Social media apps have come a long way from the early days of Orkut and MySpace. The best social network apps in today’s world, such as Instagram and Facebook, are no longer just a medium to connect with friends and people worldwide. They have become libraries of knowledge through content and advertisement.
Going back to the hook, Tinder uses its Instagram account to post testimonials of couples who found each other through the app. These testimonials can be in the form of text, videos or images and are called user-generated content. So much so that while there are hundreds of other dating apps, Tinder is almost used synonymously with the term dating app.
Therefore, by harnessing the power of user-generated content, brands and companies can get the best of the popular social media app features. As another example, TikTok draws directly from the excitement and creativity of regular users.
This contrasts with other social networks that mainly rely on polished material from influencers and businesses. By making it simple to produce, distribute, and find short films, the software unleashes a tsunami of accurate, exciting material.
Brands and companies hoping to make it big on social media apps must leverage the power of user-generated content, with which companies can build a devoted community.
This can increase engagement and expand their reach by motivating their audience to produce and share sponsored content.
Why is User-Generated Content Powerful?
The best social media networks are flooded with user-generated content at present. It is so because user-generated content is valuable for brands for the following reasons:
Authenticity
Original content produced by brands is perceived as less authentic and trustworthy because of its promotional nature. However, content made by users is reliable because it gives a psychological “tried and tested” badge to the brand.
A Stackla survey states that 83% of customers consider authenticity significant when choosing which companies to enjoy and support. The sought authenticity is harnessed by user-generated content.
Reach
Each piece of user-generated content broadens your potential audience and allows you to interact with users’ and followers’ networks. Users automatically endorse your product or service inside their network when they share a favorable brand post or review.
Engagement
According to Hootsuite, LinkedIn posts that have images receive 98% higher amounts of comments on posts. As for engagement on tweets with visuals, the audience engages three times more on average. Additionally, as per Search Engine Journal, reviews with visuals influence approximately 62% of people to make purchase decisions.
Additionally, when friends and followers weigh in through comments and shares, user material frequently provokes additional back-and-forth dialogue.
Thus, in summary, user-generated content is the ideal method to increase reach, obtain more engagement, and share a brand’s authenticity. It can be said that user-generated content performs better than brand-created content in the real world. This is why we must harness the power of user-generated content on social media apps.
Best Practices to Leverage User-Generated Content Effectively
Here are a few pointers on how to leverage user-generated content effectively to their full potential:
Make Content Submission Simple
Customers often tend not to submit their entries for user-generated content if the brands have a complicated submission policy. In all honesty, nobody wants to go through a list of rules when they are excited about submitting a memory that will make it big on social media.
Therefore, companies and brands must give consumers concise, easy-to-follow directions on how to submit their work. For instance, include a link to an online submission form or your email address.
Another way of effectively making content submission easier is by using easily navigable hashtags to group and classify requests of relevant content.
Promote and Incentivize Submissions
Brands can use campaigns and contests with cash awards to encourage people to produce and distribute content. They can also provide coupons, freebies, or other benefits in return for submissions.
The general idea is to make content submission seem like a transaction where both parties are earning for their hard work. Brands can also make it fun by stirring the pot and adding some gaming elements to the process, such as leaderboards, badges, and other rewards for top contributors.
All of this will result in making content submission by users a fun activity they will gladly participate in.
Curate and Reuse Content
Before curating and reusing content to upload on open networks like Instagram or TikTok, brands and companies must obtain permission first. They must give artists due credit by naming and identifying them, with consent.
Utilize top-notch user-generated content on various marketing platforms. As brands, you may locate and engage with relevant UGC (user-generated content) using a social listening tool.
Types of User-Generated Content That Brands Should Encourage
Here are some top-grossing user-generated content that brands should encourage on social media apps:
Testimonials and Reviews
Brands can encourage happy customers to provide video testimonials on YouTube and social media or leave reviews on sites like Google. This provides social proof. In return, brands can offer these customers special discounts on their next purchase.
Images and Videos
Brands can also motivate people to use hashtags personalized to their name. They can also ask people to mention the brand’s name when they submit brand-related photos and videos on Instagram or TikTok.
These show off actual consumer interactions with a brand’s products.
Responding to Surveys, Questions, and Polls
To quickly get user thoughts and input, brands can post interactive polls and questions on their website and social media accounts. This captivates listeners to learn more about the brand and its services.
Running Campaigns
This is the most effective way to leverage user-generated content. Brands can start competitions where people may create branded material to promote their products, such as unique photographs and videos. Next, brands can share this material colossally to reach more people.
Brands That Leveraged User-Generated Content in the Past
Here is a list of companies that have used user-generated content in the past:
Starbucks’ White Cup Contest
A few years back, Starbucks launched a campaign encouraging customers to decorate their plain white cups and share the images through their personal Instagram accounts.
The internet was overrun with thousands of imaginatively altered mugs because of the enormous response.
Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke
Coca-Cola ran a campaign where they printed common names on their bottles. They prompted their customers to share their unique bottles with the hashtag #ShareACoke. This was another successful campaign that harnessed the power of user-generated content effectively.
GoPro’s Adventure-Driven UGC
GoPro proactively encourages users to share their exhilarating journeys and extreme sports feats documented with GoPro cameras. This user-generated content highlights the product and the thrilling experiences users have with it.
It fosters the growth of a strong community of like-minded individuals and keeps GoPro’s social media channels active.
Conclusion
Brands have a fantastic chance to engage and authentically connect with consumers through user-generated content. As we’ve shown, supporting and showcasing community-generated content from reviews to films and photos can positively affect all fronts.
Users who initiate conversations about your company in an organic way build social proof and trust through word-of-mouth marketing. In terms of reach, engagement, and authenticity, user-generated content performs better than branded content.
Embracing audiences as partners is a must for using user-generated content. The benefit is a very interested community ready to back your business. If you need evidence of the effectiveness of user content, look at TikTok’s phenomenal success.
