What is User-Generated Content (UGC) and How Can You Use It For Your Business?

According to Bazaar Voice, 53% of baby boomers and 64% of millennials want more networks allowing them to share their opinions about brands. In addition, other studies have shown that consumers trust user-generated content (UGC) more than other forms of social media.

UGC can be a good method to engage your readers and build trust within your customers. You may have encountered UGC efforts without even realizing them! For example, DailyHive (used to be Vancity Buzz) had posted an article called “Vancouver Cheap Eats: Tacos” mentioning restaurants such as La Taqueria, Tacofino, Tacomio; In that article, restaurants are actually exercising UGC on blogs to promote awareness for their brand.

• So, What is User-Generated Content (UGC)?

Technopedia defines it as “any digital content that is produced and shared by end-users of an online service or website.” It is any content that is produced or shared by users that are currently subscribers or members of the service only, not by the company itself. The content can be blogs, discussion forums, posts, chats, tweets, digital images, videos, audio, and etcetera, developed by users of online system or services.

• How To Use UGC In Your Business?

Most UGC campaigns have been promoted on social media or online in the past. Companies often reward consumer with prizes to encourage participation or positive presentation of their products and service.

Here are a few tips suggested by HubSpot when implementing an UGC promotional strategy:

1) Match your promotions with your audience type:
Many companies often ask individuals to upload photos or videos. Keep in mind, this may not be suitable for all companies. If your consumers are older in age, video clips and online social media UGC strategies may not be as effective.

2) Best to implement UGC campaigns that can help you advertise:
The goal of UGC often is to regain something tangible and repackage the content so you can use it for future marketing efforts. You should implement campaigns where the entries (e.g. photos, videos, testimonials) can be converted for future advertising purposes.

3) Make the amount of reward being given out equivalent to the effort required by consumers:
If you require consumers to make detailed and informative videos in high quality, it is only fair if your reward is large enough to compensate for their efforts, work, and loyalty!

4) Make entry stages easy and clear:
This means instructions of entry is clear, submission websites are easy to navigate, and forms are straight forward and simple to fill out. Ensure that your campaign complies with legal requirements of your area and informs consumers the restrictions your campaign is subjected to.

5) Finally, ensure that your campaign meets legal requirements:
Make sure you have asked for consent from consumers before using submitted social media contents and follows local or international laws (if it is a big UGC campaign you are running).

• Examples of UGC:

1) Coca-Cola – The best example that everyone is aware of would be Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign, where the company produced customized Coke bottles with customer’s names on their bottle label. Exposure on social media, such as Twitter, increased since this campaign was available in different cities and customers were asked to share pictures of their coke bottles. This campaign started off in Australia in 2011, but expanded to other parts of the world, such as United States, United Kingdom, and more, due to its popularity. This UGC campaign itself attributed to a 2% increased in U.S. sales after a decade of declining revenues!

2) Starbucks – Starbucks also utilized UGC when they launched the “Starbucks’ White Cup Contest” in April 2014. Customers all around the world were asked to design their Starbucks cup and upload a picture of their final design on social media. around 4,000 customers had submitted entries within three weeks and Starbucks utilized this strategy to gain awareness and publicity.

Sources:
http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/examples-of-user-generated-content#sm.0001wlr3v58exdgqqa72em0i8cg6l
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/3138/user-generated-content-ugc
https://thisisnotadvertising.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/coke_connect_land.jpg
http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/longcups-1024×341.jpg.jpg
https://interactiveonline.com/wp-content/uploads/pic-social-bubbles.png
https://interactiveonline.com/wp-content/uploads/pic-social-bubbles.png