09. March 2023

Content is king - community is queen - create authentic content with user-generated content and make it work

09. March 2023

evernine editorial team

Millennials & Gen Z have replaced baby boomers as the largest group of buyers. The latter in particular are even more likely than their millennial counterparts to buy something based on recommendations from family, friends, bloggers, influencers and the like. Today, a chorus of buyers' voices, the “brand advocates”, often have more influence on buyers' purchasing decisions than marketers themselves.

User-generated content (UGC), i.e. content that is generated by users (or customers), can therefore be an immensely helpful tool for buyers.

Briefly explained: This is user-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any type of content created by users or users and consumed by other users, such as reviews, comments, photos or videos. Potential customers can benefit from UGC by gaining authentic, honest insights into the offer and the experiences of other users, which helps them in their purchasing decision.

However, UGC is not only useful for buyers - it can also be a powerful tool for customer loyalty, image retention and lead generation for companies if used correctly. But how do I use my users' content correctly?

Relax and let your customers do the marketing for you. Sounds simple. But it usually isn't. But with the right steps, you can get a lot out of reviews, videos, comments and other content.

Just imagine: You motivate users to generate content for you - and then use it properly. However, sparking intrinsic motivation in the context of corporate communication is not always trivial - it is important to give the user the right framework and direction in terms of content.

 Outlook for the future: AI & user-generated content

ChatGPT, Neuroflash and texts written by AI in general are on everyone's lips. More and more texts are being written by such tools, often unnoticed, but with significant differences to UGC. One example of this is Amazon reviews written by bots. It remains to be seen to what extent this will also be subject to mandatory labeling in the future.

And this is precisely where the opportunity lies:

Content that is written by “real” users themselves will become even more important - because the imperfectionism of the content format alone suggests that this is content that was obviously not written by Chat CPT or similar AI-driven programs.

 Why user-generated content aka the “power of authenticity”

User-generated content helps companies to present themselves authentically to the outside world. Source image: AdobeStock / Damir Khabirov

Authenticity is THE keyword. Heard (perhaps too) often in the context of brands, it is, however, the greatest strength in relation to UGC. The personal touch and own credible experiences that come into play when users, buyers or even fans speak highly of a brand make the whole thing credible for potential customers in a special way.

And the figures show that: Voluntary online reviews, TikToks or product reviews, all types of user-generated content, are so strong that they achieve a 4 x higher click-through rate than classic ads.

According to Stackla's consumer marketing survey, 79% of people also say that user-generated content strongly influences their purchasing decisions (compared to 60% in 2017).

The topic is therefore undoubtedly becoming increasingly important for companies and there are plenty of opportunities not to leave UGC to chance, but to actively initiate it and use it to your advantage.

 Take your chance – motivate your users!

As Bruce Springsteen sang: “you can't start a fire without a spark”. But how do you ignite the spark?

There are countless ways to encourage users to leave reviews and feedback - from greeting cards, contests and competitions that encourage participation, to YouTube videos with recommendations or even story tags - when properly addressed and stimulated, the community is happy to share. But the spark doesn't always ignite immediately. Collaborations or partnerships between brands & loyal customers can be promising here.

How Evernine supports

Users who create content for their own company are valuable. Evernine helps to create & control the content! Source image: AdobeStock / Марина Терехова

With professional UGC campaigns, an agency can provide the spark that companies need for sustainable and highly effective user-generated content and support them in using the above-mentioned forms via the various communication channels.

Companies often lack the know-how and equipment to properly prepare moving images, how-to videos and content in general. However, content does not lose the power of authenticity if the right approach is taken.

Especially with regard to holistic corporate communication in the sense of a holistic approach, valuable content created by users is of course indispensable. Take the opportunity and get in touch with the experts at the Evernine Group!

Evernine supports customers in generating their users' content, processing it if necessary and using it for their individual purposes! In addition, as mentioned above, we help to awaken the intrinsic motivation of the user - the user should be driven by an urgent need to communicate and creates content to solve their own problems.

Source cover picture: AdobeStock / Master1305

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