User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful type of content to showcase products, increase engagement, build awareness, and get online users interested in a brand. The ever-increasing use of social media has made it the ultimate marketing tool that helps brands raise awareness and understand the entire buying journey. 

More and more people are sharing their customer experiences on social media in the form of user-generated content (UGC).  Leveraging the power of user-generated content (UGC) is one of the most effective ways to not only increase awareness but also to keep your audience engaged for the long term and turn your customers into advocates for your brand.

It is an effective form of engagement that allows brands to connect with their customers who are showcasing their product or service.

In this article, we’ll look at how you can use an eight-step user-generated content strategy for your business, as well as the different types of user-generated content, and its examples.

What Is User-Generated Content?

User-generated content, also known as UGC, refers to content related to your brand and created by someone who is not an official representative of your company. User-generated content is anything that is not created by a brand, although brands do leverage user-generated content for their rankings.

User-generated content can be of any type, and typically comes in the form of unpaid or unsponsored images, videos, social media posts, reviews, or testimonials that have been posted by users on social media platforms when they use or rave about a product or service.

Why Is User-Generated Content So Important?

User-generated content is important because it’s a smart way to get fresh content for your website. Small business owners are very busy and sometimes have tight budgets.

So, instead of doing all this work yourself, you can outsource some of your marketing creation using user-generated content. That’s why it’s important to know how to earn it and use it the right way.

-User-generated content builds trust

The majority of consumers trust UGC over the information provided by brands. 93% of markers agree that consumers trust customer-generated content more than brand-generated content. That’s why user-generated content is an effective marketing strategy for building consumer trust.

– It encourages greater brand engagement

User-generated content on social media drives much more engagement than standard posts and increases the number of followers. Not only does UGC greatly increase the likelihood of your content being shared, but it turns customers into content creators and brand advocates.

-User-generated content is authentic

Consumers are 2.4 times more likely to view user-generated content as authentic than content created by brands. Authenticity plays an important role in today’s online world. 63% of consumers said they would rather buy from a company they consider authentic than from a competitor.

-UGC influences purchasing decisions

Reviews play a major role in customer decision-making. According to TurnTo, 90% of consumers say user-generated content has more influence on their purchase decisions than promotional emails and even search engine results. According to Clickz, with UGC, the conversion rate increases by 4.6%.

-The return on investment of UGC is high

UGC is an inexpensive promotion because it is generated by users for several reasons, whether it is to share their experience, connect with like-minded people, or have a chance to win something, which saves marketers from spending on campaigns that may or may not yield good results. This, therefore, increases profits with a significant reduction in costs for the company. UGC, if paid for, is much cheaper than TV ads and billboards.

What Are the Different Types of User-Generated Content?

There are many types of user-generated content, the most common of which are:

Visual UGC (photos and videos)

Visual content is the most common type of UGC and also the most attractive. When a customer shares a photo or video of their new product on social channels, it creates visual UGC.

Reviews

Reviews left on product or company pages are UGC that play an important role in the success of a product.  Seventy percent of consumers consider reviews or UGC ratings before making a purchase decision.

It’s best to leave reviews below products on the product page, where a person at the bottom can read the review so they feel well informed and ready to make the purchase.

If properly moderated and linked to content, user reviews can drive traffic to your site and attract new visitors through long search queries. Reviews left by users on your site are indexed and evaluated by search engines for keywords and context, just like the rest of your content.

In addition, user reviews provide valuable additional information to your potential customers, educating and guiding them through your product assortment. Therefore, a multitude of customer reviews can increase site conversion rates, drive new sales, and improve the user experience.

Testimonials and comments UGC

Testimonials and reviews usually occur after the purchase, when the user has received the product or its benefits. For example, a course or program will want to get as many UGC videos from its satisfied students as possible so it can continue to promote its program.

Like user reviews, customer testimonials are also very effective and go a long way, as they not only add trust to your site but can also be aggregated and published by brands on the homepage or social media.

8 steps to making the most of a user-generated content strategy for your online business

There are a few best practices to know when launching your UGC strategy.

1- Choose the Most Effective Social Network for Your Brand

You don’t need to create content on every social media platform, but focus on the platforms where your customers are and give them a priority. Choosing a network thoughtfully and creating a social environment to deliver content and engage meaningfully with your customers helps you stand out from the competition and maintain long-term relationships.

If your resources allow, you can prioritize other channels.

What works on each network?

Once you’ve determined which network is best for your audience, you need to identify the types of UGC that work best on each network and how to present them based on the culture of each network.

Facebook: This is the platform where the majority of consumers (78%) say they follow brands, and it’s a great space to share full-length video content and stories about your brand.

While Facebook’s algorithm is hard on organic reach, you can take advantage of it to post authentic and compelling user-generated content that can drive engagement and go viral.

Twitter: Twitter is a great platform for sharing images and creating a live Twitter feed to cover an event in real-time and easily capture multimedia content to retweet.

Instagram: is great for sharing visual UGC and showcasing your customers’ UGC.

It’s the perfect place to connect with your customers and those who support your business,

LinkedIn: This is the world’s largest social network for professionals, so it’s not the place to repost just any user’s UGC, but rather relevant users that align with your brand’s goals in a professional sense.

TikTok: This app is focused on authentic video-style UGC, rather than polished reviews or stories. It allows you to engage with a customer in the comments of their video, ask for permission to share it, and properly credit it to your page.

2- Set Specific Goals for User-Generated Content

To make the most of UGC and make it a more important part of your overall business strategy, you need to have specific goals and guidelines. Choose the type of user-generated content you plan to collect and how you will use it for your business.  Remember, the goal of any UGC campaign is to generate content that your customers use for their buying decisions.

3- Tell Your Audience What Kind of Content You Want

UGC creators want you to tell them what type of content you are most likely to share. More than half of consumers want brands to tell them exactly what type of content to create and share. So you need to have a clear idea of what you want from UGC, whether it’s images or customer reviews, your followers need guidance.

Create a simple statement that tells users what type of content you’re most likely to share and share it everywhere people are likely to interact with your brand: in social media posts, on your website, or even on your product packaging.

4- Encourage Your Users to Share Their UGC

Encouraging your users to share their UGC is the most important part of your marketing strategy. You can do this in several ways, the most common of which are the following:

Motivate customers to create UGC

To get customers to promote your products when they receive and use them, you need to let them know that you like UGC and get them to create it. Make calls to action in the most exciting parts of the buying journey like Immediately after purchase, when they receive their product/service or after they get the results of their product/service to encourage your customers to create UGC.

Create and promote your brand hashtag

Creating your brand’s hashtag can generate targeted interest and encourage your audience to create content inspired by your campaign. Remind your fans and customers of your hashtag on your website, emails, social media posts, and set up tools that encourage customers to create specific forms of UGC.

Having an easy way for people to associate content with your brand not only makes it easier but encourages them to do so. One of the best ways to boost user engagement is to ask your Instagram followers to share UGC, which allows you to build a consistent stream and create a deeper emotional connection with your customers.

Make your brand’s purpose and mission clear to leave little room for audience error or confusion. The more user-generated content you share; the more motivated people will be to tag you in posts they think you might want to share.

Run a contest

Running a contest on social media can be a great way to get a lot of user-generated content quickly and get more interaction and engagement from users. Contests can be implemented in many ways, such as a sweepstakes contest, an essay contest, a photo or video contest, etc.

When running UGC contests, consider the goal you want to achieve when choosing the type of contest to run. Ask your customers to share their content in a specific way in hopes of winning your brand’s prize.

Launch an influencer marketing program

You may want to consider launching an influencer marketing program as long as your resources allow as well; ask influencers to create content for your brand.

5. Create a System to Collect User-Generated Content

Taking advantage of a system to collect and organize user-generated content allows you to use it effectively. Collecting on social media with a branded hashtag can be tricky because ownership rights to photos and posts can be a bit more difficult to obtain.

While collecting UGC via an app or portal, you can be sure that what you collect can be used in official advertising campaigns.

6- Ask Permission to Reuse Their content

Once you’ve received UGC, you need permission to use it outside of the social network because at this point, the rights to that image or video still belong to the client and they haven’t given your brand permission to distribute it. Reach out to clients who have created UGC on Instagram with a comment and ask them if you can use their image or video by linking to your terms and conditions page, where clients can ensure they agree to the terms you’ve set for reusing their UGC.

Once your customer has agreed to your brand’s reuse of their content and has agreed to the terms and conditions, you will be able to save that content to your library. This allows you to reuse that content in the future as part of a campaign on your social media, website, and even in print.

But once you have permission to use a photo, you still need to make sure it’s not a copyright risk, and that there’s nothing in the background or that the photo isn’t of someone you can’t use to promote your products due to copyright.

Credit the original creator of the user-generated content

When sharing UGC on your social media channels, be sure to credit the creator by indicating whether you are using their images, words, or both, and verify how the creator wishes to be credited on all channels. Giving proper credit is an important way to recognize the work of content creators and ensure they remain excited about using and publishing information about your brand.

 Plus, it shows that the content was indeed created by someone outside your company.

7.   Publish User-Generated Content On Your Web Site

The best use case for UGC is to incorporate it beyond the original platform and use it on your website, even on your emails, on other social media platforms, and even in printed materials. Integrating a social media hub of user-generated content on your website draws visitors’ attention, encourages them to read the content, and interact with your brand.

All of this translates into better user engagement, increased visit time, and a reduced bounce rate on your website. Here are some examples of posting user-generated content on your webpage:

 Add Instagram galleries

Adding Instagram galleries allows you to automatically bring user-generated content on Instagram to your website. This not only encourages more users to share content on your site and grow your social media audience but also gives buyers an authentic look at your product.

Add customer reviews

Posting customer reviews in the form of user-generated content near your products or services, especially if you have an e-commerce site, allows users to leave reviews on your site and encourages them to buy or act, and builds your credibility.

Publish testimonials

To add UGC to your website, you can ask people to share their experiences and then publish these customer testimonials to foster trust and encourage your prospects to become paying customers.

 Use social proof notifications

Adding social proof in the form of user-generated popups to your website is a great strategy for creating user-generated content.

Publish success stories

Another example of user-generated content on your website is using success stories from your loyal users that your existing and potential customers can follow. To do this, you need to first identify your loyal customers and then conduct an email interview with them asking them how your product makes their lives easier.

8.    Analyze and measure Your User-Generated Content Efforts

For your user-generated content strategy to be effective, you need to measure it. Take the time to review user-generated content and analyze it for lessons that can help you improve your social marketing efforts.

Each UGC can be used for a different purpose. To make sure you’re using user-generated content at the right time, determine which UGCs correspond to specific parts of your funnel.

One UGC may be perfect for awareness at the top of the channel, while another is better for conversions at the bottom. Almost all social media platforms give you access to detailed audience reports that reveal which content is driving the most engagement and growth on your profiles.

By performing contextual analysis of keywords, hashtags, or customer experiences, you can measure your efforts and discover, for example, that your fans are using your products or services in ways you hadn’t considered or uncover new opportunities to source and share user-generated content.

Conclusion

I hope this article has helped you learn how to incorporate user-generated content into your online business marketing strategy to grow your audience, build customer loyalty and ultimately increase sales. By capturing user-generated content and repurposing it on your social channels and website, you will have access to an endless source of free content that you can use to promote your products or services.