{"id":2788,"date":"2019-01-04T20:23:24","date_gmt":"2019-01-04T13:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.travelpayouts.com\/en\/?p=2788"},"modified":"2021-10-02T20:51:25","modified_gmt":"2021-10-02T17:51:25","slug":"user-generated-content-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelpayouts.com\/blog\/user-generated-content-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"How to build an effective user-generated content strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is user-generated content?<\/h2>\nThe term UGC (User-generated Content) refers to any digital content produced and shared by end users of an online service or website. It includes pictures, reviews, videos, testimonials, tweets, blog posts,\u00a0podcasts, etc.\n\nUser-generated content helps online visitors learn about your business or services and is often considered more authentic and trustworthy than company-generated content.\n\nUser-generated content examples include famous campaigns such as the Starbucks<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>White Cup Contest<\/a>, which was launched in 2014.\n\n
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\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure><\/div>\n\nThe design competition encouraged customers in the U.S. and Canada to customize a Starbucks cup, snap a picture of it and post the photo of their creation to Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a> using the hashtag #WhiteCupContest. The campaign resulted in nearly 4,000 photo entries on social media and enhanced publicity for the brand.\n\nAnother well-known user-generated content campaign is the \u201cShare a Coke<\/a>\u201d campaign by Coca-Cola which took place in 2011. The company produced bottles with\u2019 names on them and encouraged its customers to share their photos of personalized coke bottles on Twitter and other social media platforms.\n\n
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\"Share\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure><\/div>\n\nThe brand managed to increase social media exposure greatly and, consequently, to boost sales after a decade of declining revenues.\n

Types of UGC<\/h2>\nExperts say that traditional advertising methods are no longer cutting it, so marketers are in constant search for new marketing techniques which will help authentically connect with customers and create a lifestyle around brands. UGC is one of the most powerful marketing strategies to turn your customers into loyal advocates.\n\nTo achieve this aim, you can leverage various UGC types the internet abounds in. Let\u2019s take a closer look at some common types of user-generated content.\n
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  1. Reviews and video testimonials. <\/strong>Most people trust online reviews like they trust their friends and relatives. Incentivize your customers to both write reviews and to share them on social media.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThe most effective way to encourage your customers to do this is by offering rewards such as coupons and discount codes. By this, you\u2019ll kill two birds with one stone, because if a customer knows that writing a review might get, for example, 10% of their next purchase, this will motivate them to make repeat purchases.\n
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    1. Contests can work miracles for collecting user-generated content.<\/strong> Choose a prize aligning with your audience\u2019s interests, find out what your followers are really passionate about and encourage them to share their experiences with the hashtag you\u2019ve created and you\u2019ll be able to generate tons of relevant content.<\/li>\n \t
    2. Hashtag campaigns allow you to engage your audience on an ongoing basis.<\/strong> Moreover, they help to create brand awareness and recognition. Hashtagged images or posts are perceived as word-of-mouth advertising. Though you may offer some perks for hashtagging your brand, lots of people can willingly do this just to be featured on your brand\u2019s account.<\/li>\n \t
    3. Blog posts can contain tweets or posts from your customers.<\/strong> You can use your customers\u2019 photos or videos to prove a point or give an example (for instance, styling a dress you sell or decorating a flat with your goods). This will give you a chance to increase social traffic and improve the quality of your posts in general.<\/li>\n \t
    4. Question and answer forums.<\/strong> Inspire your customers to ask you questions in order to get some content prompts and boost your SEO, as questions are good for long-tail SEO.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      What makes user-generated content so effective?<\/h2>\nThe power of user-generated content for marketing is hard to overestimate. Some people even call it the Holy Grail of modern marketing. UGC has been found to be 20% more effective than branded marketing alone.\n\nThe main reason for this is that conventional advertising strategies are no longer effective as consumers are wary of ubiquitous advertising and are biased against it, so they trust a recommendation from strangers over branded content. As UGC is produced by people who won\u2019t earn a penny from praising your product or service, it\u2019s perceived as more authentic and trustworthy.\n

      The benefits of using user-generated content in marketing<\/h2>\nUGC can be an invaluable tool for marketers, if harnessed properly. It is a workable solution to many marketing problems, such as insufficient time and monetary resources, lack of customer trust and low credibility. We\u2019ve listed the benefits of user-generated content you can gain if you integrate UGC in your marketing. So, UGC allows you to:\n

      Enhance brand awareness<\/h3>\nBrand awareness is the level of recognition and familiarity of your brand among consumers. Building brand awareness is a prime marketing goal and it requires a lot of time and effort to make your brand a household name.\n\nUGC is a great way of spreading your brand by word of mouth, as UGC is 35% more memorable and 20% more influential on purchase decisions than all other media types, according to a study conducted by Ipsos MediaCT<\/a>. Moreover, people often discover brands on UGC-related sources such as search engines, social networks, customer review sites and a brand\u2019s online community.\n

      Establish credibility as a thought leader<\/h3>\nWho is a thought leader? An individual who has a reputation of credible experience and commentary. The ideas of thought leaders guide the direction of an industry or community. However, the trust and credibility are not the only rewards to be reaped from being a thought leader. Such leadership draws in an audience and, consequently, results in increased revenue.\n\nBecoming an expert in your niche and knowing your sphere inside and out is not enough to become an established thought leader. Digital behavior is greatly similar to herd mentality, which means that a customer considers you an expert if other customers do the same. People rely on the opinions of others for distinguishing right from wrong. That is why it\u2019s crucial to leverage UGC to establish credibility as a thought leader in your niche.\n

      Streamline lead nurturing<\/h3>\nLead nurturing is a marketing term for building relationships with potential clients, even if they are not ready to buy. Lead nurturing aims at building customer awareness of your brand and its products or services, establishing trust and educating potential customers about your offerings. This technique can potentially influence the buying decisions of the customers who are on the fence about your product.\n\nUGC can be a valuable asset for your lead nurturing campaigns, as it helps to move the focus away from the brand to customers and builds engaged communities around it.\n\nHow can UGC be integrated into your lead nurturing campaigns? Firstly, you can use customer stories to introduce your benefits and products, promote new products and answer common questions. Besides, customer surveys offer critical insights into problem areas of your business and help to fare better. Furthermore, while requiring no effort from you, video testimonials are advantageous for building trust with new potential customers.\n

      Boost social media metrics<\/h3>\nSocial media metrics are data and statistics that give you insights into your\u00a0social media marketing<\/a>\u00a0performance, including applause rate, shares, post reach, audience growth rate, potential reach, conversion rate, bounce rate, etc. Experts agree that UGC techniques are helpful for increasing all these important social media stats.\n

      Improve SEO<\/h3>\nWhy is user-generated content important for boosting SEO? There are several reasons for it.\n
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      1. UGC provides search engines with a constant stream of fresh, relevant and trustworthy content.<\/li>\n \t
      2. Basic SEO attributes penetrate UGC naturally as customer reviews are product-centered and include phrases and keywords associated with the product, thus strengthening SEO.<\/li>\n \t
      3. UGC allows your site to rank higher for long-tail keywords \u2212 phrases with low search competition.<\/li>\n \t
      4. UGC boosts SEO through social media optimization on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Sharing content on social sites increases engagement and drives more visitors to your site. It leads to your site visibility boost and, consequently, your site performs better on search engines.<\/li>\n \t
      5. UGC should be a vital part of any SEO strategy, as automated search engine algorithms look for customer reviews and testimonials. Leveraging UGC allows your site to earn additional SEO points from quality rating systems.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Support lead generation<\/h3>\nLead generation is a marketing strategy that involves attracting and converting potential customers (leads) who may be interested in your product or service. If you play your cards right, you may eventually turn leads into money.\n\nHow can UGC bolster lead generation? Online word of mouth or earned media has always been more powerful and influential for attracting potential customers than owned media created by your brand. Hence, one of the best ways to generate new leads is through UGC.\n

        Where can you use UGC?<\/h2>\nTo harness UGC properly, share it on all available marketing channels including earned, owned and paid media.\n\nEarned media is basically online word of mouth in the form of shares, reviews, mentions, ratings, etc. UGC from earned media impacts SEO results greatly and can be repurposed with other media, so you should encourage and inspire your audience to generate and share your brand-related content.\n\nOwned media includes the digital channels a company has complete control over; for example, a website, a blog, social media pages, mobile apps and newsletters.\u00a0Using UGC on your owned media can add authenticity to your brand and create a unique brand image.\n\nPaid media comprises external marketing efforts involving a paid placement; for example,\u00a0PPC advertising<\/a>, affiliate marketing, retargeting, branded content, display ads, paid influencers, etc. Utilizing UGC in paid media helps to establish trust and differentiate a brand from competitors. Moreover, with the help of paid media, you can reach people who don\u2019t use social media a lot.\n\nOf course, if you are an owner of a small travel website, it\u2019s usually not worth following UGC, but in case you\u2019re building own brand, the UGC can be a reasonable step to improve your business. For example, UGC can be a great way for the White Label<\/a> projects or independent flight tickets engines. If you haven\u2019t read our interview with Maho, the creator of one of the biggest Georgian flight tickets booking website, don\u2019t miss the chance to do it now<\/a>.\n

        Creating a user-generated content strategy<\/h2>\nSo, you\u2019ve decided that you are ready to implement UGC in your marketing. What do you need to start? The first thing is to work out a UGC strategy which will align with your marketing aims. A thorough UGC strategy can help you:\n
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        1. Manage your UGC campaigns effectively from the very beginning<\/li>\n \t
        2. Monitor the performance of your UGC campaigns<\/li>\n \t
        3. Schedule the work of your teams involved in UGC in advance<\/li>\n \t
        4. Reduce the failure risks of your UGC campaign<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nHere are the steps you should follow to run an effective UGC campaign.\n

          1. Understand your needs<\/h3>\n