What is user-generated content?
User-generated content (UGC) is content produced by everyday people about a brand, as opposed to content produced by businesses. For example, a shoe brand might repost a picture of a satisfied consumer sporting their new shoes rather than uploading a product image of the same shoe.
UGC is ideal for businesses interested in raising consumer awareness and strengthening client relationships. In fact, this type of content has been seen by marketers to result in 29% higher web conversions than campaigns or websites that do not use it.
It makes perfect sense for brands to make use of the gold mine of real-life recommendations. This not only saves time and money (since the content is plug-and-play), but it also highlights the most devoted patrons of a business and assists potential customers in making smart purchases.
UGC ideas for B2B marketers
Try out these three simple and budget-friendly user-generated content ideas in your marketing campaigns.
1. Share video testimonials
Video is the most effective way to attract new customers on social media. An Animoto’s survey found that 79% of brands land a new customer after sharing videos on Instagram.
Much of its effectiveness comes down to one thing: Authenticity. Unlike texts, videos personalize your connection with the audience. Instead of reading bland texts, they relate with the human behind your brand directly.
There are two major ways to gather video testimonials from customers:
- Fix a video case study interview. Record the conversation and break it into 30-seconds clips that can be uploaded on your socials.
- Incentivize customers to record video testimonials. For example, you can offer a trial extension to nudge customers to share video testimonials.
When it’s all set, share the video on your social media page and tag your customer to get traction.
Zoom is one brand that does this right. It regularly shares video testimonials — like this one with Sonos — where customers explain how Zoom solves team collaboration problems for their organizations.
And they have impressive results to show for it! For example, the Sonos case study video has nearly 900,000 YouTube views.
2. Cross-promote customers’ content
Here’s something you’ve probably experienced:
You put out content on your personal social media account and tag your favorite creator. A few minutes later, you get an Instagram notification showing that the creator reposted your content.
How do you feel at that moment? Excited? Valued? Like you’re not singing to crickets? It’s the same thing with B2B marketing.
Customers get thrilled when you share and repost their content. It shows that you value the relationship. They will likely share your brand with their audience again in the future — which is great for building awareness. The content also serves as organic marketing material for driving customer acquisition campaigns.
Cross promotion doesn’t end on social media. If you have a newsletter, consider featuring customers’ content in one of the issues. Or invite them to chat about their work on your podcast and events.
3. Promote UGC by Embedding It On Your Site
Prospective clients will look to your company’s website for additional information about your brand. So, it stands to reason that you should optimize it using the UGC you’ve gathered.
Your website’s social media feed should be vivid and interactive so that clients can see what others are saying about your product or service. Juicer’s social media aggregator helps you organize your website’s social media presence more efficiently. This feed can be embedded into your website, and you can even use it as a LinkedIn feed plugin for your business page.
See our guide on how to Embed LinkedIn Feed on Website [Full Guide].
Final Thoughts
The right tool can save you time and ensure your content is updated automatically and posted to your feed daily. Juicer lets you control what appears in your aggregated social media feed. You can even display your feed at events on your social wall or physical screens using a link.
