Why would they pay attention to you when there are thousands of Instagram stories, Facebook photos, and YouTube videos to see?
Luckily, most everyone enjoys talking about themselves. That’s why user-generated content (UGC) is so powerful. Fully 82% of shoppers say user-generated content is extremely valuable to them when making a purchase decision.
If you allow your customers to share their own style, opinions, and experiences with your products, they’re far more likely to engage with your brand. Even better, it means you don’t have to spend a lot of time coming up with the marketing materials yourself.
Brands have experienced an amazing 25% increase in the e-commerce conversion rate when they use user-generated photos instead of professional product shots, for example. And that’s just one of the many ways user-generated content can help boost your e-commerce brand.
Here are five effective ways you can use UGC to your brand’s benefit.
1. Promote your brand values
It’s vital to define what your brand stands for and what your values are. Are you creating products that are friendly for the environment? Do you donate to charity along with every purchase?
Whatever your brand values, user-generated content is one way to connect with people who believe in the same values—and to do so in a meaningful way.
Consider the fashion industry. Many brands are famous for airbrushing size-zero models to unattainable beauty standards. That’s why swimwear brand Aerie decided to stop retouching photos and use only unairbrushed models in its ads. But the brand didn’t stop there. For every Instagram user who posted an unedited photo of themselves in swimwear using the hashtag #AerieReal, the company donates $1 to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).
The year after launching the campaign—which generated a lot of media attention—the retailer’s sales grew 20%. Connecting with younger consumers on values is good for business!
Sports clothing, sports in general, is another industry that has issues around body image, especially in the case of female athletes. That’s why sportswear retailer Under Armour launched the #unlikeany campaign, which challenges the idea that the brand is only for elite athletes. Instead, the company focused on products that are for all types of women.
The company also runs a campaign around the hashtag #WeWill: Users can share their pictures of how sports have inspired them and how sports can…
CEO of Kubient. A lifetime serial entrepreneur, mentor, advisor, and investor. Obsessed with the infinite realm of possibility in the digital transformation of the world, digital media, marketing and the blockchain.
