Make a Splash with User-Generated Content

By this point, everyone has seen the viral cranberry TikTok (but if you haven’t, click here to watch it). In the video, Nathan Apodaca rides his longboard while drinking Ocean Spray cranberry juice with “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac playing in the background. But, other than being the latest trend on TikTok, why is this important for marketing? User-generated content.

User-generated content (UGC) is any content created by consumers rather than brands. This can be anything from reviews to pictures to posts on social media. Other than the fact that it shows people care about your brand and gives your brand free content, reposting UGC builds trust in your brand. According to Business Wire, consumers are 2.4 times more likely to view UGC as authentic than brand-created content. But more than that, UGC has a huge impact on buying decisions. Photoslurp found UGC leads to five times more conversions than non-UGC. UGC is incredibly important to your brand and should be a piece of your social media strategy.

Back to the cranberry Tik Tok. How did Ocean Spray respond? First, they waited. Taking the time to let the trend grow on its own is important in creating a sense of trust. Then, they hopped on! The CEO of Ocean spray, Tom Hayes, posted his own video. The Ocean Spray team capped it off by gifting Apodaca a cranberry red truck supplied with Ocean Spray juice, which they captured on video and shared.

While this is a prime example of how brands can use surprise opportunities to increase brand awareness and engagement, there are ways to facilitate UGC in your customers without having to wait for them to drop into your lap.

Here are some tips and tricks for incorporating UGC into your social media strategy:

1. Always ask permission and give credit when posting UGC. This goes back to the trust thing. By asking first, you’re not only showing you appreciate the creator, but that they can trust you.
2. Create a UGC campaign. Ask your customers for images by creating a social media campaign. Even better, make it a competition; this often leads to high engagement. For a successful example, check out the #ArieReal campaign which asked Arie customers to post unedited pictures of themselves in bathing suits.
3. Even if you don’t repost, keep an eye on the UGC for your brand. UGC is great for social media content, but it is also great for research. By seeing what people are posting about your brand, you can learn more about your customers and how to better serve them.

UGC is vital to your business and is a great investment of your marketing time.

We can help get your business growing on social media and offer a complete social media plan (with ways to use UGC). Want to know more? Call us at 850-688-0510.