How to Start Generating User Generated Content

User-Generated Content is the driving force to a successful business today, it can especially make a huge impact on small businesses. Take Starbucks for example. Starbucks lovers have been sharing photos of their Starbuck purchases and sharing them online. Some even have created their customized Starbucks drink to order. This is the epitome of UGC.

UGC is content that is made by consumers. This can mostly take the form of people sharing the products and services they used through social media posts, reviews, or fanart.

UGC makes a huge difference to help bring new customers in. According to Stackla, 79% of consumers say that their purchasing decisions are highly impacted by UGC. Another factor why UGC is beneficial is that 31% of consumers feel that when an ad features UGC content, it makes it more memorable than those without it (Jukin Media). Also, 28% of consumers say that ads without UGC are less unique (Jukin Media). So, UGC is a key factor in making an ad stand out.

How to Start Generating UGC  

Here are some ways you can get started on encouraging UGC from your consumers.

Start a hashtag campaign 

One of the best ways to get your audience to create UGC is to start a hashtag campaign that asks users to post content about your products with your hashtag. One well-known campaign is pioneered by Aerie, which is a brand by American Eagle.

Source: Aerie Instagram

The brand’s Aerie Real campaign sought to encourage body positivity among its consumers and other brands in the industry. With Aerie’s Aerie Real campaign, it encouraged users to post photos embracing their authentic selves with the hashtag #AerieREAL. Their #AerieREAL hashtag garnered 300K posts.

American Eagle launched their Aerie Real campaign in 2014, and to this day, it has become an integral part of the brand’s messaging and it is still going strong.

Host a contest

Another way to generate UGC is to host a contest for your consumers. This could be through sharing an image of them with your product. A great example of this is GoPro Awards.

Source: GoPro.com

GoPro hosts many awards that encourage people to submit their images and videos that were captured through a GoPro. They feature some of these shots on their social media and it has been a great way for GoPro to integrate UGC into their marketing plan.

Reviews

We bet people love the products or services you offer, why not let them share the love? Encouraging your consumers to write reviews on your products is the best way to build credibility with potential consumers and bring in UGC.

Bringing in reviews can simply be done by asking your audience to leave a review. Some ways to ask are through an email campaign, attaching a note on the products they brought, or even blasting it through your social media. To further motivate consumers to write reviews, a little incentive won’t hurt either.

UGC is the next big step in helping your business reach more people. By generating UGC, your business will continue growing.

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