What is user-generated content?

Why is user-generated content important?

With the rise in social networking channels, user-generated and organic-reach content has become more popular than ever. Customers and brand loyalists mainly generate this brand-specific content, which is vital in influencing the buyer's journey and providing important insights, such as buyer preferences and other relevant data to the company.

The following highlights how UGC can be beneficial if incorporated into a company's marketing mix:

• Authenticity. In a competitive online space, brands can benefit from authentic reviews, sentiments and attention that their customers generate. UGC can also boost social media reach and growth, as most buyers are willing to accept recommendations for products and services if real people make them as opposed to the brand itself.
• Brand loyalty. UGC cultivates brand loyalty because consumers create the content rather than official representatives of the brand. Companies can gain a high level of customer faith by putting their audience first and encouraging them to participate in the brand's image building.
• Cost-effectiveness. UGC is a cost-effective option for businesses looking to promote their brands without spending thousands of dollars on promotions, market research and TV commercials. Unpaid customers -- who are trying to share their experience with a product or service, build a connection with like-minded individuals or are simply looking to avail some perks -- create most UGC content organically.
• SEO boost. Positive customer reviews and surveys can elevate a brand's SEO. Consumers mainly post UGC on blogs with backlinks to product websites. Analyzing consumers' search keywords and phrases enables brands to improve their keyword optimization research.
• Building trust. The availability of customer product or service reviews -- especially positive reviews -- can build trust in a specific brand. Conversely, unfavorable reviews -- if presented -- can reduce or eliminate trust.
• Supporting the creation of AI- and LLM-based content. With the development and widespread use of AI, machine learning (ML) and large language models (LLM), user-generated content is an important resource when leveraging those technologies.

Pros and cons of user-generated content

User-generated content has become an important communications resource in digital marketing. Despite its growing popularity, it has pros and cons, as follows:

Pros of UGC

• Encouragement to proceed to the next step. When customers read positive reviews and commentary, they are often motivated to proceed to the next step, which is to make a purchase.
• Savings on production costs. The use of UGC that is voluntarily submitted saves on marketing and production costs.
• Improvements in SEO. Search engine rankings can be improved using UGC.
• Appeal to audience diversity. UGC can introduce a wide range of views and insights that can resonate with different types of people.

Cons of UGC

• Damage from bad reviews and comments. Without proper screening and decisions on unfavorable reviews and comments, release of "bad news" can have a detrimental effect on a brand.
• Messages out of sync with brand goals. UGC that does not align with a brand's message generates potentially significant risks.
• Additional overhead needed to monitor and manage UGC. It might be costly to address UGC that does not reflect the brand's image.

While UGC has its benefits, its drawbacks cannot be overlooked. Commercial media's growing reliance on user-generated content has led to controversy in the publishing world. Some organizations monitor UGC carefully for profanities, lies and attacks on other contributors. Other organizations let users self-police their content.

Types of user-generated content

UGC isn't limited to a company's size, industry affiliation or product offerings. From luxury brands to household products, user-generated content can resonate with all audiences.

The following are the main types of user-generated content:

• Images. Unpaid customer images of products posted on social media, blogs and other online platforms.
• Videos and live streams. GoPro videos, YouTube videos, Instagram Stories, natively shot videos, live video streams on Facebook and other platforms, which the creator isn't getting paid for. These videos can also include product unboxing and hauls.
• Social media content. Any social media message regarding a brand, such as a tweet, Instagram post or Facebook update.
• Product reviews and testimonials. Customer reviews on a section of a product's website or a third-party site, which can include Yelp, Google, TripAdvisor and G2.
• Blog posts. A product tutorial or a review that bloggers post on their blogs without getting paid for it.
• Q&A forum. A public forum where customers and the brand can engage in healthy discussions and answer questions regarding a product.
• Case studies. Detailed, unpaid customer reviews that explain the pros and cons of products and services.
• Surveys. Customer-provided views or descriptions of a specific feature or product.

How to integrate user-generated content into a marketing strategy

While there are different ways to integrate user-generated content into a marketing strategy, the following diagram depicts the typical UGC lifecycle.

• Define goals and objectives. Establish what is expected from the UGC initiative, such as increasing brand visibility, and define performance criteria, such as key performance indicators, i.e., KPIs.
• Select the optimum platform. This is where the medium for the message is selected, e.g., social media, websites.
• Identify the relevant community. This is the desired audience and how to encourage them to participate in a UGC campaign.
• Gather content and curate it. This step includes the process of gathering content -- e.g., by surveys and templates -- and validating it for use and securing permission to use it.
• Prepare for publication and deliver to media. Complete the content preparation, confirm the delivery channels, and deliver the content.
• Monitor and measure performance. Leverage performance metrics available from social media platforms to ensure the UGC is performing as desired.
• Maintain momentum, update as needed. This includes establishing active relationships with content creators, reviewing the content and updating it as needed to produce the best results.

The following are ways that companies can integrate UGC into content marketing strategy:

Reviews

Before making purchasing decisions, most consumers read product reviews because they provide a glimpse into the product they're interested in buying. Reviews also increase the reliability factor for a brand and help boost traffic to a website, which results in increased conversion rates.

To integrate review-based UGC into their marketing campaign, companies should encourage customers to leave reviews for every product they purchase. Companies should also provide customers the option to leave reviews on multiple platforms, such as Facebook, Yelp, Google, TripAdvisor and third-party websites, to facilitate conversion rates.

Another way to incorporate reviews into a marketing strategy is to incentivize them by exchanging reviews for coupons, reward points or gift cards. Emails with incentive keywords in the subject line can help motivate customers to rate products.

Businesses should also remember that reviews can be both positive and negative. However, both serve a purpose in building a brand's identity. Any negative reviews should be taken as an opportunity for a business to earn customer trust. Personally responding to every review with genuine courtesy and concern can facilitate this trust.

Hashtag contests

Hashtag contests can motivate followers to contribute to a brand's hashtag. Followers can use a specific hashtag to share content, such as photos and videos, on a social media platform to win prizes. These contests are a great option for brands that want to popularize their hashtags, as it helps with brand awareness and can help boost sales.

To incorporate this popular UGC strategy, companies should create content with hashtags that are unique and easy to remember. For example, a hotel comparison site, Trivago, launched an Instagram photo contest using the hashtag #trivagofaves. Participants had to share original photos of their favorite hotels listed on Trivago by tagging them with the given hashtag to win $500. The contest generated over 37,000 views and produced tons of posts featuring top hotels along with partner promotions.

Gamification

This incentive-based strategy makes UGC entertaining and rewarding for customers. Users are recognized and rewarded in return for completing a few tasks. Brands use concepts such as high scores, badges, leaderboards, levels and points to encourage people to complete tasks and share their experiences with the brand.

To reap the benefits of gamification, companies can grant customers points for writing social media posts. Customers can then use those points for discounts and coupons. Other options, such as receiving unlockable freebies with repeat purchases, can also be part of the incentives.

Video content

Videos can connect to customers in a unique way. Their potential for shareability and the possibility of going viral can substantially boost a business's following. Also, when people see real customers filming their shopping experiences, traveling or using certain products, it automatically instills confidence in those products and services.

Using curated content from customers, brands can create UGC videos that showcase original perspectives and genuine insights into their brands. UGC videos tend to gain higher consumer trust compared to branded videos, as they can engage the audience at a personal level.

Seasonal content

The changing seasons and holidays offer myriad opportunities for businesses to promote through UGC. During special occasions and holidays, brands can connect to their followers on an emotional level.

Businesses should study their target audience and holiday season goals to integrate seasonal UGC into their marketing strategy successfully. Brands can also ask followers to share images, post videos, use hashtags, write testimonials and participate in contests. For example, Starbucks used to launch the yearly #RedCupContest in December, where fans would share photos of their customized coffee cups on social media to get a chance to win a Starbucks gift card.

Best practices to obtain user-generated content for your business

Obtaining usable UGC for a business's marketing campaign is not a given. Creators of UGC must have a good reason for providing usable content. Following are some best practices for soliciting and obtaining UGC:

• Make the process as easy as possible. Use fill-in-the-blank templates, questions that only need a yes or no response, and other approaches.
• Provide incentives to encourage participation. This can include offering prizes for participation, prepaid cards, putting the user's name into a drawing.
• Get the timing right. Ask for participation in a survey immediately after completing a successful purchase or resolving a problem.
• Secure permission. Always obtain the user's permission before taking UGC and posting it on a social media platform or a company website.
• Make sure the content reflects the brand at its best. Select the content that best reinforces and complements the brand message.

Examples of user-generated content

The following companies have successfully promoted their brands through UGC.

Coca-Cola: Share a Coke campaign

Coca-Cola launched this popular UGC campaign when it decided to print the most common male and female names on their bottles in Australia. The idea was to inspire people to share a Coke with loved ones. The idea went viral, and people started taking pictures of their personalized bottles and sharing them on social media with the #ShareaCoke hashtag.

Starbucks White Cup Contest

Thousands of customers decorated their white coffee cups with original artwork. The winner's cup was turned into a limited-edition reusable cup.

Apple Shot on iPhone Campaign

Using the hashtag #ShotOniPhone, Apple invited iPhone customers to take photos with their cameras and share them with the iPhone community.

National Geographic's Wanderlust contest

Using photography-based UGC to increase brand awareness and development, National Geographic launched a Wanderlust contest wherein users shared their best nature photographs using the #WanderlustContest hashtag to enter the contest. The contest encouraged more people to go outdoors and boosted the engagement rates for National Geographic.

T-Mobile breakup campaign

Leading mobile carrier T-Mobile launched a UGC campaign inviting users to submit breakup letters detailing reasons for canceling their current cellular providers. In return, T-Mobile promised to shoulder the costs associated with switching providers.

Video is a popular use case of UGC that requires extensive monitoring to prevent security problems. Learn how to efficiently monitor video-based UGC.