User-Generated Content for the Win!

What is user-generated content? How can consumer-generated content step up your marketing game? User-generated content, or UGC, involves online users rather than the brand owner creating content (Chaffey & Smith, 2017). Therefore, brands can utilize user consumer-generated campaigns to motivate users to engage with the brand through intrinsic intent rather than influencing engagement from the brand itself (Tuten & Soloman, 2018). Brands can establish trust through consumer reviews, engagement, and building relationships with their audience by utilizing user-generated content.

Since consumers trust other customer reviews and rely on consumer reviews before making purchases, user-generated content promotes the brand’s products through the advocacy of its customers. Follow the five steps to implement user-generated content into your next marketing campaign successfully:

#1: Select the Right, Impactful Social Media Platforms

Selecting the correct platforms for the most impactful campaign is essential before creating user-generated content contests. Marketers must choose the best platforms for campaigns based on the brand's target audience and the content type. For example, Facebook and Instagram are best fitted for photos or video content for Millennials to older demographics. At the same time, TikTok is best for reaching younger Gen Z and Millennial generations with short-type video content. Therefore, the platforms chosen to depend on the content types the brand wants from consumers and how to best engage with its target market.

#2: Create Goals and Guidelines

User-generated content is a consumer contest in users submitting content to compete to be highlighted across the brand's online platforms. Creating clear, concise guidelines is essential for user-generated content to allow clarity and rules for customers to follow when submitting their personal stories, photos, or videos to the company. Marketers also need to create goals for the campaign to measure key performance indicators and the overall campaign's success to adjust future marketing actions for better engagement.

#3: Tell Your Audience What You Want

Along with setting goals and guidelines, marketers must tell users the content they want to be featured across their website and social media accounts. For example, GoPro heavily relies on user-generated content for its marketing activities by showcasing its products' community support and quality through customer-submitted videos and photos. Brands may want to highlight their customer experience or the quality of their products; therefore, the type of content submitted by customers is essential to promote the brand, like sharing customer stories or usage of products.

When you get the chance, check out GoPro’s user-generated content across its website and social media accounts at https://gopro.com/en/us/! They provide excellent examples of how consumer content promotes a brand while creating a sense of community.

#4: Collaborate and Build a Community

User-generated content also creates a sense of community and trust between the brand and its audience. By showing consumer reviews and advocacy for the brand, marketers create an emotional connection with users. The consumer-generated content creates shareable content, as well. For example, marketers can tag and mention the users that submitted the content to boost shares, comments, likes, and other digital analytic metrics. Don’t forget to be consistent and frequent when responding to comments and engaging with users to continue to build upon the trust and relationships with the audience!

#5: Analyze and Benchmark Campaign Metrics

It is essential to review and analyze analytics from the brand's website continuously, and social media account with any social media marketing campaign. By frequently analyzing the post metrics, marketers can understand what movements and marketing behaviors work best for their target audience. Brands should also benchmark analytics with previous campaigns and competitors' activities to learn how to adjust their current activities to better results. Therefore, brands should review their user-generated content to decipher what content consumers submit is most efficient and effective.

Don’t be afraid to give user-generated content a try for your next online marketing campaign. Comment below or email me at grace.martin@email.saintleo.edu to share other brands that use successful user-generated content campaigns. Also, join me for my next blog, where I will be discussing predictions for social media marketing trends in 2022.

References

Chaffey, D., & Smith, P. R. (2017). Digital Marketing Excellence: Planning, optimizing and integrating online marketing(5th ed.). Routledge.

Das, S. (2021, May 12). User-generated content: Socialization of Elearning Content. eLearning Industry. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://elearningindustry.com/user-generated-content-ugc-socialization-of-elearning-content

GoPro. (2022). About Us. GoPro. Retrieved March 19, 2022, from https://gopro.com/en/us/legal/about-us

GoPro. (2022). Instagram: GoPro. Login • Instagram. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.instagram.com/gopro/

Lundmark. (2018, April 26). User-generated content- marketing made for you. Lundmark. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://lundmarkadvertising.com/user-generated-content/

Ramby, K. (2021, December 14). What is user-generated content? The ultimate guide to UGC. Stackla. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://stackla.com/resources/blog/what-is-user-generated-content/

Tuten, T. L., & Solomon, M. R. (2018). Social Media Marketing (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.