UGC rising importance in e-commerce

“Marketing a brand is essential in today’s world, and there are many tools for it available, but the best option by far remains to be User Generated Content (UGC).

User-Generated Content in its essence is proof that the consumer likes the product you have put out. User Generated Content includes mentions of your brand and its products in their life without any prompts and solely based on their experience. User Generated Content includes pictures of the brand being posted, mentions of the brand on blogs and the reviews on various sites.

User Generated Content has turned into one of the pillars of marketing strategy, and if you are not already using it, the chances are that you are missing out on a lot of potential. Nothing is beneficial like customers promoting your brand for you.

User Generated Content is the way to make people who like your products into advocates for your brand and start building communities around the brand to gain popularity.

User Generated Content includes everything that a customer might say or create for your brand in his network. This contains posts on social media to reviews, blog posts, videos, and other formats. This turns into a buying experience for the customer which might make them favor your company over the rivals.

Pictures and videos currently dominate User-Generated Content. Over 54% of the UGC created by adults is made of photos and videos which end up on social media. The newer generations including Millennials and Gen-Z prefer pictures as well as product reviews which make up 29% of the UGC created.

User Generated Content has seen an exponential growth because of social sharing which offers a larger audience base and makes the marketing more personal and genuine. Seeing peers post content about a product also makes the product feel relatable to a potential customer.

Benefits of UGC that You should know

UGC Puts the Customer at the Center

User-Generated Content puts your customers and fans at the center of the marketing strategy which is a win-win for the brand and customers.

The use of UGC means:

The customers speak for your brand

Your message comes from individuals as compared to the brand

You are now marketing with the audience instead of at them

User-Generated Content is social proof

Content posted by your real customers on social media is proof of the quality and other factors of your product. This proof created by UGC is one of the best benefits of UGC. This increases the credibility of your brand. People tend to prefer User Generated Content with over 72% of adults being influenced by pictures on social media and YouTube reviews getting ten times more views than the content from the brand.

User-Generated Content is more trustworthy to customers

The opinions posted by customers come off as genuine and unbiased. This leads to an increase in the appeal of your product along with increasing your credibility. While only 25% of the branded content is trusted overall, 47% Millennials and 26% Baby Boomers believe User Generated Content. These statistics are shocking and compelling proof that you need to include User Generated Content into your marketing strategy.

User-Generated Content supplements your Branded Content

No matter how large your marketing budget, it will always fall short of its audience if not for User Generated Content. The best part about User Generated Content is that it is free of cost and thus can supplement your marketing strategy without having to spend a penny. The millions of customers also give you a larger audience base.
The brand engagement increased about 28% percent every time User Generated Content and promoted content were used together.

User-Generated Content is seen as a conversation with customers

The mistake that most brands do is not talk with their target demographic which makes them feel alienated. User-Generated Content makes sure that you look like you are open for a conversation about the brand with the audience which has a positive impact.

User-Generated Content helps cut through the noise

In the world of advertisement, all branded content seems to be noise and User Generated Content can help you get past it without any hassle. User Generated Content is a way to re-engage with your audience and make your brand seem more genuine.

A significant benefit of User Generated Content is that it increases the effectiveness of your brand. Now that you know all about User Generated Content, it is time to get working on it. There are many ways to use user-generated content in digital marketing companies content marketing strategy in the current era, where customers can create their own content about your products or services online.”