Nothing can beat user spontaneity. When a product is liked, everyone hears about it. And the opposite is also true. That's why you don't want to miss the opportunity to take advantage of social networks and User-Generated Content (UGC) for promoting and growing your brand and increasing customer loyalty.

Today's post will introduce you to a marketing trend that you should not neglect in your eCommerce communication strategy . A cost-effective, friendly and practical way to generate positive conversations around your brand, increase your product sales, and develop a community of followers that will lead your online store to success.

What is UGC content?

Let's begin by understanding the concept: What is UGC or User-Generated Content? It is any content about your brand that has been created by a user and published on an online platform.

We are talking about photographs, videos, blog articles, reviews, tweets, posts, short videos, podcasts, forum comments, status, or any type of original online content that was created by the user without compensation (that would be affiliate marketing) from the brand.

Almost 79% of users trust and refer to other users' reviews when buying a product, which is why UGC is extremely valuable and important.

Advantages of user-generated content in eCommerce

User-generated content has great advantages for your online store.

• It is a social test:

When users spontaneously share videos, images or recommendations about your products, you can be assured that people are buying them and like them. This generates trust and increases your brand's positive perception. If people like you, you will have an increase of interest in your company.

• It has an exponential effect: you never know if a Youtube video or an Instagram photo might go viral and get shared by thousands of people countless times. And if a blog post features your brand, it could get ranked on Google and attract high traffic from potential buyers.

• It saves you work: no marketing team could ever replace a team of brand ambassadors who spontaneously share your products for free through photos or videos simply because they liked them.

• Having others talk about you is better than doing it yourself. This is a key principle of digital marketing. It is better to let your customers speak out for themselves instead of always talking about your brand, your product, your company, me, me, me, me....

• It creates a community: when people share the same interest in a brand, it generates group unity and team spirit. When people are discussing and recommending your products, it creates a pleasant atmosphere that encourages other people to want to be part of the tribe as well.

Ways to incentivize UGC in your online store

Encouraging user-created content is all about engagement. You need to communicate closely and openly with your brand ambassadors through social media. Here are some ways to do it:

• Ask your buyers for reviews. Through Klaviyo, you can automate emails requesting your customer to leave a review on your website shortly after their product has arrived.

• Request photos or videos on your social networks. As an example, you can post a question on Twitter asking your followers to post a photo of the most recent piece of jewelry they bought from your online store or the one they liked the most. The "unboxing" phenomenon is another example where users like to unpack, test, show and brag about the products they have bought through videos and photos.

• Share your users' content. By sharing, liking, or retweeting your customers' content, more users will be encouraged to share their photos.

• Give your customers the opportunity to talk to each other, like the Q&A on Amazon, where users can ask questions to the community of people who have bought that product before.

How to integrate UGC into your marketing strategy

User-Generated Content should be a fundamental part of your online store's marketing strategy. You should take advantage of the potential of conversations to get more customers to talk about you and share your products on positive terms.

This is an unquantifiable opportunity for your online store, which is why it is vital that you use the communication channels of your eCommerce to promote and encourage UGC.

You can do this in various spaces:

• Your own online store: Shopify offers apps to showcase social proof of your products by displaying buyers' images of your products.
• Your social media channels: Use a social media strategy that promotes the participation and engagement of your followers through images and videos.

It is also important to know who is talking about your online store and learn about the value of your brand. If you don't know what they are saying about you on Google, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Tiktok, and other social media platforms, it is very difficult to know how you can improve your communication to increase UGC.

Through Data Analytics, we can learn the different ways in which users reach your online store. We can also find out if your brand is mentioned in a video, even if they didn't provide a link to your page, or if someone shared a product they bought from your store.

Shoppers need to see your products out of the box. Therefore, it is vital to connect with users and get them to stop being anonymous shoppers so they can use their own digital platforms to talk about and comment on your products. This cannot be forced, but it is possible to promote and encourage it.

At Webmefy we can help you ensure that your store takes advantage of the benefits of User-Generated Content. If you have not yet implemented social proof in your e-commerce, now is the time to do it. Contact us now and let's discuss your UGC strategy.