User-Generated Content: Turning Users Into Advocates

If you regularly emerge at Oxford Circus at rush hour, the chances are you’ve had a can of Diet Coke thrust into your hands, whether you want it or not.  And for the next 100 yards there is a graveyard of half-drunk cans. 

Which begs the question - how much are brands wasting by putting the wrong thing in the wrong hands? Imagine the millions that could be clawed back annually as companies try to get consumers to take notice, try their product and change their buying behaviours.

With game-changing marketing in the form of User Generated Content (UGC), brands now possess the remarkable capability to seamlessly place the perfect product into precisely the right hands, exactly when it matters most. 

What is UGC?

User-generated content, or UGC, is genuine branded content in the form of images, videos, reviews, or podcasts created by influencers, customers, or UGC creators. Its purpose is to promote specific products or services by blending the creator’s content, personal experiences, and self-promotion in a unique way. 

Through UGC, brands can give their products to the right customers who already cherish the products and are willing to give genuine reviews or testimonials. This may lead to the creation of authentic content based on the customer’s personal experience with the products. 

UGC content is typically shared exclusively on the brand’s social media channels, rather than on the account of influencers or UGC creators. This approach allows brands to provide social proof of their product’s benefits to their existing audience base. 

What are UGC benefits for brands?

The primary aim of running a UGC campaign or hiring UGC creators is to produce authentic content to spotlight your products or services' benefits to your existing audience. Your brand can also reap various advantages of UGC outlined below:

Establish brand loyalty

UGC opens up conversations between a brand and its customers, and this level of interaction helps to build a sense of community and brand loyalty. By sharing authentic content based on the customer’s or influencer’s personal experiences, brands offer customers a chance to take part in the brand’s story and growth, making them feel valued while also deepening their relationships. 

Boost credibility through authenticity

By leveraging UGC, brands can utilise influencers, UGC creators or even customers’ unique and authentic content to promote and showcase the benefits of their products and services. UGC is often filled with personal stories and emotions, making customers perceive these types of content as trustworthy and genuine. 

UGC content is grounded in the other user’s personal experience with the products, hence fostering trust between customers and brands. People these days trust other people's opinions, and UGC acts as the most effective way of word of mouth. 

Influence purchasing decisions

UGC has a profound impact on the final stage of a buyer’s journey. Its authenticity acts as social proof—the non-promotional, unaltered, and easy to grasp content persuades potential customers to believe your product is worth purchasing. For example, when your audience sees influencers using your product, they can visualise its benefits and how well it seamlessly complements the influencer’s style. This might also sway their decision to make a purchase. 

More precisely, 85% of customers believed that UGC plays a significant role in purchasing decisions. Customers who have come across UGC are more likely to make purchases than those who have been exposed to branded content.

How The Influence Room can help?

Introducing the newest and fastest-growing influencer marketing platform: The Influence Room. A straightforward and all-in-one dashboard where creators, influencers, or customers have the opportunity to try the products or services they love while also collaborating with the world’s top brands. 

The Influence Room can help you to start a successful UGC campaign, from finding real advocates who already love your brand to managing the entire campaign process, and ultimately generating and analysing impactful results. 

By allowing your samples to be chosen by those who desire them, you are putting the right products into the right hands precisely when needed. This approach will likely result in better awareness, positive sentiment, brand loyalty, elevated credibility, and more positive buying intentions. It will also stop you from wasting time, money, and effort. 

So stop throwing the product on stony ground, and allow it to be chosen by those who are genuine fans or genuinely curious.  That’s the beauty of The Influence Room, the space where collaboration and brand love are still the most important factors. Book a free demo to discover how The Influence Room can make a difference for your brand.