If your audience creates content mentioning your brand – as a post, review, video, unboxing, or even blog – we call it user-generated content. With generative AI polishing everything to perfection and looking increasingly realistic, imperfect images posted by real customer accounts are becoming the best way to stand out from the crowd.
User-generated content is the modern ‘word of mouth,’ a recommendation from someone just like your customer. Because it comes from someone just like them, your customer will trust it more than any of your paid marketing. Indeed, one study suggests that 86% of people are more likely to trust the authenticity of user-generated content, and 90% make purchases influenced by family and friends. I’ve done it myself, and I’m sure you have too.
As business owners, we need to do everything we can to encourage and capitalise on this authentic, grassroots style of content creation to build trust with potential new customers. These are my tips to help you start.
Make the most of existing and organic user-generated content
Organic user-generated content is anything your audience writes, creates, and shares about your brand without direct prompting. Keep your eyes open for this free and generous marketing boost and capitalise on it according to type. Here’s a few good places to start:
Google business reviews
Thank their author publicly by responding to the review (even a negative review needs a polite and custom response). Then screenshot the review and share to social media.
As Google is an independent review platform, the screenshot will add even more credibility to the review.
Tags on social media
Thank the author publicly via comment to the post and share the original post to your feed. Always add something like ‘Thanks @thesocialnest for your kind words’ or ‘love seeing innovative ways our customers use our widget’ to show that you took the time to read and engage.
NOTE: Social media is all about the reshare, but if you intend to take content from social media and use it on your website or somewhere else, be sure to ask the original creator if they are happy for you to do so and credit them as the creator.
Comments on your blog or social media posts
Comments are both engagement and UGC because they come from an authentic account that is not your business and say something about your brand. Engage back – like, love, or reply to every comment you can to show your audience you care. Knowing you will answer questions and engage also goes a long way to building audience trust.
NOTE: Comments are also great for brand research – they show what people really think of your brand. Just remember not to take it personally and to differentiate between trolls and ideal customer feedback.
Inspire your community with a user-generated content campaign
It’s always fantastic when customers create content organically for us, but we can also actively encourage user-generated content. Simple first steps include offering a discount code to existing customers who post a genuine review, including a photo of their purchase, or running a competition via social media to encourage posts, shares, or follows.
Next-level brands take it further, planning whole campaigns around user-generated content. With strategic planning, these campaigns build a sense of community and convert happy customers into loyal campaigners for your brand.
Did you hear about Apple’s #shotoniphone campaign to rebuild trust after poor feedback about low-light photos taken on iPhones. Loyal customers everywhere jumped on the opportunity to show what they could do, and Apple reshared and promoted as much as they could, regaining trust and building brand awareness at the same time.
Not that you need to be Apple to run a successful user-generated content campaign. That’s the beauty of it; all you need is a spark of inspiration that works for your brand. Smaller, locally-based community campaigns can work wonders for all businesses. Author Kate Toon encouraged avid readers and small business owners to use the #6FISH and tag her when posting about her book. People shared photos reading her book in all kinds of places or finding it at unexpected airports. This built a real buzz with her niche audience. Her book even appeared so many times in my feed I inevitably added it to my collection!
What uniquely on-brand way could you connect with customers and encourage them to share? Consider quirks of your brand or ways people emotionally connect with it. Consider #MyRoastTakesMe if you sell coffee or #IWoreItHere for fashion promotions in unexpected locations.
Create content for others as strategic cross-marketing
If user-generated content is good for your business, it’s good for other brands too. Why not be strategic with your content and create the sort that promotes a complementary brand at the same time? It may just entice them to share your content with their audience.
For example, if you sell apples and always eat them with a healthy serving of local peanut butter, post a photo of your snack and tag the manufacturer. On Instagram, you can even invite them to collaborate, making it easy for them to share with their audience simply by accepting. This shows your audience that you’re connected to the community and helps get your brand in front of a new group of your ideal customers. Worst case scenario? You just gave your original audience a new way to enjoy your product. You still win.
Alternatively, you might:
- Tag your trainer after attending a workshop to share your learnings
- Invite other businesspeople to collaborate on networking posts
- Shout out and celebrate other attendees at business showcase events by tagging as you go
The best thing about user-generated content campaigns is that you can run them slowly and steadily in the background, building a library of reputation-building content without breaking the bank. To get customers talking about your brand, book a free 15-minute consultation today.
