How to Build Your Brand with User-Generated Content

Autumn Rivers / January 16, 2020

Most business owners realize that content is king, but that doesn’t mean they’re experts at crafting it. If you can relate to this struggle—and have trouble creating new content for your brand consistently—it’s time to look into user-generated content, or UGC. This describes online content that has been created for a brand by its customers, and it can include everything from images, videos, and social media posts to blog posts, comments, and more. Not only does UGC help you keep up with the constant demand for new content, but it’s also great at engaging fans and increasing your brand’s credibility. If you want to know more about UGC, take a look at an interesting infographic from the M2 Technology Group. Here’s a rundown of what you’ll learn from it.

Why You Should Use UGC to Your Brand’s Benefit

UGC has many benefits for brands. For instance, according the M2 Technology Group’s infographic, 93 percent of consumers find UGC to be helpful in purchasing decisions—and that alone is a great reason to try UGC. In fact, research shows consumers in general find user-generated content to be 9.8 times more effective than influencer content when it comes to making purchasing decisions!

Some other benefits of UGC include the following:

86% of millennials think UGC is a good indicator of a brand’s quality.
Websites with UGC see a 20 percent boost in return visitors and up to a 90 percent increase in the amount of time people spend reading the site.
UGC posts that get shared to social media channels have 28 percent higher engagement than standard brand posts.

The Value of UGC

In its infographic, the M2 Technology Group laid out the value of UGC when it comes to brands in all industries. Just some of the ways UGC can help you include the following:

Build customer trust
Establish a brand tribe
Reach consumers who normally ignore ads
Attract new social media followers
Refresh your content with a new perspective

Potential Challenges of User-Generated Content

If you haven’t tried UGC yet, you’re not alone. Some brands have concerns about it, with just one being the possibility of getting inappropriate or questionable content from UGC requests. Luckily, you can use social listening to identify any inappropriate or negative content that wouldn’t be good for your brand.

Another possible issue is copyright infringement, such as if UGC contains a third-party song that requires permission from another content creator. To avoid this, just make sure the person you seek written permission from is the original creator, and then be sure to give him or her credit, such as by tagging on social media.

For more tips on using user-generated content to your advantage, take a look at this infographic from the M2 Technology Group.