAGE USER-GENERATED CONTENT (UGC) ⭐
By tapping into the content created by your audience, you can align your brand with their experiences, aspirations, and values.
Let’s dive into the reasons why UGC matters and explore the benefits it offers both brands and customers! 🚀
🤝 Greater Trust Between Consumer and Brand
These days, the volume of data 📊 can be a deterrent for customers. Why? Because they don’t know which sources to trust.
BUT customers continue to trust the recommendations of their inner circle and people they can relate to. In fact, it’s said that 93% of customers consult reviews and recommendations of REAL people before buying a product or service.
They feel that this leads them to a safer decision… which is where UGC comes in.
UGC is content created by customers themselves, highlighting the benefits of products they buy or services that they use. These testimonials allow brands to look more trustworthy and established. ✅
It also leverages word-of-mouth marketing. This adds the element of trusted recommendations to the equation — something traditional advertising lacks.
In fact, 88% of consumers say that recommendations from family and friends influence their purchasing decisions.
📈 Growth in Authenticity and Relevance
People trust others because they perceive them to be genuine. 🔒
These days, that authenticity is often missing from a lot of brands because they are just following typical social media strategies.
The problem with this in 2024 is that these days, people can’t tell which brands are worth their trust, so consumers start to become more and more selective. They choose brands that they align with and find relevant. 🙌
So, brands should offer more personalized experiences to their customers, which is possible through UGC content because it conveys authentic content from customer experiences and shares it with users.
⭐ Customers Are the Central Focus
UGC takes a different approach than brand-created content.
Traditional content focuses mainly on the advantages and benefits of brands' products or services.
Even though this content is often helpful for digital marketing strategies, it has some cons for consumers – one of them being that people will unfollow a brand on social media if it's too pushy or salesy. 🚨
The main problem with branded content is that customers aren’t the central focus… which is why we love UGC because it offers a human-centric approach based on consumers' feelings and experiences. 👥
UGC also aligns customers with brands by achieving 28% higher customer engagement than branded content.
Content produced by users + exploited by brands = win-win for both parties. 🎉
🌎 Increase in Exposure and Reach
Every marketer wants the same thing with their social campaign – exposure to a larger audience. 🌐
The interesting thing about social platforms is that they promote the content with a lot of engagement, which happens because their algorithms identify this content as pleasant for users – promoting it organically to a target audience. 🧑🤝🧑🎯
Through content campaigns that actively involve users, companies achieve enormous exposure and boost brand awareness organically.
And here, UGC comes in. 👀
Your visibility increases by motivating/asking people to create content for your company and post it on their profiles (and then of course with the rights to post it on yours).
UGC = MORE VIEWS 🤩
And besides consumers, user-generated content can be produced by:
✔️ Employees
✔️ Brand loyalists
✔️ Content creators and influencers
Especially in combination with influencer marketing, UGC campaigns can grow exponentially. 📈
🔄 Boost in Conversions
Another thing marketers want with their strategies to attain is conversions – which user-generated content is great for. 😍
This type of content helps potential customers convert. Studies show that 78% of Millennials find UGC helpful when making purchasing decisions.
Why? Because UGC works as social proof due to the testimonials and online reviews of REAL people. 💬
In fact, there are many niches in which consumers become brands’ best ambassadors.
For example, when you wear a brand's t-shirt to see your friends and they compliment it, you’re promoting it indirectly to your circle. 🌎🧑🤝🧑
In a similar sense, people create content to showcase their purchases, experiences, and usage. 🛍️
These are just a few of the many reasons why user-generated content is an essential tool for marketers and brand owners. This article from Insense dives into even more! 🔗
The benefits of UGC amount to a strong positive effect for both brands and consumers, and is something we recommend to our clients. 😎