User-generated content may be one of the most underutilized forms of digital marketing. Why? It’s easy to overlook. B2B marketers are trained to think about email automation, content curation, and web design first, rather than those who are already actively advocating for you. Read on to learn why UGC can benefit your new business — or use the link below to skip to our list of the best user-generated content examples.
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What Is User-Generated Content (UGC)?
In a nutshell, UGC is any type of content that relates to your products or services, but is produced by someone outside of your company — or, at the very least, outside of your marketing department. We make this distinction because there is a type of UGC known as employee-generated content, which is where members of your team give reviews of your brand, or share why they like working for you.
While that can certainly boost your brand awareness, the UGC we tend to focus on is the material produced by those who don’t work for you in any capacity. These are the people that are more likely to help you influence others’ buying decisions and convert more leads. Because they aren’t current employees of yours, or contracted by you to spruce up your brand image, they’re seen as more reliable for giving unbiased reviews. After all, it doesn’t matter to them whether your brand does well or not (even though it’s nice if they do care).
Whether you would refer to these users as contributors, fans, advocates, or loyalists, the result is the same: getting real people to share their real customer feedback about you.
Types of User-Generated Content
Examples of UGC can be pretty much any consumable, customer-facing content you can think of. A photo on Instagram. A video on TikTok. An influencer’s blog. An unboxing video on YouTube. And those are just social media channels.
Your website can be a powerful tool for UGC, too, either by using it to highlight the social posts we mentioned, or by allowing users to leave comments and reviews about your products and services directly.
Keep in mind that negative customer reviews will happen — nobody’s perfect — but how well and quickly you respond to them can actually improve your brand image even more.
Examples like above can be showcased either on your homepage, your blog, or on specific landing pages that you develop. Then you can tie them in with your email marketing by including backlinks to them that will drive traffic to your site. Just make sure to get permission from the people who made the UGC you want to share, and that you give them the appropriate credit if they say yes.
Tagging and reposting UGC on social media platforms is a great way to grow engagement, too. Throw in some branded hashtags while you’re at it. Simply showing up and being part of the conversation can go a long way to establishing the rapport you want with your best new leads.
What Are the Benefits of User-Generated Content?
We’ve already talked a lot about authenticity, but it’s worth mentioning again. You’ve probably noticed how traditional marketing tactics often have a certain look, or only get so much exposure when it comes to social media algorithms. However, when you have individuals who are posting content created to showcase your brand, you’ll get greater visibility from a much wider audience, especially as that content is liked, shared, and commented on. This also provides the social proof that audiences need in order to trust partnering with you for new business.
Although we saved this next benefit for last, it’s also worth noting that a lot of UGC is pretty darn cost-effective — and by that, we mean free. While this doesn’t pertain to all UGC (more on that below), there’s plenty of it out there that is, and that you’d do well to leverage if at all possible.
How Do You Encourage UGC?
While plenty of UGC is created without your input, that doesn’t mean that you can’t influence it to some degree. In fact, you probably know a friend or two who got in on Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign a few years back. Something as simple as putting a name on a product — which is definitely not a new concept — can be all it takes to get people to jump on board. (Personalized keychains, anyone?)
Do you think that a similar tactic would work with your products or services?
UGC May Sound Like B2C, But It’s Also B2B
Have you been slow to adopt UGC because it doesn’t feel like the right type of marketing for your business? Perhaps the closest you’ve come to it has been in the format of a case study, and that’s not a bad thing. You interviewed a current client, put together an overview of what their struggles were before they met you, explained the options or steps that led them to you, and shared the positive results of your program. This shows others how competent you are, both for the products and services you provide, as well as the industries that you cater to. In other words, you’ve supplied the proof that other businesses need to know what a partnership with you would be like — which is pretty similar to the employee-generated content we mentioned above.
With that in mind, it shouldn’t be hard to go one step further and encourage your own user-generated content. Ask your clients if they’d be willing to share unbiased feedback about your products or services. Send them marketing swag to see if they’ll incorporate it into their own photos or videos. Get as creative as you want. Not only can you have a lot of fun with this approach, you’ll end up strengthening your relationships with those clients — which will make your UGC look even more authentic.
The Best User-Generated Content Examples
Now for the good stuff: specific examples you can try for inspiring your own successful user-generated content.
Liking and Subscribing. This may seem pretty simplistic, but always encourage your leads to engage with your company on social media. Ask them to like and subscribe to your channels to boost your brand’s visibility.
Competitions. Create a video or image competition with your customers to showcase your products or services, then have users vote on social media to crown the victor. You could even offer (or reveal) a prize for the chosen winner.
Testimonials. Encourage your customers to submit written or verbal testimonials, either for you to repost on your website and social channels, or for them to post directly to theirs while tagging you.
Podcasting. Invite your customers to share their company stories with you on social media. You don’t even have to purchase any fancy equipment. A mobile device is enough to stream them promoting their brand and yours, as well as talk about what makes your partnership really special.
Have a saved video instead? Interviews, webinars, and other visual reporting can be just as useful.
Swag. This is one of those UGC examples that can cost a little money. (But the content it may produce won’t!) T-shirts, hats, koozies, mugs, and tumblers — all have become common pieces of swag that offer portability and convenience, either when you’re snapping photos and taking videos with your customers, or they’re promoting your business themselves. Any item you share that can be personalized will kick that cool factor up a notch, a la Coca-Cola’s campaign we mentioned above, or the White Cup Contest that Starbucks ran.
UGC and Prospecting
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention how UGC can also help your prospecting, AKA the “funnel above the funnel.” Finding and vetting your best new leads often takes time, often because they need to learn about who you are and why they should trust you as a potential business partner. That’s why having solid references in the form of user-generated content can be extremely valuable for getting them to agree to phone calls with you sooner.
We don’t advise throwing a ton of UGC images or videos into your email outreach, as that will probably get you flagged as spam. However, we definitely encourage linking back to that material on your website, if it aligns with the focus of your email’s message.
Would You Like Help With UGC, Digital Marketing, or Inbound Lead Generation?
Which user-generated content examples will you try first? Or do you have other ideas for engaging your leads that you’d like to share with us? Either way, if you ever need help applying them, or you’d like assistance with any other areas of digital marketing and inbound lead generation, don’t hesitate to let us know! Click the link below if you think it’s time to schedule a free marketing consultation.
