How to Grow Your Social Media with User Generated Content
“We want followers and likes” is the number one request we get from clients. These are both metrics that are easy to look at, to see if your social strategy is working. Even though measuring your success can be based on followers and likes, our team has found that more is not always better. You don’t need 10,000 followers to be considered legitimate but you certainly need quality, highly reputable content to be able to grow. Creating a solid social growth strategy depends on many factors, but are you focusing on User Generated Content or UGC? UGC is content- aka. Pictures with your product, video testimonials from customers who have used your services- from actual, authentic, non-influencer users! We know it’s not the easiest to get this content, but in order to grow your brand and business quickly on social media, UGC is KEY! Remember that other happy customers will sell customers!
First things first, Instagram is a visual platform. It’s all about the imagery and more importantly video as we move into the second half of 2020. We know the importance of curating an aesthetically pleasing feed, wanting it to be perfect with zero imperfections. BUT, like everything, there is a fine balance between a beautiful feed and showing off real users especially when focusing on a growth strategy. A feed without UGC, is only a beautiful feed. A feed that incorporates beautiful curated images with UGC that tells a story is an interactive selling platform that guarantees faster growth than just beautiful images.
UGC is essential for any growth strategy because it shows people that yes, your product is amazing, other people love it, and it makes users feel special. People want to feel special and heard, what better way to do that than to feature people on your page? You want to show off the success of your service or product and paint the picture for the user using a few key selling points; how their life will be better with your product/service, what exactly they will get with you product, what other clients are saying about your product or service, and why users should choose your business! Yes, some of the UGC photos may have flaws and imperfections such as poor lighting, awkward angles, or be slightly off brand BUT it is important to work these into your social strategy if you want to experience growth, PLUS we have a TON of tips and tricks to help you edit those visuals. So what growth are we talking about when we talk about UGC?
For example, in 6 months, we increased brand awareness and social footprint for one of clients by 392% through the use of UGC. Our client came to us with little to none social footprint wanting to create demand and a community around their product.
Now that you know what UGC is and why it is so important and powerful for a growth strategy, here are some ways to encourage users and clients to start posting content for you to use!
1. Run a Contest! Run a contest where in order to enter, users must post a photo of your products on their feed and tag you! You can choose from a myriad of prizes, such as the winner will receive a free product, all entries will receive a discount code, whatever you choose that fits your business.
2. Make a Note! If you ship your products, place a note in packages letting users know that if they post a photo with your product they will be featured on your page. Everyone wants their 15-minutes of fame and their chance to gain more followers on their own page so it is a win-win for you and the customer!
3. Post UGC Frequently! The more people see people “like them” on your feed, the more they will want to be on there meaning the more people will be tagging you and your products. PS. Did you know that 70% of people trust images or photos that are taken by people “like them”. You can think of UGC like a testimonial in photo format, and every business owner knows the power of a good testimonial. This will not only help your growth strategy, but it will also increase brand trust and will help with increasing sales.
The Skim: UGC is an essential part of any social growth strategy as it acts as a visual testimonial and encourages other users to use your products and show them off! There are many different ways to entice people to post and share your product or service and our favorites are giveaways and notes within packages you ship to customers!
