Creating a user-generated content marketing strategy ranks high on the list of priorities for eCommerce brands in 2021.
But if you’re on the fence about implementing one, you may be wondering whether the benefits are actually worth the extra effort.
So we created a quick and easy quiz to see whether user-generated content is right for your brand. It takes less than five minutes to answer our 10 simple yes or no questions to determine your best course of action.
Never heard about this strategy?
Let’s catch you up to speed first:
User-generated content (UGC for short) is content that your customers create featuring your products. These may include pictures, videos, text reviews, tutorials, and more.
Once your customers generate this content, you can weave it throughout your website and all over your social media channels.
In our social proof experiments guide, we talked about how user-generated content hits on a few psychological principles, such as numbers, uncertainty, and similarity (among others).
When you get this strategy right, the experiences your existing customers share will encourage new customers to take action. You’ll drive conversions, rack up sales, and likely capture more glowing reviews to back up your brand.
So now that you know what UGC is and why it’s so beneficial for eCommerce brands, let’s jump into the quiz to see if it’s worth adding to your marketing mix.
Use this quick 10-question quiz to determine if UGC is right for your eCommerce brand. Answer each question, then tally up your number of yes and no choices at the end.
Let’s begin with:
❑ Yes
❑ No
When customers create videos and pictures of your products, shoppers get a glimpse of how they work “in the wild.” People can see how others use it and envision how they would use it themselves.
This “real world” content goes beyond the perfectly polished images on your product pages and gives your product a tangible appeal.
It’s a bit more challenging to get customers to create content for a service, but it’s not impossible. Here’s where how-to’s, tutorials, and testimonials take the lead.
❑ Yes
❑ No
UGC adds another visually appealing element to your product pages that draws people in.
Seeing additional images or videos of your products, especially as others are using them, helps capture their attention and keeps shoppers on the page long enough for a conversion and purchase.
❑ Yes
❑ No
Every eCommerce brand should give customers the ability to leave product reviews. Period. These build trust in your brand and add legitimacy to your products. The more reviews you score, the more appealing your company and products look to potential customers.
Capturing more product reviews also confirms that your existing customers made the right choice to go with your brand. They’ll never second-guess their purchase and stay loyal instead of wandering off to your competitor.
❑ Yes
❑ No
What’s the best way to show off your reviews? Do you let shoppers quickly sort or filter reviews to find the intel they’re looking for?
❑ Yes
❑ No
UGC is the ultimate trust-builder for eCommerce brands because it touches on so many psychological principles we mentioned earlier.
When shoppers see how many people have already tried your product (the principle of numbers) with success, they’ll feel more comfortable (i.e., have less uncertainty) about purchasing too.
❑ Yes
❑ No
If your target audience is already active on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, etc., you may already have user-generated content available to snatch up for your site. You’ll also find UGC trends well with these active users.
❑ Yes
❑ No
Some eCommerce brands have loyalty programs where customers can earn points for shouting out products on their social media accounts. This incentivizes UGC for customers while also expanding your reach and giving you more UGC to utilize.
❑ Yes
❑ No
UGC can help you build a community of loyal followers and brand advocates.
Existing customers are happy to share their experience through UGC and a brand-specific hashtag. When you feature their content, they’ll feel valued and heard. Then new customers will say, Hey, I want to be part of this too!, and submit their content.
Voila! You kick off a chain reaction of likes, comments, and follows.
❑ Yes
❑ No
According to the psychological principle of similarity, first-timers will feel better about trying your product if they see that other people in a similar situation had great luck with your brand/product solving their need.
UGC is an ideal way to leverage word-of-mouth reviews because it helps your brand share firsthand customer experiences. If shoppers see others in the same boat, they’ll be eager to take their advice.
For example, you can’t hire a model in every size to show off every shirt you sell. But your customers can submit content and their measurements to let others know what they can expect the shirt to look like based on their body type/size.
❑ Yes
❑ No
A user-generated marketing strategy can also be incorporated into your content marketing campaign. Instead of having to create this fresh content in-house, you can slash your production time in half by featuring high-quality UGC.
Notice an influx of customers taking pics with your tie-dye shirts? How about sharing a few of these with the hashtag #tiedyetuesday?
UGC can help you spot, share, and explode trends based on what your audience is telling you and showing you they love.
So what do your answers reveal?
If you have at least three yes answers, you should definitely consider a user-generated content marketing strategy for your brand.
Doing so will help you create a more engaged customer base, drive more sales, and expand your brand’s reach.
But that brings us to the next question: What’s the best way to add UGC to your game plan?
Now that you know how your business will benefit from UGC, your next step is to find and use a top-rated UGC app.
You want one that will fit seamlessly into your website and allow you to collect videos, photos, and traditional text reviews quickly and easily.
It should then let you display your UGC on your homepage, product pages, during checkout, and anywhere else they may be beneficial.
The best UGC app should also let you display your UGC and product reviews in a visually appealing way that entices shoppers to take notice.
Find one that allows you to pull photos and videos right from Instagram. Then you can turn those eye-catching squares into Shoppable Galleries. Your customers will be able to buy right from the IG photos and without ever leaving your site!
Another standout feature to look for in a solid UGC app?
The ability to moderate your visual content, so your team can choose the images, videos, and reviews that reflect your brand’s style while eliminating ones that are inappropriate or out-of-touch.
You should also be able to organize your reviews using albums. When similar items can be grouped together, your customers will have an easier time browsing items they’re most interested in all at once.
Finally, but just as important, look for an app that comes highly rated by customers, so you know it can be trusted.
Luckily, you don’t have to go far to find the top-rated UGC app with all these features and so much more.
Our UGC app gives you everything you need to get started and excel with UGC today.
Click that link to learn more and see how our UGC app delivers a much-needed competitive advantage for your brand.
If you’ve made it to this point, you now know more about user-generated content and (hopefully) discovered why it’s right for your eCommerce brand.
With the help of our top-rated UGC app, you’ll drive sales, build a loyal community of fans, and boost engagement -- as early as today.
But don’t just take our word for it. Request a demo of our UGC app now to see its power for yourself!