User-Generated Content (UGC): What It Is AND Why It Matters

User Generated Content (UGC) is changing the game for brands and how they connect to people.

What is it? UGC is any content including photos, videos, reviews, or posts proposed by real customers or users, but not the brand itself.

Why does it matter? It’s an art that people fall into because they trust other people more than they do advertisements. It’s about seeing real experiences that help build trust and connection.

Think about a happy customer who is loving their meal at a restaurant or unboxing their favorite product while sharing the experiences online. It’s UGC, and it’s Awesome!

For businesses, UGC is not just random content but a goldmine of authenticity. It lets the people know how they feel about a product or service. It spreads online fast and outperforms similar niche competitors on social media.

So, first, what is UGC on social media and how can it help your brand to socialize and scale.

What is User-Generated Content on Social Media?

User Generated Content is any content produced by users and not owned by the company. It can vary from posts, videos, other photos, or reviews that someone might share on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. 

UGC is real, and living that experience makes it highly relatable and trustable. Think of it as organic digital word of mouth spread through the audiences.

Next, we’ll see why UGC videos matter to businesses.

Why is UGC Video Content Important for Your Business?

UGC videos make your brand’s marketing more genuine. These videos feel real and use emotional connections with audiences, unlike hyper-edited ads. 

Imagine a skincare brand gets to showcase the results of a customer’s video, showing them before and after, is far more effective for building trust compared to traditional advertising.

It also increases engagement and increases reach for UGC videos on social media platforms where video content is given priority. 

As you’ll see, this authenticity drives major benefits for businesses.

The Benefits of User-Generated Content for Your Business

1. When showing real customer experiences, you win the trust game.
2. An effective source of driving consumable relatable and authentic content for increased engagement.
3. It saves a marketing cost because users write the content for you.
4. UGC expands your reach through users who actually do share organically.
5. Last but not least, it strengthens your brand’s credibility and community connection.

Let’s explore how fast UGC is growing in today’s marketing landscape.

How Quickly is User-Generated Content Growing?

UGC is on an exponential growth. In fact, studies indicate that 79% of people say the purchase decisions they make are influenced by UGC. In the U.S., users are clocking in over 200 million uploaded videos monthly on a turnout of UGC on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

For example, brands like Glossier have used UGC to build their entire marketing campaigns, including one based on a hashtag. This growth shows a turn of the tide toward trust in real, user-led content. 

This example also shows that UGC has a great involvement in building customer’s trust – let’s explore it more.

How Does User-Generated Content Influence Brand Trust?

User Generated Content (UGC) is one of the best ways to build brand trust and get real customer experiences to upsell. It feels more real when you see someone like you using and recommending a product; something that actually wouldn’t look as real coming from traditional ads. 

What if you’re looking for a new gadget? A social media video review of a similar user or by one of your friends is much more convincing than a brand’s promotional post.

That is the reason why UGC is powerful – its authenticity!

It brings transparency and turns the brand into a human one. Customers sharing positive experiences generates the effect of trust and reliability.

UGC is more than it’s a marketing hustle — it can help brands strengthen their ties. However, can it go beyond trust building, and become the core of the brand’s entire strategy?

Can User-Generated Content Be a Brand’s Core Strategy?

Absolutely! User-generated content (UGC) can really be the spine of the brand strategy. It increases authenticity, drives more engagement, and lowers the cost of content production. 

An example of branding with UGC is GoPro – where this brand relies on videos taken by customers. You might have seen its “Photo of the Day Challenge” or “Be a HERO Challenge”. Well, it is not just about marketing the product, but also building a loyal community.

When you focus on UGC, you give customers a chance to become a part of your brand’s story. The delivery is always one-way communication but collaboration is what it’s about. 

Now, let’s get into leveraging UGC in marketing.

Leveraging User-Generated Content (UGC) in Marketing

For businesses, it is a marketing goldmine to gain the attention of the audience. Adding UGC into campaigns gives them that layer of relatability that doesn’t exist in traditional ads. Trending content in the form of great Instagram feed posts or TikTok challenges with people submitting their content can blow the awareness of your brand and take it to the next level.

Involving your audience by inviting reviews, hashtags, or contests to get them to participate in your social media and share their response. A renowned example is Starbucks’ Red Cup Challenge, where they created and utilized UGC wisely, and fostered relationships between customers. 

Did you know the actionable ways that these brands used to collect User-Generated Content (UGC) and develop effective strategies?

UGC Video: How to Collect, Strategies & Examples

User-generated content (UGC) videos are the most important tools for building authentic brand storytelling. With real customers talking about your product or service through your marketing, they help showcase your product or service which is relatable and credible.

How to Collect UGC Videos

The early way of encouraging participation is via creative contests or branded challenges. This works as an example where you run a contest in which participants share a video using your product. 

For example, you can use #MyBrandStory to track submissions, etc. Source for engaging video content by collaborating with customers, influencers, or ambassadors. A customer sharing his or her experience will be incentivized through discounts or giveaways.

Strategies for UGC Video Usage

Include UGC videos into social media posts, Websites, Emails, and even paid ads in a strategic way. Examples of this include using user testimonials in a campaign or sharing videos as stories on Instagram. TikTok’s Creator Marketplace or Instagram’s Reels, for example, make it easy to assemble and edit content and do so in a way that results in high-quality output.

Examples of UGC Video Success

Campaigns like Share a Coke that saw Coke bottles with users’ own names branded on offer, were popular, with brands like Coca Cola thriving. Compared to the existing ones, the GoPro’s identity was built through customer origin videos which tell the stories of the thrill at hand. UGC videos also create a community to which the brand owes support; leading these videos to have more success than simply mere promotion.

Are you ready to utilize this strategy? So this is 10 Inspiring Examples You Should Try Out by building relatable campaigns which help in inspiring customers to start being active brand storytellers.

UGC Video: 10 Inspiring Examples You Must Try Out

1. Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke Campaign:

Coke bottles featured customers’ names and customers shared personal stories with them.

2. GoPro’s Adventure Clips:

Featuring thrilling user-generated videos of outdoor adventures filmed with GoPro cams.

3. Starbucks’ #RedCupContest:

Photos and videos began to pop up of users’ creative photos and videos for Starbucks’ iconic red holiday cups.

4. Apple’s Shot on iPhone:

Globally, real-life photos and videos taken by iPhone users were highlighted.

5. L’Oréal’s #WorthIt Stories:

Customers showed personal videos of how they discovered their own unique beauty.

6. Airbnb’s Travel Experiences:

In videos shared by guests, some were reminiscing about their stays at unusual Airbnb locations.

7. Doritos’ Crash the Super Bowl:

To compete for a spot for a Super Bowl ad, fans created their own commercials.

8. Nike’s #PlayInside Campaign:

During the global pandemic, users uploaded videos of at-home workouts.

9. Sephora’s #SephoraSquad:

Customers and influencers made video reviews and tutorials for Sephora products.

10. H&M’s Sustainable Stories:

Videos of how customers styled sustainable fashion from H&M were shared by customers.

How to Make a UGC Video?

1. Figure out what type of content your audience responds to.
2. Provide clear, engaging prompts or challenges that encourage users.
3. The simple tools that people carry in phones can be used to record authentic experiences.
4. Offer incentives like discounts or recognition to encourage participation.
5. Collect shared videos that you share on platforms for you to share on platforms to inspire more submissions.

How to Leverage User-Generated Content for Video SEO?

Engagement-driven videos created by your customers can boost your SEO dramatically and make your content more believable. Encourage users to add branded keywords in titles or descriptions. 

These videos actually bring you backlinks, and social shares and generally build authority for your site. By optimizing search engines’ metadata and tagging, we make them more visible. 

This could mean customer testimonials and ‘how to’ videos that rank higher on websites such as YouTube, driving traffic to your website and showing this is real.

UGC & Vertical Video: Content’s New Era

Users have now begun favoring mobile-friendly formats which have favored vertical video in the content landscape. UGC does well here, since short, authentic clips fit so well on Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. 

Experts also say that vertical video gets better retention since it’s immersive and fits users’ habits. By combining vertical formats with UGC, brands remain relevant and interesting because, while being authentic, UGC can also be very trendy. 

An innovative blend of organic reach and interaction that lures the casual on-the-go target audience.

What Are Some Popular Platforms for Creating UGC Content?

• Reels and Stories on Instagram for the highlight of user creativity.
• TikTok for viral challenges, short games, and short-form video engagement.
• Google for longer UGC, tutorials, and in-depth reviews
• Use Facebook for community-focused posts and group contributions.
• Quick, ephemeral, fun user experiences on Snapchat.

Conclusive Thoughts

User-generated content (UGC) has risen from a buzzword to a vital marketing element. Not only does it amplify engagement and trust, but it also creates deeper connections to your audience. With brands increasingly focussing on authenticity, UGC is coming to the forefront as an effective tool to build a community-driven marketing strategy. 

By implementing UGC as part of your strategy, whether through video SEO with creative campaigns or vertical video trends, your brand remains relevant and memorable for today’s disruptive consumers.

The future is toward user-centric content, where audiences want relatable stories with interactives. However, AI and augmented reality are emerging technologies that will most definitely blend nicely with UGC to give us even more engaging and immersive campaigns. The new wave of digital transformation will be led by businesses that invest in nurturing their communities and empower users to co-create the content.

You can reach us out whenever you feel overwhelmed in this rapidly changing digital world of User Generated Content (UGC). Our marketing experts are available 24/7 to help you out.

We will take your UGC strategy to the next level with informative guides, expert updates, and custom solutions. Keep ahead of the game with actionable insights and tips to help make your success.