How User-Generated Content Can Help Your Business Grow
Say you decide to go out for coffee with a friend and want to share your experience with your online friends. You snap a picture of the coffee and tag the business’s location for your followers to know, then post it to your feed. This effortless task we see daily on Instagram and Facebook is a form of user-generated content (UGC) and a tool many businesses have been taking advantage of.
What Is User-Generated Content?
User-generated content is any form of created content published by unpaid contributors, such as customers, fans, or followers. This type of content can be anything from social media posts, reviews, videos, blog posts, or photos.
User-generated content (UGC) has become increasingly popular in recent years with the rise of social media influence. And people’s continued efforts to understand a business through peer reviews. Brands and businesses have started to take advantage of this and use user-generated content as a tool to increase leads and create effortless marketing campaigns. The amount of content and users that exist on all social media platforms creates an easy opportunity for businesses to get their products noticed by the world and their ideal customers, especially if heavily followed users are recommending them.
Why Is It Important To Take Advantage of User-Generated Content?
This free content method comes with many benefits for brands and businesses. If it is incorporated into a businesses marketing strategy, it can provide:
Increased Engagement
One of the most significant benefits of user-generated content is the increased engagement it produces. When people create content, they are more likely to engage with it and share it with their friends and followers. This creates a type of ripple effect – as more people engage with the content that was originally put out and share it with their own friends and followers, it leads to an increased amount of engagement with that business and its products.
A great example of this is Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign, where they encouraged customers to personalize bottles and cans with their names and share photos on social media using the hashtag #Shareacoke. This campaign generated countless photos and videos, with millions of people engaging with Coca-Cola on social media.
Improved Authenticity
It is known that consumers trust other consumers more than they trust brands. User-generated content is the perfect solution for brands to gain customers’ trust.
When people share their favorable experiences with a product or service, they provide honest and unbiased feedback. More often than not, that feedback will build a foundation of trust with potential customers and improve the brand’s overall perception.
Cost-Effective Marketing
Many businesses know just how expensive and time-consuming quality marketing content can be. UGC offers a great marketing strategy that can produce results for free.
Consumers are using your products for free and if satisfied, will showcase it online and build a connection with like-minded individuals. This can bring your business more traffic on your online platforms or physically to your storefront if you have one.
Boost in SEO
Positive customer reviews and feedback can produce great results for your brand’s search engine optimization. Consumers often post links to your business’s social media page or website. Every link shared is a way to find your business, which can cause a real boost for you!
This is also a great opportunity for your business to evaluate the keywords your customers are using in their feedback and implement them in your keyword optimization plan. Also, you can take advantage of hashtags that may be trending with your product or service.
Start Your UGC Journey Today
It’s never too late to integrate user-generated content into your marketing strategy. It can be as simple as encouraging your customers to leave reviews or amp it up by creating a #hashtag contest. Brainstorm some ideas to get your followers and consumers involved with your business in a fun and approaching way.
Also, don’t forget to post on your social media platforms! Give your followers something to like, watch, share, etc. This can only help market your brand and allow UGC to happen.
Have questions about forming a marketing plan? Iceberg Web Design specializes in SEO & Digital Marketing services! We can help with your reputation management to help understand how you can leverage great reviews and other user-generated content. We want to help your business grow – contact us today to get started.
