How to Harness User Generated Content to Boost Brand Trust

We are really only recently seeing User Generated Content (UGC) being harnessed to boost brand trust; and forming part of overall marketing strategies. It’s a remarkably simple way to generate content for your brand, and to engage with your audience. Here are some ideas on how to harness User Generated Content to boost brand trust.

What is User Generated Content?

User Generated Content is online content created by users and purchasers of the product / service, rather than by the company or marketing department. This can come in the form of social media posts, reviews, or feedback.

This is most often posted publicly onto social media channels such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok. From there, brands can use re-share functions or re-gram apps to share these social media posts to their own social channels.

UGC has been proven to help boost trust in brands by providing authentic real life experiences from users, which in turn influences other potential customers.

How can I harness UGC to boost my business?

UGC content on social media and website

Using UGC as content on your social media channels is a great way to boost your content with very little effort; as well as build report and trust with potential customers. If you get a Facebook review or post about your business, you can use the Share functionality to re-share it.

Re-gram apps allow you to share content correctly on Instagram, and include a nod to the original creator. Be sure to ask permission before re-gramming though – you don’t want to run into any copyright issues.

There are plenty of methods for sharing social media posts or reviews from various sources on your websites too. Contact us today to discuss the easiest plugins to aggregate your UGC to your website.

Be open to reviews

Reviews are the oldest form of UGC out there, and they are tried, tested and reliable. Yes, you are bound to get the occasional bad review, but remember feedback is a gift! Being transparent and open to receiving reviews automatically gives you a leg up with customers – openness to feedback is a proven plus point for consumers.

Incentivise your UGC

If you want to ramp up your UGC, there are many ways you can incentivise your User Generated Content. You can run a UGC draw or giveaway once a month, feature UGC content on special ‘shout-out’ posts, or have polls or competitions for the best UGC content.

How to use the UGC no-follow link in WordPress

We have discussed the difference between no-follow and do-follow links on websites, as well as sponsored content linking. But there is also a User Generated Content no-follow link option when adding links in your website.

This is a different kind of no-follow link, as it indicates to search engines that the link is not editorially controlled by you (no-follow), and that it has been created by users but that it is not sponsored content. This helps search engines like Google to differentiate between paid and non-paid content.

Contact us today to discuss your content building, USG, and social media requirements – ph. 01302 325032

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