January 18, 2023
Eyes4Research
User-generated content is nothing new. Letters to the editor qualify as user-generated content, as does fan fiction and even the Oxford English Dictionary, which was initially compiled from slips of paper. The bottom line is that we have always loved to put our two cents in on our favorite platforms. YouTube, blogs, and social media are all vehicles that allow people to create their own content.
User-generated content can be a valuable tool for brands that use it wisely. According to the Nielsen Consumer Trust Index, 92% of consumers trust organic, user-generated content more than they trust traditional advertising. Content is indeed king, and brands often cite insufficient production resources as their greatest content marketing challenge. Here are 5 other ways brands benefit from integrating user-generated content into their marketing strategies.
Boost Social Media Reach and Growth
It’s no secret that user-generated content is tailor-made for social media. Consumers have become accustomed to seeing everyday, relatable people on social media platforms, and there is a specific authenticity in that content that is hard to replicate in intentionally branded content. Executing a user-generated content campaign on social is an excellent strategy to strengthen a brand and build customer relationships.
There are a few things brands can do to encourage user-generated content on social media like create a branded hashtag, launch a photo or video contest on visually-focused platforms like Instagram, or ask a question on Facebook or Twitter, where potential customers can engage with brands, as well as each other. Pulling all of the levers of engagement is the entire objective of social media and brands can see their reach grow exponentially by utilizing the tools of the platforms to produce user-generated content.
Gather Audience Insights
User-generated content can yield a gold mine of data for brands, a secondary benefit that is often overlooked. When a brand analyzes the content that its audience is sharing, it can gather some key insights about what type of content its audience enjoys and what they find engaging. And when these brands center data in their marketing strategies, these insights help generate leads and increase sales.
A good first step is to conduct a simple audit of the content that is being posted. What is the audience saying about it in comments or reviews? If there are things that the audience has been complaining about, how can they be improved?
User-generated content does not mean that audiences should be allowed to run away with a brand’s messaging– content should always be aligned with the story of a brand, regardless of opinions on a gallery of photos in a post or a recently uploaded video.
Creation of Unique Content
A brand’s audience is going to create different content than what would be produced internally by a marketing team. The blog posts, videos, photos, and even reviews from the audience offer a fresh point of view that keeps things interesting. User-generated content also invites new audiences to participate and create their own content, and it keeps loyal users engaged.
Increased Personalization
Personalized content is another key advantage of user-generated content. Brands have to understand what resonates with their audience in order to get them to notice and engage with their content. Research shows that 71% of consumers prefer personalized ads. Brands should
use data to learn what type of content their audience enjoys and use those insights to inform their marketing strategies. It will help companies develop an online community that strengthens the customer/brand relationship.
Elevate SEO Rankings
Employing more user-generated content also has perks for SEO. According to Kissmetrics, 25% of the search results for the world’s top 25 brands are links to user-generated content. Positive reviews from a brand’s audience can also elevate its SEO ranking. And if users publish their content on their own websites, the backlinks to the brand’s website will raise its SEO ranking, as well.
When leveraged properly, user-generated content encourages engagement and helps grow your audience. It improves SEO, boosts your lead generation efforts, and most importantly, it’s cost-effective.
Read more about branding and marketing on the Eyes4Research blog. Eyes4Research also has everything you need to collect high-quality insights from consumers. Our panels are comprised of B2B, B2C, and specialty audiences ready to participate in your next research project. Learn more about our specialty panels here.