This informal CPD article ‘How to utilize user-generated content (UGC) to help grow your business’ was provided by Product Marketing Alliance, a company founded in 2019 with a mission of uniting product marketers across the globe.
In the current tech landscape, modern consumers are more skeptical than ever of traditional marketing tactics (1). You can shout from the rooftops about the values and virtues of your product but ultimately that’s what everyone’s doing. And the hard reality is prospective customers just aren’t convinced by it anymore.
Customers want to hear from those who don’t have a vested interest in your company’s growth, but simply really love your product (2). What does this look like in practice? User-generated content (UGC). Many organizations have reaped the benefits of this strategy, and we’ll take a closer look at these case studies in this article. But first, let’s go over some basic UGC 101.
What is user-generated content?
User-generated content is when customers showcase your product through written testimonials, videos, or social clips. This will often show how the product has enhanced their day-to-day life. Your organization will then incorporate this feedback into content aimed at increasing your customer conversion, retention, etc.
For example, if you were creating user-generated content for a makeup brand, a user might post a before and after video (before using your product and after using it) to really drive home the impact of your product. And from the company’s perspective, name a better way to demonstrate the value of the product than by showcasing the real benefits on a customer’s daily life.
However, as with most things, it’s about how you use UGC more than anything else. A single piece of UGC can be incredibly valuable, but if no one sees it, all that value is diminished. So, you should make your UGC part of a carefully designed marketing campaign. Equally, you need to ensure you offer some kind of incentive for creating UGC. Some companies offer freebies for consumers who create this kind of content, for example. The ultimate goal is that you have a self-sustaining system, where users feel compelled to create content of their own accord, without you having to chase individuals.
What is the true value of user-generated content?
In terms of how UCG can help you grow your business, the stats speak for themselves:
- Nielsen found that 92% of consumers are more likely to be influenced by recommendations from friends and family than conventional advertising – this means that if they see someone that they know – a colleague for example – endorsing a product online, it’s more likely to get them to convert (3).
- A survey from Stackla found that 86% of consumers value authenticity when making purchasing decisions (4). UGC gives your brand an air of authenticity, as the messaging is coming from genuine satisfied customers.
- A survey from Nosto found that 87% of consumers prefer images of genuine customers to stock photos (5).
It is generally known that customer retention is less costly than customer acquisition, and one of the ways that UGC can really help grow your business from a fledgling startup to an enterprise organization is through user-generated content (6).
Users show loyalty when you not only give them a great product, but make them feel valued, when you make them feel a part of the family. The main benefits of UGC, then, are twofold: it gives your marketing campaign that air of authenticity and trustworthiness that’s going to give you an advantage over your competitors, and it also helps to build the foundation of trust that turns customers into long-term customers.