Unlocking the Power of User-Generated Content: How and Why It Works

Marketing

In the world of marketing, businesses employ various tactics to engage and expand their reach to their potential customers. A form of marketing that has been gaining traction through the years is User-Generated Content (UGC). 

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So what exactly is UGC?

User-Generated Content refers to any content, such as text, images, videos, reviews, or other forms of media, that is created and shared by individuals or users of a product or service rather than by the business themselves. UGC is often found on social media platforms, online communities, review websites, and other websites where users can contribute their own content.

And since these are coming from users of such products and services, it could provide authentic reviews based on their experiences. 

Paid UGC is an evolution of the more traditional UGC. Instead of relying solely on organic UGC created spontaneously by current users, brands can actively seek to incentivise and compensate content creators that fit their brand image to generate certain contents for marketing purposes. 

Benefits of UGC

Building trust

Consider a time when you either received recommendations from your family or friends about a specific product or service or when you recommended one to them. How did that experience make you feel? Word of mouth often carries significant weight in our decisions, as we tend to trust recommendations from those closest to us. This trust in personal recommendations often leads us to try out the suggested product or service. Essentially, this is what User-Generated Content (UGC) accomplishes for businesses. By involving users or individuals who align with your brand image and its products or services, UGC allows your target audience to easily relate to and engage with this content.

Social Proof

Whenever a positive UGC such as reviews and testimonials from your users are generated, it serves as social proof that your products or services are well received and would then be worth recommending to others. This could potentially influence the target audience into purchasing, converting them into customers.

Diverse Content

UGC especially paid ones could come in various forms such as photos, videos, blogs and more. This means that the content can be used across your different marketing channels, catering to different audiences based on your needs.

With paid UGC, the content becomes yours to distribute across your brand's marketing channels, as opposed to the content creator's own channels. This distinction can be important because content shared on the creator's channels may be perceived as less credible due to the perception that it was paid for.

If you are a SHOPLINE merchant and are looking to give UGC a try and don’t know where to start, we have just the right partner for you!

With specially curated packages, you can find one that suits your needs. The content created is also yours to use freely across all your marketing channels, providing a great start to your UGC campaign.

KittyKat x SHOPLINE 

KittyKat is a tech-enabled content service that uses AI technology for brands that deliver only beautiful, on-brand, and high-performing product, service and experience visuals to grow their business and sell more products. They'll share insights on boosting your digital presence and driving sales and conversions. Discover how to create a compelling brand story through visuals, using emotions and values to connect with your audience on a deeper level. 

SHOPLINE merchants: Sign up through the link above for special rates for your very first UGC campaign!

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