UGC is becoming a mainstay of any marketing strategy. It’s been proven that integrating UGC into brand marketing campaigns helps acquire new customers, drive loyalty, and increase revenue.
Additionally, UGC can be used across multiple channels and platforms. It is especially effective when used in visual e-commerce.
User-generated content (UGC) is basically any kind of content created by contributors, typically your customers, without any compensation in return.
UGC takes a variety of forms, including:
UGC is extremely valuable in making a purchase decision. Sourcing UGC is the easy part because customers are out there generating it every day.
Magellan Solutions‘ then takes a step further with your UCG by:
It’s vital to define what your brand stands for and what your values are.
Whatever your brand values</a, UGC is one way to connect with people who believe in the same values.
Consider the fashion industry. Many brands are famous for airbrushing size-zero models to unattainable beauty standards.
Swimwear brand Aerie decided to stop retouching photos and use only unairbrushed models in its ads.
Additionally, for every Instagram user who posted an unedited photo of themselves in swimwear using the hashtag #AerieReal, the company donates $1 to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).
When the product you’re selling is hard to show off on a visual platform like Instagram, you have to get creative with your user-generated content campaigns.
Software companies have been a pioneering force. Instead of showing screenshots or stock photos, they’ve been letting users share their pictures using hashtags.
Software company Adobe got in on the act. It uses the hashtag #Adobe_Perspective to let people share picturesque content they have created using their product.
Users gain the bonus of having their work shared through Adobe’s Instagram channel.
The company also runs seasonal and monthly campaigns, using the hashtag #AdobeUnexpected, to highlight interesting and unusual visual works created by its customers.
One of the most basic forms of user-generated content is the testimonial.
Simply taking the words from your customer reviews and highlighting them on your site can be incredibly powerful. Your buyers will love seeing their words in lights, and other users will be encouraged to write more reviews as well.
E-commerce home furniture brand Wayfair did exactly that when it asked its customers to post photos of their Wayfair furniture in their home, using the hashtag #WayfairAtHome to Twitter and Instagram.
Instead of professionally taken product photos on the company website, consumers can see pictures of Wayfair’s furniture in real homes.
To get more exposure and engagement, e-commerce brands can run campaigns that tie in with important national events and holidays.
M·A·C (Make-up Art Cosmetics) took advantage of the trend for ambitious and creative Halloween costumes and make-up to create the #SeniorArtistsSlayHalloween hashtag. Their campaign focused on getting make-up artists around the world to share their creations for Halloween.
By leveraging a popular holiday, M·A·C was able to gain even more attention and get fantastic photos of customers using its products to create elaborate costumes.
If you want users to create content for you, you can also motivate them by offering a prize. Your customers will love it even more if it’s something exclusive they couldn’t easily get from elsewhere.
Fashion retailer Marc Jacobs decided to cast nonprofessionals in an upcoming modeling campaign.
The designer came up with the #CastMeMarc hashtag to allow people to post selfies to “win” the opportunity to be a model in his next campaign.
The campaign generated a ton of buzz for the brand, highlighting customers and potential customers at the same time.
User-generated content has a powerful impact on e-commerce sales. UGC has such a strong ROI because it costs very little for brands on the front end, and can be used in multi-channel marketing across almost any platform.
Said companies were able to achieve their goals of driving traffic and boosting conversions with user-generated content.
Want to learn more about how your brand can generate greater ROI using UGC? Contact us today for a quote!
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