Every day the public on the Internet shares publications about their favorite brands. Even if your intention is to express your opinion or show how you use a product, you are helping to project it.
And if you didn’t know, it is a very effective form of promotion. In Web Positioning, we tell you how to take advantage of user-generated content
User-Generated Content: What It Is and Why It Matters
The opinion and recommendations of other people are increasingly important to consumers. Hence, user-generated content is so effective and has become one of the content marketing techniques you should experiment with. In general, it is known as user-generated content (UGC) but simply, it is all the publications of the users about a brand, company, or product.
This type of content includes any format.
They can be images, comments, reviews, videos, photographs, tags, blog articles, tweets, etc. They are usually posts made on their own initiative, without any kind of reward. But, they can also be promoted through contests or other types of invitation.
What distinguishes the UGC within the online marketing strategy is that it gives prominence to the user and their content. This brings multiple advantages for any business: greater engagement refreshes the image, allows you to know the customer better, saves budget, among others.
[Prefer Reading: “How to Find Guest Post Opportunities?”]
How to Leverage User-Generated Content?
As we mentioned, consumers produce content in different formats. Also, you can take advantage of it in various ways. But first, you must know the audience you are targeting: who is your audience, if they are consuming the products and if they are willing to share the content.
You must also define the message and the values you want to convey. It is about establishing criteria to guide users about the type of content that would benefit them both. Then you will have to locate the publications that have to do with your brand. For this, you can use tools like getchute.com that will help you find and manage them.
Lastly, don’t forget to ask for permission to use other people’s material and to generate your own content. There are popular brands that are based on their users’ posts, but this won’t always work, so don’t stop creating yourself.
#1 Discover the interests of users
Knowing the target audience is one of the pillars of any strategy. In each publication of the users expresses their opinion and expresses their interests. If you are attentive you will discover more about your audience and this will allow you to get closer to them and respond to their needs.
The mere fact that they comment on your posts gives you an idea of what they are looking for.
#2 Improve your post
Comments on posts or forums will help you improve your blog posts. You can expand the articles with the information you collect, clarify some aspects, or generate discussion about a controversial point.
And they will not be useful only for texts, but they will also be used to create other types of content such as infographics, graphics, or videos.
#3 Involve multiple channels
Let’s say you run a contest on Instagram asking users to share images using your product. This tactic takes advantage of the social network for digital marketing. And if you do good promotion, you will have your followers producing content.
You can take advantage of that content beyond Instagram. For example, you can create ads using the images that have been sent to you, without forgetting to give them credit. Creating a page on your website to have the material delivered to you or displaying the best posts is also a good idea.
#4 Ask them to share it
Getting users to post content using your brand tags or engaging is not always easy. For well-established brands, it will be easier, but the common business needs to try harder.
If you’ve started a user-generated content campaign and responses are slow, reach out to them. Send them a message and ask them to use one of their posts related to your brand. The idea is that these posts appear on your profile to encourage others to share.
#5 Offer an incentive
Receiving something change will incentivize users to share their content with you. They don’t have to be monetary rewards. You can give them coupons, track their accounts, etc. Make them feel valued and benefit from posting too.
#6 Generate links
Even for your link building strategy, user content will be useful. When you find comments or questions about your brand in a forum or a social network, you can leave a link to clarify your doubts. It will be an endorsement of the information you contribute.
Also, take the opportunity to generate internal links within your website. It’s the same process, but this time it’s about placing related links in your responses to comments. You have the advantage that these opportunities will be easier to locate than those in the previous paragraph.
#7 Conquer the audience
Users identify more with a brand with which they can interact. It leaves a better impression on it. Drawing attention to their content will help you win them over, win you a customer or a subscriber.
Do you already know how to take advantage of user-generated content? You did before?
Tell us how you have used it and what results you have achieved. If you need help with your marketing strategy contact us.
