It’s no secret that social media is a powerful marketing tool for any online business. In fact, social media makes it easy for digital business owners to reach extremely targeted audiences and interact in real-time with niche communities in a way that builds social proof and credibility.
But there’s something in particular that can supercharge the impact of your social media marketing – and the best part? Your customers do most of the work for you.
It’s called user-generated content (UGC). In this article, we discuss how user-generated content helps your brand make more money.
User-generated content works for you
Marketing your business on social media can be time-consuming, from creating graphics and writing copy, to scouting out influencers and interacting with your target audience.
One of the best things about UGC is that it reduces your workload – by a lot!
When your customers are the ones creating the promotional content, you get to spend less time doing it yourself, and more time putting your efforts into other areas of your business.
Whether you use a hashtag marketing campaign or ask your customers to tag you in their Instagram posts, there are a number of ways to have your followers generate quality content for you.
Here’s are some of the benefits that UGC can provide:
- Authentic testimonials. People are more likely to buy when products are endorsed by others in their community, and posts by your customers often include captions that essentially serve as real, authentic Instagram testimonials.
- Photos and videos of your products. Instead of relying exclusively on the photos and videos that you create yourself, your customers add variety to your content and help to do some of the work for you. Plus, your audience gets to see your products in all kinds of contexts – not just standard product photos. This allows them to get a better idea of what they’re really getting, increasing their confidence to buy and driving the purchase decision.
- Real-life examples of your products in use. What better way is there for your customers to get the inspiration and confidence to buy than by seeing your products in action?
- Extended social reach. The customers who post about your products are exposing their own audiences to your products, which means you automatically have more eyes on your brand than you might otherwise get with traditional advertising.
Authenticity is more important than ever
With so much online fraud and misrepresentation that takes place across the eCommerce landscape, authenticity has become increasingly important. Plus, if you want to build brand loyalty and long-term relationships with your customers, trust is a crucial component.
These days, people seem to trust traditional advertising less than ever – but UGC bypasses this problem altogether.
With user-generated content, authenticity is at the center of everything. This is because the people who are actually buying and using your products are the same people promoting them.
Of course, you can’t control what your customers post, so quality can be an issue, but the positives tend to outweigh the negatives. Being able to filter and moderate the Instagram posts shown will be important.
Ultimately, user-generated content shows potential customers that real, authentic people are using and endorsing your brand, which is often just the right amount of social proof they need to click the Buy button!
UGC drives desire
We all want what other people have; It’s human nature. UGC taps into this truth and drives desire in potential customers based on what they see your existing customers doing. In short: People showing off your brand sparks desire in others – even if they weren’t previously aware of your brand.
What do people want most? Results. So, if you can inspire your customers to post about results they have experienced using your products, you can compound the effects of UGC.
BONUS! Learn how to add a hashtag campaign to your website today.
Showcase your brand’s user-generated content with Spotlight
If you want to take advantage of the UGC that your customers are creating on Instagram, and display it on your website for extra visual interest and social proof, Spotlight PRO is just the tool for you.
You can even use hashtag automations so that your feed is regularly updated with the latest photos and videos that your customers post.
Give your audience the authenticity they’re looking for and start showcasing user-generated Instagram content on your website today with Spotlight PRO.
