Is User Generated Content The Missing Link?

Is user generated content the missing link in your content marketing plan? It certainly is a possibility as user generated content (UGC) is a fantastic way to increase the variety of your content while also building a relationship with your customers, both of which are things that top web development companies advise clients to do whenever possible.

So is user generated content right for you? Let’s discuss!

What is UGC?

User generated content is basically anything people contribute for free. In theory it is your users or customers providing the content whether it be videos, pictures, testimonials or anything else that you categorize as content. It also helps if the content is easily sharable.

For example, GoPro developed a wonderful marketing plan that revolved around users uploading videos from their GoPro cameras to showcase the adventures they had, showcasing their passion, interest, and of course the amazing video that the camera can capture.

Those videos garner hundreds of thousands of views and are shared across social media regularly along with the GoPro website and YouTube channel. Those views add up and help provide an amazing opportunity and organic marketing push that target users of GoPro connect with because it is obviously not a standard corporate ad campaign.

There are numerous other UGC campaigns out there, both organic and business generated such as the new McDonald’s menu items based on user input, a Facebook poll for a frozen yogurt shop asking for flavor ideas or the Starbucks White Cup Contest.

What are the benefits of using UGC?

The benefits of using UGC include:

• Building customer relationships – This is one of the best ways to build relationships between your business and your customers; by sharing something they feel is important or have created, or giving them input into your business decisions that will directly impact them such as menu suggestions.
• Inexpensive – For many small and medium-sized businesses, resources such as time and money are two things that are limited. UGC is free from a money standpoint and only takes limited time to implement or monitor.
• Increasing trust/credibility – Consumers place the most weight on recommendations in regards to trust from people they know followed by consumer opinions online, both by a decent margin above anything else. User generated content is exactly that, showing to potential customers that other real people like and use said products which leads to more credibility in your marketplace.
• Increasing social reach – Many forms of UGC work well on social media sites like Instagram or Facebook and are a perfect place to showcase them because they can then easily increase your social reach.
• Improved SEO – Links to content, both user and business generated, social shares, positive reviews and the like all raise your overall SEO ranking.
• Increased sales – With everything that UGC can provide it makes perfect sense that it then trickles down to increased sales.

The bottom line is that user generated content may be the missing link for your content marketing strategy. There are far too many benefits from using UGC to not at least consider how you could fit it in to your next campaign, most importantly the ability to connect and gain trust with your base.

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