Why User Generated Content is an Important Part of your Social Media Strategy

Not only will user generated content (UGC) take some of the stress of creating content from Social Media Managers, but it may also increase the trustworthiness of posts. Word of mouth has always been a strong marketing tool. Using social media can help bring consumers' experiences and ideas to other people that they may not know personally. Consumers want to see posts made by other consumers.

According to a Curalate Consumer Survey,

"50% of all respondents said that UGC would make them more likely to buy products through a brand’s social channels"

User generated content lets consumers see others' opinions and experiences with products instead of just marketing efforts created by the company.

Glossier, the online beauty company has a strong social media marketing strategy in which user generated content is an integral part. On the homepage of their website, one of the first things people see is photos and stories from other users on how they use Glossier products.

source: Glossier

On Instagram, the brand utilizes UGC in its stories. For example, in one of the highlighted stories named "IWD" for International Women's Day, the brand asked users to provide questions about entreprenuership and building a business. The brand then sent those questions to women who would have answers. The women with answers included Sara Blakely, Founder of Spanx, Alencia Johnson, the Director of Public Engagement at Planned Parenthood, and Katrina Lake, Founder and CEO of Stitchfix, in addition to other empowered and successful women. Glossier ran a similar campaign with skincare questions and reached out to make up artists and other experts. The questions users asked can be considered user generated content, and the skincare answers were provided by influencers.

Additionally in Instagram Stories, the brand shares "5 of the best things we were tagged in this week" weekly. They show 5 posts or Tweets in which users mentioned them. This encourages users to create content because they want to be featured on the Glossier page.

Source: Instagram

How will you incorporate user generated content into your brand's social media strategy? Comment below and tell me!