Tired of using the same old images to promote your business? Sick of talking at your fans rather than with them? Jump into the conversation and start engaging with the audience that is actively promoting your brand through photos, tags, hashtags, and tweets! Making the most of your audience and implementing their user-generated content (UGC) into your social media mix is a great way for your business to communicate and show off its products or services. UGC is information that's been generated from your customers that highlights your products or brands and is then shared to their personal social outlets. These consumer-generated photos and videos are perceived as the most trustworthy sources of content compared to other types of media.

According to Business Insider, "Shoppers who interact with UGC are 97% more likely to convert with a retailer than customers who do not." Not only does UGC sit well with your consumers, it is also more memorable than other media. Furthermore, a recent study by Shopify reports that advertisements with UGC have a 400% click-through rate, 50% cost of acquisition, and 50% drop in cost-per-click. What makes UGC so valuable? Yotpo says, "At its most basic level, user content marketing is based on a psychological response known as social proof. Social proof explains how we are hardwired to learn from others to help us avoid making potentially harmful choices."

In an ever-evolving digital landscape, social proof is becoming a bigger part of today's shopping experience. As Digital Commerce 360 points out, "82% of all shoppers check their phones while in-store before making a purchase." Why is this so important? Well, not only are consumers looking for the best prices, they're looking for social validation. One fashion retailer in Brazil took this principle of social validation to the extreme by "adding hangers with clothes items that shoppers could 'Like' in real time." In turn, the company gained one-thousand new fans every hour and some collections of clothing would sell out in a day.

Providing consumers with social validation before they buy is becoming a key to success, as UGC directly drives purchases. One study found that 86% of Millennials say that consumer-to-consumer content is a good indicator of a product's quality, and 84% reporting that it has an influence on what they buy. Additionally, UGC creates brand exposure to customers you may not have reached yet. Research shows that 88% of consumers today trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as they trust recommendations from personal contacts, and 70% of consumers report taking actions based on those consumer opinions. This is what gives UGC such value. Think of it as a "Yelp 2.0."

Now we know that UGC is very valuable, but how do we generate it? Fortunately, there are many ways to gather digital copy in today's world of social media. The most popular way to gather UGC is through contests or a campaign. One of the most successful UGC campaigns of all time was Coca-Cola's #ShareaCoke, which featured a vast array of personalized names on their bottles. Fans would upload images of themselves with the bottle to social media, generating content for Coca-Cola while also advertising the Coca-Cola brand. How successful was the campaign? Well, Coke directly attributes a 2% increase in U.S. sales to this campaign alone. Considering Coke is a $10.5 billion-dollar company, it's safe to say that this campaign was a huge success.

In conclusion, your consumers are now the most powerful marketers of your business or brand. It is up to you to determine the best way to collect content from your audience. Test out various tried and true options such as campaigns, contests or events, with the ultimate end goal - to generate the best, and/or most UGC possible.

Need help? Contact Alternative Strategies at (619) 858-0322 to discuss personalized options to promote your business through social media and start building a social-friendly landscape that encourages your customers to elevate your success through user-generated content.