I’m pretty sure you have user-generated content, affectionately known as UGC, on your site lying around.
This content type comes in different shapes and sizes such as reviews or testimonials from your clients, to name a few.
If you’re not putting your UGC to good use, then you’re simply not doing the most of your eCommerce site!
However, the question begs to be asked: how can I leverage user-generated content for the benefit of my eCommerce brand or site?
In this post, you will learn how to use content provided by your readers and clients and help make your eCommerce site better.
Why is user-generated content valuable
UGC allows you to build trust with your audience.
People gravitate towards authenticity and sincerity. This reason is what makes customers reviews, a form of user-generated content, valuable to businesses.
According to Adweek, 47 and 36% of millennials and boomers, respectively, trust UGC. As for branded content, only 25% and 24% of the same demographic put stock on them.
Even if they don’t know who the reviewer is, the fact that s/he gave an unbiased and objective review of a product or service speaks volumes about the power of UUGC
As mentioned, there are other forms of user-generated content such as pictures of customers using your product on social media or review sites, testimonials, and others.
By collecting and using UGC to the advantage of your site or blog, you can gain the trust of your audience and potentially increase your sales in the process!
Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?
How to use user-generated content to your advantage
Now that we’ve established what user-generated content can do, let’s dive into the different ways that you can use UGC. Keep in mind that there are types of user-generated content that you don’t have on your site at the moment. However, this post will also show you how to collect them for your benefit.
Leverage customer pictures on your site
Pictures of customers using your products are arguably the best possible UGC for your brand.
It’s one thing if they share glowing reviews about your brand using words. But with an image, your customers get to literally show to the world how much they enjoy your product!
Now that you have visual proof that customers find your eCommerce brand amazing, it’s time to amplify the user-generated content so more of your prospects will get to see it.
Take a cue from Campus Protein when they used results-based and lifestyle photos from customers who used Fa fuel protein supplement. After adding the photos below the fold of the product page, Campus Protein ran a test and saw a 29% increase in conversion!
You can start collecting user-generated content from your social media. You can accept user review from your Facebook page and take their screenshots. Use the image file to include in the correct product page of your site. If you’re selling a single product, you can showcase the positive reviews on your homepage. Just make sure to test and measure the conversion rate after adding the images so you can optimize the placement of the images for maximum effect.
If you need more customer image to feature on your site, you can ask people to send you a picture of them with your product along with a short testimonial. Sending them an email days after purchasing the product from your site asking for a short review with their photo should help you get the job done. Use GetResponse or a platform that lets you send out triggered emails to clients so you can set this process on autopilot. You can even incentivize their review using an email platform by giving them a discount if they submit a photo review within a period.
Finally, you can make it easier for people to submit their photos of the product they’ve bought from your eCommerce site. Install an app or add-on on your site so customers can include their reviews on your site. For example, the Testimonials Shopify app allows eCommerce site owners to not only collect written reviews from customers but also photo reviews.
As mentioned earlier, customer reviews help gain the trust of your audience to your brand. The more positive reviews your customers leave, the more appealing your brand looks to people. At best, the reviews will result in more inquiries and sales to your business!
Aside from featuring the testimonials on your website as seen in the example above, you can showcase your testimonials on social media.
You can take screenshots of reviews on your Facebook page and share them on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, and vice versa. The idea is to disseminate the positive reviews about your brand so your social followers on all platforms will be able to see it. As a result, you can improve your brand’s image and potentially generate more shares in the process.
You can follow in the footsteps of LifeBeam, an AI personal trainer brand that used reviews as part of their Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns. On top of using attention-grabbing headlines and aspirational titles, their ad campaign was able to boost their conversion rate by 300%!
You can use testimonials for your brand on social media to retain your current customers.
Feature customer success stories
The reason why you purchased a product is that you want to achieve a certain lifestyle with it. You bought the product with an endgame in mind.
Sadly, not all customers get to achieve the goal they set for themselves using the tool. However, those with enough luck and perseverance was able to successfully level up with the help of the product they purchased from your brand.
These success stories are highly sought-after user-generated content that tells a powerful story behind their success. They come in the form of text or videos with the idea of sharing to the world how your potential help make their lives better. Their stories not only showcase how effective your product is but also pull the heartstrings of your target audience and further encourage them to buy from your site.
Codeacademy Stories is a great example of a testimonial page. It weaves storytelling into customer reviews to ensure that the message is effectively communicated to the audience. The result is a collection of inspiring stories of people from all walks of life who made something out of their lives by learning how to code with the help of Codeacademy.
Conclusion
There’s no limit to the power that user-generated content wields about helping your business acquire more traffic and sales.
The real challenge, however, is getting customers to share their stories by using your products and services.
However, the core of UGC is your product or service. Making sure that your business offers top-notch services to your target customers will mobilize people to repay your business with a glowing review. All these factors go hand in hand in making UGC work for you.
