User-generated content, or UGC for short, is any content that has been created by uncompensated contributors. These brand fans willingly share information on their experiences with different products across social media platforms. These posts consist of everything from interactive live-video feeds to basic text posts, but all are beneficial to the companies attached to the products mentioned. Below we detail the importance of user-generated content, so that you can use the information to your advantage later.
User-generated content is customer-based
User-generated content is customer-generated content. Customers who have positive experiences with your products and company and share them online are believable and potent tools for drawing in more customers. This process of experience and posting creates a positive feedback loop that often generates a runaway growth effect, as it did with Coke’s “Share a Coke” campaign. Experiences with Coke cans bearing customer names were shared, generating more interest in the brand and more product experiences, which drove more users to create more content, and so on.
UGC brings authenticity to brands
The vast majority of users are sick and tired of the old methods of advertisement on both television and the internet. Users reflexively skip over ads on social media sites with alarming regularity. They are far more likely to respond positively to content generated by fellow users and customers. Social media users trust the authenticity of user-generated content far more than they do ads containing celebrities or obvious commercial actors. Solidify the authenticity of your brand by encouraging user-generated content and watch your customer interaction and sales rise.
UGC works around ad-blocker software
Ad-blocking apps are skyrocketing in terms of both their popularity and effectiveness. You can spend mountains of cash on traditional ad marketing to absolutely no effect because users don’t want to see traditional ads and equip their devices accordingly. User-generated content goes untouched by ad-blocker programming, so it reaches potential customers when traditional ads would not. Ad-blocking programs are often free. Old-school marketing campaigns are not. Don’t make a mistake that will tank your budget uselessly. Favor user-generated content and influencer content over traditional marketing campaigns.
UGC grants customers solid evidence of product quality
Traditional ads can make all of the claims that their purchasers want. They’ll never be as trustworthy in the eyes of consumers as content created by their peers — material that gives live proof of the quality and effectiveness of goods and services. Live reviews from users reveal the undistorted, polish-free truth about products and services to viewers. Such user-generated product and service reviews are never doctored to create a false sense of perfection as they often are on sales channels or commercial ads.
User-generated content is a free means of customer generation that should never be ignored by business operators. Neglecting the push for user-generated content is the same as letting great masses of cash slip through your fingers. Take advantage of UGC today. You’ll see the effects in your profit numbers before long. User-generated content is worth spending time on.
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