User-Generated content, how to encourage it and leverage it.

User-Generated content, how to encourage it and leverage it.

In a world where brands and marketers must have a social media presence in order to stay relevant, the market has become oversaturated with over produced, highly edited influencer content leaving customers to struggle believing the truth behind the content that companies are putting out there.
If you're worried about this happening to your brand, this is where User-Generated Content (or UGC) comes in!
UGC is where customers take your products and make their own content with them, creating a significantly more genuine reaction to trialling or testing a new product or service. 
UGC allows real, everyday people to show their favourite or most used products in a way that showcases authenticity and reality In comparison to commonly seen paid Influencer collaborations. 

So how can you utilise UGC for your brand? 
First of all, embrace it! Whilst it may seem scary to start heading in a different direction with your social media marketing, studies have shown 80-82% of people have stated they are more likely to purchase from UGC content because real people trust real people! This alone shows UGC works and if you allow yourself to embrace it and start letting go of the overly polished, influencer content and utilise your real customers it can help you to build trust and credibility with your audiences!
If you're a smaller brand or just starting out and haven't got a large customer base yet, consider sending products to some of your first or most loyal customers! If a customer already loves your product or service, sending them something not only shows you appreciate 
them but also encourages them to post about it! 
Another way to begin your UGC journey is to start sharing your customers on your social media. A brand I love for doing this is Odd Muse London, a high end fashion brand, every week they share a carousel post of some of their favourite images they've been tagged in, they also send out email bulletins containing the same thing! Showcasing they care about their customers means more people want to post and tag them in the future with a hope of also being posted, then the cycle continues as every time someone sees a post of someone in Odd Muse they end up considering a purchase!

Leveraging UGC doesn't need to be hard but just takes some careful consideration. We know losing some of the control of your brands aesthetic can be a challenge, but UGC doesn't mean you can't have an input on what the content looks like! If you're sharing customer images for the first time and are worried about the way they look on your feed, maybe start out by choosing posts that match the sort of posts you'd make as a company, this way you still use your customers content without feeling like you're straying from who you are as a brand!

So really UGC isn't all that scary but an incredibly useful tool that if utilised correctly can lead to you building a stronger relationship with your customers and audiences than ever! The future of social media marketing lies in UGC so are you going to jump onto it before your competitors do the same?
Looking to boost your brand's credibility? At Evolve Your Social, we partner with UGC creators who create authentic short-form content for your business. Through our gifted collaboration program, we help build consumer trust and engagement. Ready to elevate your social presence? Email georgia@evolveyoursocial.com to learn more.