UGC Platforms: Ultimate Tool to Boost Sales, Community Growth

In today's digital age, building a strong online presence has become crucial for businesses of all sizes. Now that consumers are spending more time online than ever before, it is essential to have a strong and attractive presence to attract their attention. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through user generated content (UGC) platforms. 

These platforms allow companies to take advantage of their customers' content, such as opinions, photos, videos and texts, to increase their visibility and participation on the internet. By incorporating UGC into your digital marketing strategy, you can create a more authentic and trustworthy brand image, improve your SEO, and increase your social media following. 

UGC platforms allow you to harness the collective creativity of your community and create content that resonates with your audience. And with the right UGC strategy, you can easily create an online presence that drives results. Statistics show that UGC is more effective at engaging customers and driving conversions than traditional content creation methods. 

With a well-thought-out UGC strategy, you can take advantage of these benefits and reach new heights in the digital world. Information saturation in today's digital world means that companies need to constantly keep up with new trends and create innovative projects to engage their audience. A good user content generation idea can help businesses create a strong online presence that helps them stand out from the crowd. 

Perhaps you are thinking that if the current problem of digital advertising is its saturation online, why would filling it with more content be practical and effective? The problem is not that the user's mind receives too much information, but that his mind becomes more and more selective; the user sees what he wants to see, he receives what he wants to receive. 

What type of content does a normal user pay attention to most ? 

Today's user is looking for authentic, real, even honest content. Users want to see people with whom they have a relationship in common, such as a friend, acquaintance, family member, or a friend of a friend. This is when UGC strategies become a powerful tool. People are no longer interested in seeing the celebrity of the moment pretending to have fun while having a drink when in reality it is just a job for him. People are interested in seeing their cousin having fun and genuinely describing how much fun she had while she drank that drink and danced with her friends. The audience is looking for real content, and as contradictory as it sounds, the digital world is looking for real experiences! 

Only 48% of online users have confessed to having bought something on the recommendation of an acquaintance on social networks. This figure is huge and extremely important, almost half of the people who surf the internet. Another important figure related to UGC strategies is that the content generated by any user has 28% more engagement compared to the content published by a brand or company. 

What is interesting is that, from this strategy, a phenomenon called “Word of Mouth” (WOM), was created. 

The term refers to a consumer whose interest in a product or brand is so great that it is part of their daily conversations and routine. This is also the oldest form of advertising, and interestingly enough, it's free. 

A very simple example: I started using a body cream a week ago. I love it, I adore it, I can't stop using it and every time someone comments on how soft my skin is or how good I smell, I immediately tell them about that product. Even more, my fascination with this cream is such that I share content about it on networks. Someone then sees it, tries it, and all of the above is replicated. 

A more specific example would be experiential marketing or promotions: I go to an Asian restaurant, it is the month of March, the most important month in Japan due to the arrival of spring, the restaurant is fully decorated with cherry blossoms and Japanese music is playing. The food is delicious, the service incredible and I just feel like I've been transported to Tokyo in the ‘40s. I enjoyed this experience so much that I'm running to tell my friends to go experience it for themselves soon because it will be removed next week. 

With this, we return to the previous point. Today, a recommendation from someone ordinary is much more valuable than a huge campaign with an impressive production behind it. 

What type of companies or brands is a UGC strategy made for? For absolutely everyone! 

You might think that this tool is only effective for small or medium-sized businesses, but the truth is that "manufactured" content is less and less convenient for any brand, especially when it comes to its online presence. 

To make this point clear, let's take a global example of UGC. In 2019, TCL, one of the most important technology companies in the world, launched a campaign in which it wanted ordinary users to create a video about what makes them a "legend" in their daily lives. Participants had to upload their video to the company's page, where the best ones would be selected, to later be exposed to the public and anyone could vote for their favorite. 

Despite being a company whose parent company is in China, the contest was open to participants from all over the world, bringing together thousands of entries and a winner, who received a prize of US$10,000.00.

The goal of UGC strategies is not just to save budget, which is obviously wonderful, but to give a sense of authenticity to a product or service. It is not a tool created as an excuse by small and medium-sized companies that could not afford a collaboration with a celebrity. It is a well-thought-out and planned strategy to connect with what the consumer is really looking for.