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New Update: Boost Social Proof with Reviews & Automation
Stacey Corrin
Stacey Corrin
John Turner
John Turner
I still remember the first time I saw user-generated content work. A customer posted a photo of our product and tagged us on Instagram. That one post brought in more clicks than the ad we were running at the time.
That’s when I realized just how powerful UGC can be.
So, what is user generated content? It’s any content that real customers create and share about your brand. This includes photos, videos, reviews, testimonials, and social posts. The key is that it comes from your audience, not your marketing team.
In this post, I’ll walk you through what user-generated content is, why it matters, and how you can use it to grow your business with simple strategies and real examples.
Quick Summary:
User-generated content (UGC) or consumer-generated content is brand-specific original content that customers publish on social media and other social networks. There are many types of user-generated content (UGC), from customer photos and unboxing videos to detailed reviews and social posts. It’s one of the most trusted forms of marketing because it comes directly from your audience.
Here is an example of user-generated content from Alexander McQueen:
You can get user-generated content from various sources online. The most popular places to get user-created content from are:
So far, you know what UGC is and where to get it, but why is it so important for your business? Let’s find out.
User-generated content is one of the most effective marketing tactics to engage customers and boost conversions at every stage of the buyer journey. Moreover, you can use this customer-focused content on social media and other channels, such as landing pages, email marketing, and even your checkout page.
Here are several other benefits of featuring user-generated content in your marketing material.
Competition is fierce online, with many brands fighting to capture and keep their target audience’s attention. Consequently, shoppers are more selective about the brands they engage with and purchase from.
60% of marketers agree that authenticity and quality are important features of successful content. And there’s no other content that’s more authentic than UGC.
Think of user-generated content as the modern version of word-of-mouth marketing. It’s authentic because it comes from real people, not brands.
UGC is also an excellent way to improve trust in your brand. In fact, 93% of marketers say that consumers trust content from customers more than brand-generated content.
It makes sense, given the influx of fake news and failed mass marketing campaigns like the Fyre Festival.
Essentially, shoppers use UGC as a trust signal in the same way they’d ask friends and family for an opinion. As a result, UGC can shine as precisely that: a personal recommendation.
Besides establishing trust, UGC allows users to contribute to your brand’s growth instead of watching from the sidelines. This can influence brand loyalty because people aspire to be part of something greater than themselves, and UGC lets them become part of a growing community.
UGC can also spark conversations between brands and consumers. With this level of interaction, you can build and grow an engaged community, develop audience and business relationships, and drive more brand loyalty.
In the bottom stages of the buyer journey, user-generated content can be highly influential. At this stage, you’re looking to convert your audience and encourage them to make a purchase decision.
Because UGC acts as authentic social proof, it indicates that your product is worth buying. For instance, your target audience sees people just like them using or wearing your product, which convinces them to buy it.
You can even show your fur babies using your product just like Casper does with this UGC Instagram post:
Not sure how user-generated content stacks up against other types of content? Here’s a quick comparison to help you see the differences at a glance.
| User Generated Content (UGC) | Influencer Content | Branded Content |
|---|---|---|
| Created by real customers or fans | Created by paid personalities | Created by your brand or team |
| Unpaid and authentic | Sponsored and often polished | Planned and fully controlled |
| Shared freely on social or in reviews | Shared on influencer’s channels | Shared on official brand channels |
| Builds trust through real experiences | Builds visibility through reach | Builds awareness through branding |
| Often repurposed with permission | Part of a contract or paid agreement | Used across official campaigns |
This table shows why UGC often feels more relatable and trustworthy than polished brand or influencer content.
Did you know that the average price of hiring an influencer can run into the millions? In comparison, the cost of asking customers to share posts enjoying your products is next to nothing.
UGC is a cost-effective way to grow your business and introduce new marketing strategies. Moreover, you won’t need to spend money hiring a creative agency to create brand assets and content for your campaigns.
Instead, all you need is to connect with your audience. Many customers and content creators will be excited to have their content featured on your channels.
Smaller brands find UGC much cheaper and more accessible than investing in large brand awareness campaigns.
Shopping from your favorite social media channels is the future, and many networks like Instagram and TikTok, already include eCommerce features. The main draw of social media shopping or social commerce is it allows users to shop directly from their social media app instead of leaving it to complete a purchase.
For instance, you could be browsing the Instagram app and pause on a cute pair of shoes. After tapping for more product details, you can buy it and complete the purchase right inside the app.
Social shopping and UGC work beautifully together because UGC influences conversions. Plus, around 80% of people say that UGC informs their purchase decisions, making user-generated content and social shopping an excellent match.
Now that you know how UGC can benefit your business let’s dive into the different types of user-generated content you can use in your marketing campaigns.
There are many different types of user-generated content that span social media, blogs, websites, and other marketing channels. Here are some of the most common user-generated content formats your brand can use:
No matter the size of your business, a strong user-generated content campaign can build awareness, increase trust, and drive more conversions.
Here are some user-generated content examples from popular brands to inspire your next campaign.
The video equipment company GoPro uses UGC as a long-term strategy to grow its YouTube channel. In fact, its top videos were all filmed initially by customers, racking up millions of views combined.
These videos cost GoPro virtually nothing to produce, yet they’re the cornerstone of its marketing success online. The brand’s strategy is so successful that they now have an awards show and post photo challenges to inspire their audience’s creativity.
Product companies aren’t the only brands that can benefit from user-generated content. The entertainment, music, and movie industry can also go viral with UGC challenges.
In this example, Shakira helped launch a challenge for her song with the Black Eyed Peas.
The branded hashtag challenge encouraged users to recreate the dance from the music video, generating over 275m+ views and fixing the song firmly in the collective consciousness.
Wayfair, the popular online marketplace, utilizes its Instagram profile to encourage its audience to share photos and videos of Wayfair products in their homes. By using the #WayfairAtHome hashtag, they collect and post the best content and give credit to the original creator.
The profile has over 55 thousand posts using the branded hashtag, demonstrating the brand’s popularity, trustworthiness, and authenticity to its audience. It’s also a great strategy to grow your Instagram followers.
Now that you have a little inspiration, what are the best tips for collecting user-generated content?
You could have hundreds of excellent user-generated content ideas, but the success of your campaign relies on careful planning, patience, and learning from your results.
Follow these tips to collect more user-generated content from your customers, and use it to power your marketing strategy.
You should always ask for permission when sharing user-generated content on your social media channels. Even though people may use your branded hashtag to share original content, they may not realize that you intend to re-use it.
Resharing original content without express permission can harm goodwill and annoy some of your most loyal brand advocates.
When seeking permission, show the original creator that you appreciate their post and get them excited about you sharing it with your audience. Doing so will also help you avoid any copyright infringement concerns.
When you get around to re-sharing any content on social media, ensure you credit the original content creator. You can tag the user’s profile in the caption and explain whether you’re using their image, video, or words.
In this example from Explore Brighton Howell Area, they credited the original UGC creator by mentioning their name in the image caption.
User-generated content creators want to share their content. That means they probably also want you to tell them which kind of content you’re most likely to share.
Only around 16% of brands provide clear guidance on which types of UGC they want users to create and share. However, over half of consumers want brands to tell them what to do for UGC.
Don’t shy away from offering clear instructions, and make it easy for your audience to share content that fits your needs perfectly.
If you’re unsure of what fits with your brand’s marketing strategy, you won’t know which kinds of UGC to ask for. It’s great when people tag you in shiny photos, but how can you use it to further your marketing goals?
First, look at your social media marketing strategy and ways UGC can fit with your marketing goals. For instance, if your goal is to raise brand awareness, a branded hashtag UGC campaign would be ideal.
Next, create a simple statement based on those details, telling users what content you’re most likely to share.
Once you know what you need, share your statement anywhere your target audience engages with your brand, such as:
After collecting and sharing UGC, you’ll need to see if the results have impacted your goals. You can measure your campaign’s success with analytics tools on your social platforms or with your favorite social media marketing tool.
You can also use Google Analytics to track metrics on your business website.
For instance, if you have a WordPress website, you can use MonsterInsights to get actionable insights inside your WordPress dashboard.
This post has given you plenty to consider, but we couldn’t end the post without mentioning one of the best ways to collect user-generated content: online photo contests.
Because giveaways and contests are popular content types, they’re an excellent way to boost engagement and grow brand awareness. Plus, if you have a WordPress website, you can use RafflePress, the best WordPress giveaway plugin, to drive traffic to your website, grow your email list, and much more.
RafflePress makes it super easy to create any giveaway on your WordPress site and share it with your wider social networks. With several pre-made giveaway templates and a visual drag-and-drop builder, creating a giveaway only takes a few minutes.
RafflePress provides a variety of entry actions to suit your needs, whether you want to grow your social media following, collect user-generated content, or grow your email list.
With RafflePress’s Submit an Image entry, you can run a photo contest and collect authentic user-generated content like product shots, selfies, or reviews, straight from your audience.
And with the refer-a-friend action, you spread product awareness with word-of-mouth marketing.
Follow this step-by-step guide to create a photo contest for your business, or click the button below to get started.
That’s it!
We hope you liked this article and it helped you learn what user-generated content (UGC) is. You might also like this tutorial on selling digital downloads with WordPress.
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