5 Ways to Repurpose UGC in a Matter of Seconds

Oana Alexandrov

December 19, 2019

User-generated content is the pool of photos that customers take to post on social media for reference. Through these compositions, they want to display, not write, how they feel about a product. By and large, these visuals capture happy undertones. Here, the new owners show off the positive results they’ve accomplished since they’ve come in the possession of certain items.

UGC is particularly powerful at driving Sales. More and more marketers have started to seize its potential and channel it at key touchpoints. Are new leads visiting your social profile? Among the numerous promotions or product images, they can also see satisfied customers. Are site visitors perusing a product page? It’s as great a landing page as any to fortify their trust in your brand with UGC.

Today, we’re going to discover how to capitalize on a free yet extremely valuable resource: user-generated content. Welcome to stage five innovative ways to repurpose UGC with a minimum investment of time.

1. Daily/Weekly Post with Special Hashtag

Our first entry is also the one that serves two purposes. First, it is an efficient UGC generator. Secondly, it works just as well when marketers want to repurpose UGC.

This is about a special type of post. Say your social media calendar schedules a customer photo repost every other day at 10 am. For transparency’s sake, the text accompanying the visual acknowledges the contribution of the authors. It also encourages others to follow in their footsteps to reveal the beautiful community they are in.

By resharing or loading a photo your customers are sending in, brands spark trust. Customers feel part of a group that breeds confidence.

Plus, the idea of having your one moment of shine in front of a broad audience has still retained a hold over people. Therefore, there’s no wonder that social media users take up photography challenges at dizzying speeds.

To keep track of all UGC, you can create a special hashtag. Make sure you come up with a unique phrase or keyword. One that people can instantly associate with your brand will be a hit.

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Take GoPro for example, the number one action camera manufacturer. Right in its Instagram bio, the brand encourages followers to mark their photos taken with a GoPro with the #GoPro hashtag. Thanks to this easy strategy, its Instagram profile is a spectacular album made in collaboration with loyal customers.

2. Website Catalog

Even though born on social media, user-generated content isn’t limited to it. In fact, whenever marketers repurpose UGC on their website, visitors’ trust starts going up.

That’s because 85% of consumers see UGC as a reliable product representation as opposed to anything else the company creates in-house. That goes for photo shootings, product photos, graphics, banners, ads, and so on.

An innovative way to leverage UGC on eCommerce websites is through a shoppable catalog. Creators of the new media gallery will be everyday consumers who come as reliable to others like them in search of a particular product. Any photography blunders can only reinforce UGC’s authenticity. By its nature, user-generated content is amateur, although there are some exceptions.

Going back to the website catalog, it can be placed right on the homepage as a general preview of your latest collection. By turning it shoppable through pins linking to product pages, websites, creating a new customer journey. Therefore, marketers maneuver a different shopping channel catered to visually inclined leads.

Another way to integrate UGC on-site is by uploading them on product pages. However, visitors will be interested only in those visuals that depict the product they are currently researching. In this case, the gallery will be shorter.

3. UGC-Based Ads

If there were three attributes to describe successful ads, they would be “quick,” “catchy,” and “bold.” Their purpose is to instill a sense of urgency, winning or curiosity. Online Marketing uses this induced stance as a hook to guide leads on a landing page.

By swapping the usual studio-graded visuals with UGC, marketers set off a massive click-through rate increase. UGC is bold because it’s different. It is quick for both advertisers to put together and viewers to digest. Lastly, it is catchy as it speaks the body language of everyday people.

First of all, UGC-based ads drive more interest thanks to their genuine nature. People want to see how the product behaves out there, in real life, and not inside a professional studio.

Let the world as shoppers know it be the stage. Create a carousel or slideshow out of the photos customers are sending you. Promote them or turn them into ads. It’s easy, efficient, and it drives results.

4. On Display in Brick and Mortar Stores

Despite the digitized way of living, physical stores remain a key touchpoint down a customer journey. Companies are spending a lot of resources on optimization, layout design, and overall shopping experience for their brick and mortar stores.

However, you may wonder – now that they have the products right in front of them, what good is it to display UGC on screens. The fact is that their power of attraction remains strong. In these pictures taken by customers, people see how a certain item is integrated into a lifestyle.

Take fashion lovers for instance. The way people create an outfit for any occasion has become an art. While there’s no sense of style like the other, aficionados can get inspiration from one another.

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Therefore, displays running UGC around a store are a breath of fresh air. Visitors get ideas on how to match items between them. On top of that, happy faces all around are an instant mood booster.

5. Newsletters with Happy Customers

Busy inboxes are no longer news. Every day, tons of newsletters struggle to hit a click quota. What you can do is make sure subscribers get an exceptional experience with each email. This way, your subscribers will be eager to read your next one.

One flash upgrade is to embed UGC into the main body text. As a result, you’ll add sentiment and social validation at the expense of just a few clicks.

Nonetheless, there’s no need to jump to a complete Email Marketing revamp. You can continue showcasing your products through your customers’ content.

Another strategy consists of a #Hashtag email campaign. Choose a hashtag that hasn’t been used before. Next, encourage subscribers to show off their products under your suggested hashtag. Throw in a few entries from your UGC pool to make them get a taste of this adventure.

This way, customers themselves will start an exclusive community of their own. On top of that, brands are able to curate a single stream of content and top up their user-generated content.

UGC Repurposing Can Now Commence

Many companies take an expensive path by investing in professional Visual content. Reality is that a faster and more effective solution is standing in front of their eyes. All they have to do is reach out, grab UGC and move it on a variety of channels (be them social profiles, eCommerce stores, newsletters or displays). The best part is that user-generated content is a free resource with a huge potential to accelerate sales increase.

Remember: It’s not about the brand. It’s about consumers and what’s in it for them in exchange for trying out your products. Therefore, learning how to repurpose UGC can give rise to brand trust.