What Is User-Generated Content And How To Use It In Practice? - Semalt Answer
Content published by customers is very popular at a time when users spend most of their time on social media. This is where they upload or post photos, reviews, and product recommendations. It can be ready-made content for the brand, which studies show has a positive impact on subsequent customers' purchase decisions. So why not use it?
User-generated content - what is it?
UGC is user-generated content. These are posts on social media, articles on private blogs, reviews, product comparisons, opinions, photos or videos created by private individuals and published on the web. Brands replicate these publications about their products or services. They brag about recommendations and positive customer reviews because they see potential in it. The greatest boom of user-generated content falls in line with the time of the spread of social media.
Social media is a great place to post photos, and reviews, leave comments and recommendations and have customers praise certain products to their friends. Companies can easily spot such media, for example, through hashtags on Instagram or programs used to monitor specific keywords on the web. And finally, the brand publishes a positive customer review or an attractive photo. It benefits from this.
UGC and brand image
User-generated content is very profitable for brands. It brings many benefits if used in the right way.
1. Builds customer trust
Recommendations from other customers, positive reviews, and statements on social media strongly influence the increase of customer trust in a brand. If a potential user sees that his/her friends are praising a given product, he/she is more likely to reach for it. It's the same with services. Are you looking for a good accountant? You ask your friends. Looking for a restaurant? You check Google reviews.
Gaining consumer trust is, on the one hand, extremely difficult, and on the other hand, very desirable among brands. Research shows that as many as 92% of users trust the recommendations of family or friends. User-generated content is authentic and this makes it positively affect the purchasing decisions of customers and the perception of the brand, creating trust in it.
2. It helps to make a connection
It is a space to establish positive relations between the brand and its customers. When a company publishes reviews, photos, and customer entries, it gains their loyalty. The consumers feel distinguished and appreciated. And other potential customers notice that people are important to the brand as an individual.
3. Draws attention
User-generated content is memorable and attracts users' attention. Authentic content makes positive impressions and emotions on the consumer, and thanks to that, he or she remembers them better than artificial marketing campaigns.
4. Positively affects the conversion
User-generated content improves conversion rate. Research shows that 79% of consumers make purchase decisions at the instigation of the content generated by other users, and only 8% thanks to influencer recommendations. UGC affects website traffic and popularity. Consumers inspire each other and convince them to buy or take advantage of an offer.
5. It's profitable
Thanks to user materials, brand does not have to create them itself. It is the clients who do the work for a photographer, disseminate information on the Internet and write the copy. The brand just has to notice it and make good use of it. This is a significant saving, but also free materials, which ultimately have a much greater impact on the potential customer than the same activities performed by the marketing team.
UGC creation and positioning
User-generated content has an impact on website positioning. Nothing convinces the customer more than the opinions of other users. Hence, well-known online stores such as Amazon, Zalando, and About You, make sure that the consumer writes an opinion and that this opinion is visible to the potential customer. The customer knows that the company and its employees will speak well of their brand, they expect it. What are the SEO benefits of UGC?
Provides quality content
Opinions, reviews, and blog entries, additionally linked, are marked with original, reliable and qualitative content. SEO needs quality content. There is a very high demand for authentic content and consumer statements are exactly that.
Naturally supports long tail keywords
It is much easier for words with a long tail to rank high in the search engine. Customers, speaking about a brand, naturally use phrases according to which they previously searched for a product or company. They think like consumers because they are consumers. Their words are natural and thus reach the potential customer better.
It affects the main SEO attributes
User-generated content shapes keywords, titles, backlinks and internal linking. Consumer statements naturally strengthen SEO when they, commenting on the product, naturally and unforcedly describe it using keywords.
Generates traffic on social media
Commenting, adding photos and recommending are what social media like. UGC affects the popularity of a given company on social media. Customers encourage each other to discuss and promote certain attitudes and behaviours that help the brand develop its profile and increase its reach.
Google bots like it
Reviews, opinions and statements of users on the web about a given brand have a great influence on bots that assess the reputation of the website based on key principles, one of them being, for example, the authenticity of the content, the number of mentions in the network, their diversity, linking. The more positive buzz customers make, the better the company ranks.
User-generated content - examples
Brands can choose to leverage UGC in several ways. They can offer users to post photos under a specific hashtag promoting a given action. You can, like Amazon, use user reviews that are an expression of opinion, showing new customers how happy others are with a given product. Online stores invite you to add a review after the purchase and then pull it up on their platforms so that it is visible to other users.
An interesting example of user-generated content creation can also be forums. For example, many forums generate more than 15% of organic traffic
Such a classic example of using UGC is Google Your Business. Google gives you the opportunity to create an account for free, which allows, among other things, to add customer reviews. Local businesses and restaurants often use this option.
User-generated content can be used in a variety of ways. It is important to do this skillfully.
User-generated content - good practices
It is very important to make good use of the content that customers create. The way we present this content has an impact on its reception by potential customers and its reach. How to use user-generated content?
Ask for the author's permission
When using the work of others, always ask for their consent. It's not just about copyright laws, it's about how you're going to influence the author's opinion with this question. He/she will feel noticed and valued. They will be more willing to create new content for the brand and recommend it to others. Try to get to the original source to appreciate the actual creator.
Say what content you're looking for
Setting clear goals about what content the brand needs and will use is not a popular procedure, but it is very effective. According to research, customers expect such information. So it's worth trying to work this way with UGC.
Set specific goals
Include customer-generated content in your social media strategy. You must have the plan to use them in such a way as to achieve the assumptions and goals of the brand. They can't be posted on social media just because someone made them. It is worth doing it with an idea so that the user-generated content enriches the company's content, harmonizing with the brand identity.
UGC summary
User-generated content has great potential and can be used in many ways. There are brands that create special campaigns encouraging customers to publish content, there are brands that appreciate already prepared content and try to use its potential. Any way is good for encouraging a potential customer to make purchasing decisions in accordance with the company's sales goals. It is really worth appreciating the potential of content created by consumers.
Interested in SEO? Check out our other articles on the Semalt blog.