Although user-generated content is a great resource for businesses, convincing customers to create content for their company can be challenging. These are five examples of user-generated material that businesses can use as inspiration for their content strategies.

Marketing budgets are often the first thing to go when businesses experience economic hardship. According to Influencer Market Hub, 69% of brands anticipate a decrease in ad spending for 2020.

Companies should use user-generated content to promote products and services in times of economic downturn and limited resources within their organizations.

User-generated Content refers to content that users create, such as images and videos, blog posts, or third-party opinions.

However, motivating people to create user-generated material is a different challenge.

We surveyed 401 Americans and found that they are reluctant to create content for brands.

However, businesses can still motivate and incentivize customers to interact with their products online. This can be done either by themselves or with the assistance of an advertising agency. Here are five examples of brands that have successfully used user-generated content on the internet. We also explain how businesses can do it.

Our findings

• 75 percent of respondents (three quarters) say they’re unlikely to use a company-branded hashtag. People may be motivated to use the hashtag in giveaways or contests.

• Only 22% of respondents say they would be willing to write a blog post for a company. For free content on company websites, companies should consider a guest writer program.

• 26 percent of people say they would be willing to review a company via a third-party site. A review process should be included in the buyer’s journey of business.

• Only 19% are likely to make a video demonstrating a company product or service.

• 81% of respondents say it is unlikely they will create a video for a company. However, brands can use TikTok and other platforms to increase user engagement with their product.

Example 1: Birdy Gray uses Hashtags to encourage user-generated content on Instagram

It’s only half the battle to create and post a hashtag on your business’s social networks. Our research shows that businesses should encourage people to use branded hashtags and share them.

75 percent of respondents say they don’t think they will post content using a company-branded hashtag.

By incentivizing customers, small businesses can increase engagement through a hashtag.

Birdy Grey offers affordable bridesmaid gowns directly to customers through an online boutique.

Two key audiences in the wedding industry are aware of Birdy Grey’s products through the hashtag #birdyinthewild

• Bridesmaids and bridesmaids
• Wedding vendors (e.g. photographers, venues, florists)

Customers who use Birdy Grey’s hashtag can have their photos featured on the company’s website. This hashtag campaign helps direct-to-consumer companies bypass traditional advertising channels and reach a wider audience via social media.

The feature on the Birdy Grey Instagram account or website, which has just under 70,000 followers, can be a fun incentive for brides. This is a free publicity opportunity for wedding vendors, especially photographers who are looking to gain new business.

It’s easy to find new content on social media using hashtags. To see the dresses worn by bridesmaids in real weddings, you can search for #birdyinthewild.

If you want to encourage consumers to share your branded hashtags via social media, search for current trends first. Even though COVID-19 restrictions have not stopped weddings from happening, #birdyinthewild has been a popular hashtag.

Customers can be enticed by businesses to use a hashtag. They could also win a prize for a random post that includes the hashtag.

Sherry Mae, Tankarium’s founder, stated that “people love getting free stuff.” People are more likely to take part in simple engagement actions like liking, commenting, and sharing.

To encourage customers to promote and share products on Instagram, companies can use giveaways and hashtags.

Example 2: Smashing Magazine uses a Contributed Content program to boost Thought Leadership

Imagine that you are sitting down to create a blog post. The outline is created, followed by topic sentences and examples. What is the time it takes to complete? Is it one hour?

Imagine that you are putting in the effort for another company after you have made a purchase.

It is no surprise that only 25% of people (22%) are likely to blog about their experiences with businesses.

If they don’t feel any personal benefit, people might not be willing to spend time creating blog posts for a business. Videos and short social media posts are better ways to share the product experience.

Instead of asking customers for long-form content, businesses could start a guest writing program or contribute content programs like the one Smashing Magazine offers.

Smashing Magazine guides potential guest writers via its “Write For Us” page. This page outlines guidelines for guest posts on the Smashing website.

You can start sourcing guest posts for companies by reaching out and inviting thought leaders from your professional network to contribute to a blog.

Guest posts are a win-win situation for both writers and companies. Companies can use guest posts to create thought leadership. Long-form blogs have SEO benefits. This provides opportunities for internal linking as well as search indexing.

Incentives for writers can include social media shares, regular contributor status, or links back to their website.

Business leaders and marketing professionals can create a page called “Write For Us” on their website to start a guest-writing program.

Companies that are hesitant to spend time or money on creating original content can use a guest contributor program to get written content free of charge.

Example 3: Buzzfeed aggregates product reviews to create lists of top items

Although companies want to get positive reviews from customers, reviews have more benefits than a 5-star rating on a third-party website.

Businesses can use customer reviews to share valuable user-generated content on their website and social media.

However, only 25% (26%) are likely to review a product/business on a third-party platform.

Positive reviews are proof of quality and support claims in marketing materials.

Buzzfeed, for example, creates product lists that combine customer reviews. This gives businesses even more exposure.       

Buzzfeed compiles lists of the most popular products across a variety of categories such as clothing and home improvement. Every product listing includes a customer review, which provides details about the product as well as its benefits.

Even if companies don’t get reviews in major-name product aggregates they can encourage customers to submit reviews 

• Use notifications to encourage customers to leave reviews after they have received a product or service.

• Your sales team should be trained to ask customers for feedback when they interact with customers

• After a customer receives a product, include a call to action in automated emails

Businesses may offer free product samples, future discounts, or sweepstakes entries to encourage positive reviews.

However, companies should be careful about offering incentives for positive reviews as incentives could decrease customers’ trust in the product.

Example 4: Nope Reviews and Popular YouTube Accounts

Businesses can’t afford to spend too much on video marketing. Creating a high quality product video that can be shared on social media and/or the company’s website, takes time, money, effort, and labor.

YouTube’s “Unboxing” videos feature YouTube stars opening up and showing off products. They have quickly become a popular sub-genre.

However, only one-fifth (19%) of people say they are likely to make a video that shows how they use a product or service.

YouTube channel Nope or Dope is an example of user-generated content that highlights different products and their advantages.

Dope or Nope is a YouTube channel with over 7 million subscribers. Matthias Fredrick, a YouTube personality, reviews and demonstrates a dozen products at once to show viewers how they compare to other competitors.

However, most customers aren’t YouTube stars with millions upon millions of followers. Customers don’t want to feel that they are doing unpaid labor for you to purchase your product.

Instead of offering incentives to all customers in the hope that they will make a product demo video, you should invest in targeted outreach to YouTube creators or influencers in your product niche.

Businesses can reach out to customers who are engaged and offer discounted or free products in return for a short testimonial video that they will share on social media. Customers from B2B may especially appreciate the online exposure.

Example 5: Chipotle Leverages UGC On TikTok

TikTok is used by some businesses to find and increase user-generated content for younger customers.

While 81 percent of people say it is unlikely they will create a video about a product, TikTok users often create videos that feature popular products.

TikTok, a new social media platform that allows people to create short videos and set them to music, is a promising one. TikTok’s “challenges”, which are short videos that brands or influencers create to challenge users, are a trademark of the platform. These challenges allow them to post dances or other short challenges for other users.

Chipotle, a fast-casual restaurant chain, created the famous “lid flip” challenge by using the hashtag #ChipotleLidFlip.

Chipotle’s “lid Flip” challenge was started by an employee who posted a #ad-branded post. This indicated the content’s promotional nature.

However, the challenge was quickly embraced by many TikTok users who joined the fray to try to flip their Chipotle bowl lids, to Future’s “Flip.”

TikTok offers marketers a new avenue. The app’s user base increased 50% in March when stay-at-home orders began in the U.S. Businesses with younger audiences should consider investing in user-generated content.

Viral video challenges make it easy to reach younger users via TikTok. TikTok hashtags allow users to search for your content and then replicate it, while also featuring your product.

Businesses can then repost the content that users share using the hashtag, as Chipotle did with its lid-flip challenge.

A hashtag campaign on TikTok can help companies expand their digital footprint while also increasing marketing spending.

Here are some examples of UGC Supplemental Business Marketing Strategies

User-generated content is an ideal content strategy for companies looking to reduce marketing budgets during COVID-19.

By offering giveaways and contests, businesses can encourage people to participate in hashtag programs on Instagram.

Companies need to have third-party reviews to establish and maintain a good online reputation. Businesses need to use strategies to get customers to leave reviews on third-party sites.

While it is unlikely that people will create videos for a company, businesses can leverage emerging platforms like TikTok to harness user-generated content.

About the Survey

Only 42% of respondents identified themselves as females, 39% as males, and 19% didn’t identify.

One-tenth (11%) of respondents are between 18-24 years old, 18% are between 25-34 and 19% are between 35-54 and 55-plus. 21% did not give their age.

Respondents come from the South (36%), Midwest (27%), West (23%), and Northeast (17%).