User Generated Content: 5 Steps To Turn Customers Into Advocates

What Is User Generated Content?

User generated content is any content created by customers expressing their views around a product or a brand on social media or any other review platform. 

UGC is ideas, feedback, questions, or opinions related to users’ experiences in the form of photo, a video, a story, or a review; if it is created by a consumer and the brand uses it, the content becomes user generated content, the customer becomes the brand’s advocate.

Want to know how you can turn customers into advocates?

Here are 5 simple steps you can follow in your business:

5 Steps To Turn Customers Into Advocates

1) Choose The Right Social Media Platform

There are multiple social media platforms, and the users are scattered around them as per their needs; you need to be where your target audience is, moreover where they engage the most. Not just that, you also want to ensure the type of content you want and whether your chosen platform supports that. 

For example, if your content is text-specific and you have chosen Instagram as your major platform, it might not be easy to attract an audience that feeds upon visual content. On the other hand, Twitter is the kind of platform where users love to express their witty humor within limited characters. So you must identify these differences and then choose your social media platform for better results.

2) Setup Your UGC Goals

Setting goals and KPIs for your user generated content plan is the only way to ensure the success of your strategy. UGC brings in endless benefits, trust-building, boosted user engagement, and increased conversions. 

Still, in order to measure the return on investments, you must involve performance measurements. Ensure that your customer advocacy strategies are turning out to be the way you wanted, and what all improvements you can make to make them more effective. The right UGC platform would provide analytics to tell you what works the best for your audience.

3) Encourage Customers To Use Your Hashtag

Tell your audience that you want them to create content for you. There are many ways to do so. One such way is by creating hashtag campaigns and contests. When you do so, you encourage your loyal customers to create content for you, using your branded hashtag in exchange for exciting goodies or prizes.

When your customers participate and post for you, they create a social presence for you and ensure user generated content for future marketing purposes. Not just that, you can also set rules for the hashtag contest by specifying the type of content you need to ensure less irrelevant and more relevant content.

4) Create A Sense Of Community

Effectively drive your consumers down the marketing funnel by creating a sense of community among them with the user generated content. User-generated content brings familiarity among consumers towards your brand like no other content. When you post content created by your customers, you make them feel special and ensure they become your loyal customers. 

They would naturally encourage their friends and followers to explore your products and buy them, improving your conversion rate and increasing brand recognition. Engage your customers using various social media strategies, and ensure their participation in all your online events. Your loyal customers would never miss your live sessions, or product launches, giving you a permanent audience.

5) Analyze & Measure Your Efforts

No social media strategy or any other marketing strategy is complete without its in-depth analytics and measurement reports that tell you how far customer advocacy has led. It will ensure whether you should keep using similar strategies if they are working, or change them if they aren’t.

There are many analytics and measurement tools available that will help you keep track of your strategies’ growth and performance. Moreover, choose a standard theme to stick to and amplify your brand goals. Many social media platforms like Instagram provide you insights for each post and tell you what works best for your audience and what does not.