It takes a few milliseconds for a user to determine whether they will stay or leave the website. Website being the first point of contact between the user and the brand, it needs to be informative yet attractive. This might come as a challenge for most marketers.
However, smart marketers use user-generated content or content created by the UGC creators on their websites to make them more relatable while providing relatable information. They understand the fact that people like to see authentic and honest content instead of professionally created branded content, giving them an advantage. This helps to build authority and effective online reputation management.
UGC makes a huge impact on the users’ purchase decisions and knows how to captivate them. This content drives conversions, engagement, sales, and much more on the website. Your website’s colors, design, navigation, user interface, and all other elements add up, but UGC on the website is what sets it apart and actually helps in developing a result-driven website.
So, now that we have established what role content plays on the website, let’s learn a bit more about this.
Importance of UGC on the website
User-generated content is any kind of content that is shared by any experienced customers of the brand. They share their purchase journey, product feedback, checkout experience, etc. with their peers, especially on social media or any other third-party review websites.
This content is created by the existing customers of the brand, this is why it is authentic and highly trustworthy. People rely on this type of content as it is more experience-based making it influential and valuable for not just the brand but potential prospects as well.
People seek UGC to signify the brand’s quality and decide what they want to buy. Since branded content is created with high-paid professionals, actors, and models it is all self-flattery, but it’s not the case with UGC. It brings transparency to the website and helps users make better and well-informed purchase decisions.
UGC provides the exact information without any exaggeration; this is why when the users see their purchase, it satisfies their expectations, leading to many happy customers.
Steps to incorporate UGC on the website
Now that we know what UGC is, and how much importance it holds, let’s see the steps to start leveraging UGC on the website smartly.
1. Set your goals
When you are planning to show UGC on the website, you are required to set some goals before you can go on to implementing it. Without a clear set of goals, you might find it difficult and directionless.
You need to brainstorm what goal you wish to achieve through UGC. whether it is to improve dwell time, boost conversion rates, or lower the risk of cart abandonment, or if you wish to achieve all of them, make them clear in your mind and curate the best possible strategy.
You need to then choose the landing pages accordingly and place the UGC wherever you think it might catch the maximum attention. If you are an eCommerce business, you can show UGC on the product page. Divide this UGC product-wise to inspire your potential buyers.
2. Plan the type of UGC
Now, plan the type of UGC you wish to display. This is done by making sure you are providing relatable and appropriate information. For example, displaying visual product-specific UGC on the product page would make a better impression rather than simple text UGC.
The type of UGC has to do a lot with the nature of your website, product, and the type of service you are providing. With UGC you get multiple options like reviews, images, social media videos, etc.
With over 3.6 billion active users, the impact of social media has a lot to do with the website’s engagement. You can choose social media posts created by your loyal and happy customers to display on the website.
Find out where your target audience engages the most and choose your platform on the basis of the same. Demographic differences make a lot of impacts and make it easier for us to captivate the users.
3. Encourage users to create UGC
Encouraging users to create UGC for us, is a whole other task. Did you know almost 50% of users expect you to determine what type of content you wish for them to create for you? It makes it easier for users to understand what will benefit the brand. As they are already ready to give their feedback, we might as well define what exactly we want from them.
You can run a UGC campaign on social media by asking your audience to share UGC with your branded hashtag. People love to share photos and videos of their experiences, and hashtags are highly engaging.
More than that, you can further implement this hashtag campaign on the website using social media aggregator platforms. This creates a bandwagon effect when new prospects see current users getting featured, it automatically makes them want to share UGC.
You can also run a loyalty program where you can offer your happy customer reward points, coupons, discounts, and freebies in exchange for UGC. This creates a good impression and motivates them to share UGC.
4. Aggregate UGC and display it on the website
Now it’s time to collect the UGC and make some use of it. This is where UGC and social media aggregator platforms like Taggbox come into the actual picture. These platforms allow users like us to collect content from more than 20 platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Google, Airbnb, etc.
Users can embed these in website-building platforms like WordPress, Wix, Weebly, Shopify, Squarespace, etc. Choose the most active platform, aggregate the content from the hashtag, mention, profile, tags, etc., then you can edit and design the widget, moderate the content, and finally publish it on the website.
5. Moderate content before embedding on the website
When we talk about moderation, it essentially means the users have full control over the content they wish to publish on the website. You are allowed to eliminate any insensitive or inappropriate content from the widget and show only relevant and valuable information.
Authenticity is one thing, but content that is relevant to your visitors makes a huge impact on their purchase decisions. When people see relevant content, they engage with the website and reduce bounce rates.
Moreover, the above-mentioned platforms allow moderation features to help you get UGC rights from multiple users in one go to repurpose their content ethically. This ensures a seamless flow of content without any discrepancies ensuring that you are displaying only authentic and reliable information on the website.
6. Use a different approach to place UGC
Every website offers something unique and different to the users. This is why having a different approach with a pinch of your brand in it, helps a lot. If you want to improve user engagement, and dwell time, you can add an interactive gallery to the website.
This captivates the users’ attention and increases dwell time. It gives hem something new to look at and makes them stay longer eventually reducing bounce rates. They are also curious and keep coming back.
Creating a shoppable UGC gallery can do wonders, especially if you are an eCommerce brand. They act as a reliable source of valuable information and help users make informed decisions. As they get exactly what is expected from the products, it leads to more happy and satisfied customers.
7. Optimize your content
The last step to building a UGC website is to optimize the content. You do not want old content on the website. Delivering fresh content every time a user visits the website is an essential part of improving the website’s overall performance.
These social media aggregator platforms update the widget in real-time. So every time a user visits the website, they get something new to look at. Whenever someone uses your hashtag or tags you, the posts will be updated automatically.
It is more effective, as these social media aggregator platforms also provide you with analytics features that give you valuable insights about how your audience is behaving with the widget. This way you can understand them better and make the necessary advancements if required.
Wrapping it up!
The website is the first impression that the brand has on the users’ eyes. Making it more attractive and efficient is a priority task for every brand owner. UGC provides an extraordinary solution to the website and makes it more intriguing, engaging, and powerful.
It is up to you to decide on how and what type of UGC you wish to leverage on your website. You can use a UGC platform and harness the power of users’ content to deliver an exceptional website experience.
