Why UGC Is the Key To Building Brand Trust and Loyalty

Don’t underestimate the power of user-generated content (UGC), as it’s becoming one of the best marketing tactics for brands to drive growth. Leveraging UGC for campaigns that build brand loyalty offers potential customers the transparent, interactive, and personal experiences they demand on social media. If you don’t think someone snapping a pic of your energy drink and posting it to their story with a positive review does much for your brand, it’s time to rethink what you know about UGC.

Company-created content no longer fosters the airtight relationships that lead to brand-loyal, repeat customers. According to Backlinko’s UGC stats, 93% of marketers using UGC content note that it outperforms traditional branded campaigns, and 6 out of 10 consumers believe this is a more authentic form of marketing. UGC results in 29% higher web conversions than campaigns or websites without it. For those reasons, we don’t recommend competing against non-branded campaigns—but we do advise you to integrate the best UGC marketing tactics into your existing strategy for well-rounded brand-building.

Driving Growth With UGC

UGC—one of the best marketing tactics for growth—is of vital importance, because brands that don’t evolve to embrace new trends eventually become obsolete. Building brand loyalty through social media helps companies stay relevant and meet modern consumers on the channels they use for product recommendations and reviews. Think of UGC as the ultimate word-of-mouth tool that increases brand awareness among new audiences who trust consumers’ opinions about your company. 

User-created content generates a cycle of wins that help brands thrive. According to the software provider PowerReviews, adding one or more reviews to a product can boost its traffic by 108% and sales by 92%. When a potential customer sees a trusted fellow social user vouching for your brand, they feel an affinity for your product or service. They make a purchase and the positive experience inspires them to also become ambassadors of your company, sharing reviews and posts with their audience. This sequence makes UGC one of the best marketing tactics, because it continually builds two elements necessary for a company’s growth: trust and customer loyalty.

Social Proof Builds Trust and Influences Customers

People buy into organic, authentic user-created content more than polished, branded campaigns. Nielsen’s latest Global Trust in Advertising Report suggested that 70% of consumers trust UGC social media reviews, a 15% increase from just four years ago. Since online users’ behavior is influenced by those around them—aka social proof—UGC is one of the best marketing tactics to get people to try, trust, or switch to your brand. When influencers and social personalities post themselves enjoying a product, it assures their followers to trust the brand and boosts the company’s credibility. People emulate social influencers they want to be associated with, and when UGC testimonials and product reviews showcase your brand, the lasting impression is powerful enough to transform their followers into your customers.

UGC Fosters Customer Relationships and Brand Loyalty

Unscripted, organic UGC videos, testimonials, and posts provide the authenticity that social followers need to become customers and loyal brand enthusiasts. These posts garner 50% more engagement than traditional campaigns which explains why 70% of brands feel UGC helps them connect with customers better. Liking, commenting, or reposting user content invites creators into a brand’s community and strengthens their allegiance (while encouraging additional UGC from those fans). These trusted spokespeople continue to communicate the quality and value of your products through their genuine content—a win-win for shoppers and brands.

How Brands Score Valuable User-Generated Content

You can get quality UGC befitting your brand from a loyal customer, influencer marketer, or UGC content agency that will efficiently spread the word about your products and services beyond conventional advertising spaces. Authentic content is so valuable that 56% of marketers use influencer campaigns to generate user content first and boost sales second, according to an Influencer Marketing Hub report. Here are a few of the best UGC marketing tactics to improve your brand’s content library:

1. Ask! The easiest way to get testimonials and reviews for your company is to ask via a post-purchase email; verifying purchasers also helps build credibility.
2. Harness the Power of Hashtags: Creating branded hashtags makes it easy for UGC creators to promote your company’s product line (tagged content is searchable so you can repost with ease)
3. Host a Contest: Encourage people to share pics highlighting your brand and reward the best UGC with a prize, and you’ll get loads of others to share later (just make sure your contest rules permit this).
4. Use Influencer Endorsements: Any brand can use influencer marketing, as these pros range from mega-, macro-, and micro-influencers, to fit any budget or reach any niche audience without sacrificing the quality of your UGC.
5. Encourage Employee Engagement: Employee-created UGC not only shows that your team believes in the products it creates, but it has 2x higher engagement according to a LinkedIn Employee Engagement Guide.
6. Interact With Social Audiences: Good social media management includes reacting to community posts and reposting UGC, encouraging followers to share, review, and support your brand.
7. Ask for Help: Brands with low social media engagement may need to rebuild their campaigns with a UGC content agency’s assistance to regain traction in competitive markets.

Building a Strong UGC Marketing Strategy

If your UGC feels out of place and off-brand, customers will notice. This identity crisis can impact your audience’s perception of your brand, even if you didn’t create the posts. UGC shouldn’t detract from branded content, especially material that resonates with your audience. Before implementing loyalists’ content into your campaigns, you’ll want a solid social media strategy that defines what’s working and sets goals to improve what isn’t. When you begin developing your UGC plan, keep these tips in mind:

• Curate UGC from brand-appropriate platforms and channels so the posts and visuals reinforce company values.
• Set clear goals for your marketing strategy and create prompts to steer the audience toward UGC that will help support increasing brand awareness, driving engagement, improving leads, etc.
• Analyze content types (e.g., unboxing videos, in-use visuals, or product reviews) to determine which UGC supports your marketing objectives best.
• Properly attribute content to creators and comply with legal requirements for influencer campaigns and social media marketing regulations.
• Interact with social users and respond to community posts and messages to keep content creators engaged and enthusiastic about repping your brand.
• Monitor and measure UGC and influencer marketing success, tweak campaigns, and improve future strategies.

Whether professional content creators or loyal customers produced material for your brand, it offers exceptional value, from improved audience reach to increased engagement and brand loyalty. If you need help putting together the best marketing tactics to capitalize on this user-generated content, contact Joybyte today. We’re a leading UGC content agency offering services tailored to help you exceed your marketing goals.