What is UGC?
User-generated content or UGC is original, brand-specific content created by customers based on their experiences, opinions, ideas, or feedback and published on social media or other channels. UGC comes in many forms, including images, videos, reviews, a testimonial, or even a podcast.
Why is user-generated content important?
UGC is used across all stages of the buyer’s journey to help influence engagement and increase conversions. The customer-centric content can be used on social media and other channels, such as email, landing pages, or checkout pages.
- Helps establish brand loyalty and grows community
- Acts as a trust signal
- Takes authenticity to the next level
- Increase conversions and influence purchasing decisions
- Adaptable and flexible
- Save thousands on expensive photoshoots for your business
- Take advantage of video in your marketing
- Works in harmony with social commerce
Brands have to fight to be seen online, and competition is fierce for audience attention. As a result, consumers are more selective about the brands they interact with and purchase from.
User-generated content is incredibly influential in the final stages of the buyer’s journey, where you’re looking to convert your audience and influence them into making a purchase.
And it’s not just consumers who are passionate about authentic content. Marketers agree that authenticity and quality are equally important elements of successful content. And there’s no other content type that’s more authentic than UGC from your customers.
Audiences turn to UGC as a trust signal in the same way they’d ask their friends, family, or professional network for an opinion. Over 50% of millennials base their decision to buy a product on recommendations from their family and friends, so this is where UGC can shine since it is precisely that: a personal recommendation.
People ultimately trust other people, so it’s essential to think of UGC as the modern-day word of mouth.
Consumers are 2.4 times more likely to view user-generated content as authentic compared to content created by brands.
How to get UGCs for FREE?
- At CocoRoo we have worked with hundreds of UGC creators and would love to share our content with you for FREE. We would be more than happy to share our dropbox folder with you. Just email us hello@nutreatments.com and we will give you access. Our only request is that you tag us @cocoroobody and the UGC creator (which is in the name of each file).
- Shopify Collabs (previously Dovetale) is a free app that allows brands to manage and accept new applications for influencer partners, send products and discount codes to them, and keep track of how many sales they bring in.
We love Shopify Collabs because it also allows UGC creators to place a verified review on our website and it also allows them to make a commission off their sales. It sets up an exclusive discount code for each creator so you can track sales. Shopify takes care of all the paperwork and pays them directly.
It is fully customizable, you choose the discount and commission amounts, can set up different tiers. You choose what products to send to them.
Use this link to get started: Set up Shopify Collabs
- The Social Cat is considered the Tinder for brands and creators and has been a game changer for us. We have received a lot of high quality UGCs from this platform. Their system matches your brand with pre-approved creators in the Social Cat community.
You will get a daily email with creators that are interested in collaborating. You approve the creators that are a good fit and the Social Cat sends over an introductory email to both of you and you take it from there to discuss the details.
Once the collab is complete, you have the ability to review the creator.
There is a small fee ($50) to set up with the Social Cat but it has saved us so much time and money finding high quality creators and expensive photoshoots.
Use this link to get started: https://thesocialcat.com/brands
Bonus: use our discount code to save 25% - 10E9BUCD
Want more FREEBIES?
Our wholesale partners are offering discounts on your first orders (no minimums)
Faire - $100 off your first order and free shipping for a year. https://cocoroo.faire.com
Combine these with our FREE UGCs and you’ve got the perfect combo of FREE products and FREE social media content for your business.
