What is User-Generated Content (UGC) & Why is it important?
We’re in the year 2021.
The world has changed in so many ways, some for better, some for worse – and one thing that has drastically changed in the past ten to fifteen years, is online marketing. Social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are constantly altering and reforming the digital world as we know it. Brands are now rapidly adapting to this new wave, in fear of being left behind.
The days of professionally made content may be firmly in the rear-view mirror, and a new form of digital marketing is taking over. User-generated content (UGC) has become a very real and effective method for brands to not just increase their revenue, but also build customer trust and loyalty.
Nearly everyone has access to a smart-phone and social media these days, which means nearly everyone has the ability to capture highly engaging, quality content (and be marketed to).
So, what exactly IS UGC and how can it help YOUR brand? Keep reading as we break it down and explain how user-generated content can increase your brands revenue.
What is User-Generated Content?
User generated content, or UGC, is any form of content that has been created by individual people and posted online. This can include written text, images, videos, reviews – you name it.
The important thing is - it isn’t created by a brand.
Obviously, this isn’t new information - online reviews, photos, and videos have been around since the dawn of the internet. Brands began to realise the power of UGC alongside the rise of social networks, but there is still much to learn.
Here at Creative Converters, we have discovered that UGC can be used for far more than just ‘earned media’, and we have unlocked its full potential.
We have helped scale countless businesses into revenue streams they never dreamed possible prior to working with us, and we’ve done it all with our winning UGC ad formula.
The Impact of User-Generated Content on Branding
The most common concern we hear from new clients is how they are sceptical about using UGC as their brands main form of advertising.
Look, we get it – it’s extremely hard to justify moving away from professionally shot, full-scale studio ads and replace them with UGC content. But the results speak for themselves – UGC is something that brands cannot ignore.
It is also far more accessible to small brands and start-ups than it is with an entire studio-shot ad campaign.
While the internet has made us more connected than ever before, it simultaneously disconnects us. People (especially millennials) crave stories, they crave unique experiences, they crave connection with real people.
Literally billions of photos and videos are posted to social media platforms. Every. Single. Day.
This creates something that brands simply cannot produce – a truly authentic brand experience. With that comes an entirely new marketing strategy, one that we have tried and tested. One in which brands can market with people, not to them.
After working alongside a variety of companies, our data clearly shows that UGC is without a doubt the most trusted, memorable, and influential content available to brands today.
Here’s a few of the major benefits we’ve noticed with our partners:
UGC is authentic
The vast majority of customers don’t want picture-perfect content. They want raw. They want real. Consumers are far more likely to trust the opinions of real people over the brand themselves – why? It’s more relatable!
Picture this, you’re looking to buy a new skincare product. You’ve finally narrowed it down to two choices.
The first brand has an advert of their founder and CEO talking about the wonderful benefits of their acne cream, discussing all the statistics, and why he developed the cream.
The second brand has an ad campaign of regular, everyday people talking about their personal experiences with acne, videos of them using the product and talking about the real results they’ve seen in their skin.
I know which one I’m buying out of the two (pssst, it’s the second one).
On social media platforms, people don’t want to be lectured by somebody who works for the company about why they should buy their product. They want to see real people talking about real results. It’s far easier to relate to people who bear a resemblance to yourself.
This is why we are seeing a trend in user-generated content becoming the mainstream on Facebook, Instagram, and now TikTok. Customers would much rather watch everyday people talk about their views on a product than read a static image of all the benefits.
UGC ‘stops the scroll’ and is remembered
Look, brands are being ignored in 2021. This is simply because of an overwhelming saturation of the market. More products equal more noise.
As an ecommerce brand, your best marketing tools are social media platforms. Unfortunately, consumer attention spans are only getting shorter and shorter, and to avoid being scrolled past, you must be remembered and stand out from the crowd.
Our breakthrough formula is proving time and time again that the consumer content we create is stopping the scroll, being remembered, and converting more sales. Behind authenticity, being memorable is one of the most crucial assets to have in the modern digital space. Without repeat customers and supporters, almost all ecommerce brands will fail.
UGC creates customer trust and loyalty
Whatever your business is offering - a product, a service, anything – modern consumers have an ever-growing need to know exactly what they are getting before they even think of placing an order.
Establishing a lasting relationship with your customers should always be a priority for all companies, and UGC has the potential to bring brand and customer closer than ever before.
Humans are social animals by nature. Introducing authentic social interaction into your businesses marketing strategy will effectively create a real community around your product. Both new and returning customers will be far more likely to engage in conversation, whether this is leaving reviews or recommending to a friend.
User-generated content triggers that sense of community we all innately crave.
UGC helps scale ecommerce brands
This is the main reason more brands than ever are turning to UGC, and most likely why you are reading this article.
The influence this type of content has on purchasing decisions is huge. A recent study found that nearly 80% of consumers agreed that user-generated content highly impacts their purchasing decisions.
Also, there are so many social platforms, there’s no way that brands can keep up with the constant demand for novel ad campaigns. However, consumer content has been proven to work across all types of media, plus it’s incredibly scalable.
When you look at all this data, it begs the question – can your brand afford not to utilise UGC?
Our numbers don’t lie. Creative Converters has helped scale countless online products and brands. Our method has been responsible for over $100M in ecommerce sales. We have tried and tested our unique formula across Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok, all with great success.
Feel free to visit our success stories page to get a better understanding of the kind of sales this type of content can achieve.
Save Money, Save Time, Save Effort
If you’ve made it this far, you now (hopefully) understand the true power of UGC content.
You’re probably thinking, “That’s all well and good, but how to I implement all of this into my brand?”
Good question – that’s where we come in!
Here at Creative Converters, we offer an extensive range of UGC ad campaign packages to help scale your business.
We have accumulated an impressive pool of personnel from all walks of life, they are known as our creators. Working closely with our creators, we guide them to produce authentic and engaging UGC for your products. They are all trained to authentically sell any product via native review style videos that do not get skipped.
We have created an extremely well-oiled 4-week machine that creates UGC video advertisements from start to finish, for your brand to run on your social platforms.
Working with us will save your company effort, time, and money, as we are experts within the UGC space. We proudly claim to have been the first agency in Australia offering this type of digital marketing. So, it’s safe to say, you’re in good hands.