Why You Need User-Generated Content for eCommerce Marketing

There are many critical tools to enhance marketing for eCommerce brands, one of which is user-generated content (UGC). With the right approach, UGC can be invaluable for your strategy and serve as an easy way to expose your brand to new customers while engaging with existing ones.

What Exactly Is User-Generated Content?

If you want to create high-quality content that generates some buzz around your brand, you’ll benefit from UGC. You can engage with content creators for hire or encourage other users to create this type of content. Social media contests involving other people’s content, asking customers to review your business and offerings, creating branded hashtags, and other strategies are prime examples.

As people create more UGC, you’ll gain more positive publicity for your brand without the need to constantly create your own content.

The Benefits of User-Generated Content for eCommerce Brands

There are many advantages of using UGC to build up your brand and develop digital content. The following are some of the specific benefits of UGC for eCommerce companies.

It Adds Authenticity to Your Brand

One of the main benefits you’ll find with UGC is its ability to make your brand appear more authentic and trustworthy among consumers. According to recent statistics, around 79% of people have found UGC to be a big influence on their buying decisions. Also, 90% of people find authenticity to be critical when deciding which brands to follow.

When real people create content around your brand, it will show that you have a following of people who trust you, encouraging others to trust you. This is potentially far more effective than simply creating your own content, even if it’s of the highest quality.

It’s Cost-Effective

Another key advantage of UGC is its ability to help businesses save money. You won’t need to spend as much of your marketing budget on content development and curation if you can get others to create content for you.

Small businesses, in particular, benefit from the ability to generate plenty of assets that they can use and reuse across their marketing and advertising campaigns. At the same time, they won’t need to develop an in-depth content strategy when their resources are limited.

It Connects with People on Social Media and Drives Engagement

As a growing number of brands attempt to connect with people on social media, it’s becoming more and more difficult to stand apart from the myriad of competitors out there. If you want to differentiate your brand, you can do so more easily through UGC.

There are several ways you can use social media to create UGC that helps your brand stick out compared to less engaging competitors. For instance, you could:

• Request your customers to share their experiences with your brand on their personal social media channels, with mentions of your profile. This could reflect well on your brand in social media algorithms, helping you rise above competitors that rely on their own content.

• Connect with influencers to drive endorsements for your brand. Influencers on Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms will have a following that you can reach out to with influencer-created UGC. For example, an influencer could share their experience with a particular product and encourage their audience to try it. Influencers can also promote your brand in their own voice, which makes it seem more natural and trustworthy than a pre-recorded or scripted ad.

• UGC videos are one of the highest converting ad types when running paid ads on Social Media. These tend to stand out way than static image or carousel provide a level of authenticity as previously mentioned.

• Repost content that customers share, which will generate even more buzz and help people connect with your content more easily as it spreads.

It Can Help Increase Sales

With high-quality UGC behind your brand, you’ll ultimately be able to boost conversions and sales. People can share images of your products along with honest reviews of them, which can go a long way in building social proof and getting more people to try your offerings.

You can use high-quality visual content that your customers create to actively promote your products. Complementing this content with shoppable social media feeds, you’ll make it easier than ever for people to make a buying decision and complete a purchase.

Having customer reviews and images on your eCommerce website can also drive more sales and give people that last push they need to hit the “Buy Now” button.

Succeed Online with User-Generated Content

With the help of UGC, you’ll be able to surpass competitors and build a stronger connection with potential and existing customers. People will trust your brand more and be more willing to engage with your business, leading to more sales and loyal brand followers.

To learn more about how to build your brand and develop a winning eCommerce business, reach out to the experts at Gray Growth Consulting.