What is User Generated Content (UGC)?
User Generated Content (UGC) is any content (videos, reviews, photos, memes, etc.) voluntarily created by real people. It is the purest representation of the relationship that customers have with our brand. And something that marketing professionals dream of.
This type of content brings authenticity, trust and conversion. Its impact and potential are so great that:
- It is capable of connecting with people’s emotions.
- It demonstrates that your product or service has value without forcing it.
- It encourages virality, because it invites other users to participate.
Examples of UGC
Who would have thought that we would put pineapples in our shopping trolleys when we go shopping? Or that we would proudly share the number of times we hear ‘La Macarena’ each year, as if it were a personal achievement? Well, there are inexplicable things that simply make us unique as human beings and connect us with others.
These cases, along with others such as low-cost creams or viral clothing, have become a phenomenon on social media with millions of comments and views, demonstrating our ability to create influential content.
In the end, it is that simplicity that makes the difference and hooks us. We are not looking for the best-framed photograph or shots taken with a drone. We just want to feel alive, to share tastes with other people and to be part of something.
Low investment, but high engagement and conversion
If you have experience generating content, you know that professional content takes time and resources. From script creation to recording to post-production. That cost can also increase if we need a celebrity or influencer to carry it out.
However, UGC is low cost, as it is your own audience who generates that content for you, and they do so with greater impact and in a genuine way. According to Nielsen, UGC content has up to 4 times more click-through rates than traditional ads.
This leads us to believe that, in the end, user-generated content is like a wheel, where engagement generates greater engagement and inspires other users to join in.
How can UGC be incorporated into a marketing strategy?
I would love to have a guide to share so that we could generate this type of content in a few steps, but unfortunately there isn’t one. What we can do is follow a method:
- Define the objective: as always, we must be clear about what we want to achieve. For example, we want our brand to increase its reputation and visibility on TikTok.
- Choose the right channels: find your audience and think of content that can go viral on the channel they use most.
- Activate dynamics: to encourage participation, we can launch challenges and competitions, always giving freedom and providing reasons and rewards to generate them.
Authenticity always connects
In this new reality where we trust less and less what we see and hear, content generated by real people brings us together by sharing experiences and emotions that do not need a script.
Therefore, we must continue to focus on authenticity and let people talk about us without filters, because authenticity connects and sets us apart.
