Customers today trust other customers more than they trust brand messages. That is why more companies now encourage people to share photos, videos, and reviews about their product. If you wonder why, the Benefits of UGC are bigger than many business owners expect.

UGC, or user-generated content, means any content made by real people instead of the brand itself. This could be an unboxing video, testimonial, review, social media post, or just an image with your product hashtagged.

6 Benefits of UGC for all businesses

Here is a list of six most important benefits that make this kind of content a must-have for any marketing strategy, even for a small company with a tight budget.

1. Establishes credibility and authenticity

It’s easy for customers to recognize a heavily-edited advertisement. Content created by regular users looks credible, hence potential clients will trust your brand more.

It’s a word-of-mouth approach that goes viral online.

2. Saves time and content cost

Producing fresh content every week is expensive and tiring. When customers create it for you, the brand gets a steady supply of photos and videos without paying a big production cost.

Always ask permission and give credit before reusing someone’s content.

3. Boosts engagement

The audience likes seeing real people like themself on the brand page. A customer-centric post is bound to get more engagement in terms of likes, comments, and mentions compared to promotional posts.

Even the competitions and challenges via the use of hashtags might have more participants.

4. Increases conversion and sales

Reviews from customers along with images of purchases act as social proof. When a potential client sees someone else enjoying the purchase he/she is more convinced about buying it.

Showing customer content on product pages or even on ads can lead to conversion.

5. Builds stronger community and loyalty

Making customers feel valuable helps in developing an emotional connection that makes them loyal to your brand, making future purchases and recommendations.

Slowly but surely a loyal base of fans turns into a community of yours.

6. Gives insights into customers

Analysis of user-generated content helps gain insight into how products are being utilized by customers, what are the strong points of these products and where they can be improved.

It is like free market research if you pay attention.

How to start collecting customer content

You do not need a complex system to enjoy the benefits of UGC. Start simple, then improve as you learn what works for your audience.

Ways to easily generate UGC

  • Use your own branded hashtag often.
  • Run a photo or video contest with a small reward.
  • Ask happy customers for reviews after purchase.
  • Share customer success stories and never forget to mention the author.
  • Use call-to-action in packaging and emails.

Things to watch out for

Ask permission to post someone else’s content always, follow all relevant rules on platforms you are using and local regulations. In case the author was compensated or received the product for free, mark it as sponsored.

In addition, it is necessary to check the quality and relevancy of each post as not all of them reflect the image of the brand.

Final thought

Advantages of UGC include higher consumer trust, decreased content costs, increased user engagement, and sales. Companies that actively involve customers into the content creation process, respect their rights and take the feedback into consideration are more likely to develop a loyal audience in comparison with those that use only branded content.