For busy small business owners, creating unique social media content can seem like a never-ending task. The good news is that there’s an incredibly effective tool you can leverage: user-generated content.
But what is that? Well, user-generated content, or “UGC,” is exactly as it sounds—organic, user (aka customer)-created content that’s specific to your brand and posted on social media (or a public platform).
Have you taken a photo at a local coffee shop and tagged them? Or posted a piece of art you bought and tagged the Etsy shop? Congratulations! You’ve created UGC. 😀
What Makes UGC So Important?
While influencer advertisements and branded content (#sponcon, anyone?) are on the rise, the same can’t be said for their effectiveness. In fact, consumers find UGC almost 10 times more impactful than influencer content.
UGC is created by real people sharing their real experiences, opinions, and feelings.
A video of someone receiving their online order, a photo of friends in a shop, a post celebrating the success of finally finding a product that works…these are all authentic experiences that can’t be replicated—and all UGC.
UGC provides small businesses with an unmatched opportunity to create authentic connections, foster trust, and engage with customers on a personal level, making it an important part of any digital marketing strategy.
The authenticity that comes with UGC is, without a doubt, one of its main benefits. But it doesn’t stop there:
- Social Proof: Search—and shopping—has changed, and more people turn to social media for information and product reviews to help them make a purchasing decision. UGC acts as evidence that real people already trust and enjoy your brand, helping to convert potential customers.
- Connection and Community: UGC is mutually beneficial for both your business and your customers—they’ll feel happy to be noticed and/or featured on your page, and you’ll get great content to share!
- Visibility: Remember, when someone tags you in a piece of content, not only are you seeing it, but their followers are, too. That means your brand is getting seen by more potential customers, without you having to lift a finger.
- Improved Engagement: When featured on social media, UGC can boost engagement by encouraging authentic interactions between your brand and your customers. As a result, social media posts featuring UGC can experience up to a 28% higher engagement rate.
- Content Curation: Whether it’s a repost on your story or a post on your main feed, UGC makes for incredibly effective—and effortless—content for your social media pages.
- Increased Conversions and Sales: Due to the authentic, often experience-driven nature of UGC, it’s a powerful tool to encourage sales and increase conversions. In fact, a study found that users who engaged with UGC saw a 102.4% increase in conversions!
- Trustworthiness: One of the first places consumers look to when determining the trustworthiness and legitimacy of a brand is their social media—and a staggering 86% of consumers are more likely to trust a brand that shares UGC. Knowing that real people—even if they are strangers online—not only trust a brand enough to shop with them, but love them enough to sing their praises on social media, is worth its weight in gold.
Types of UGC
UGC can be as simple as taking a photo in your favorite coffee shop (and tagging the shop) or as involved as posting an unboxing video of a recent order you placed. The main types of UGC to leverage include:
- Direct reviews like Google or Yelp
- Reviews in comments (even a comment on a TikTok saying, “This literally changed my life.”)
- Photos/videos of your product
- Photos/videos of (or in!) your store
- Photos/videos using your product or service
- Unboxing videos
- Mentions in comments
UGC in these forms is easy to share, engage with, and utilize—but more on that later!
Tip: Keep notifications on so you don’t miss any mentions, tags, or comments!
How to Incentivize and Encourage UGC
While you can—and should—encourage UGC, it actually isn’t all that uncommon for it to just…happen.
And I know what you’re thinking—how often do people just post about a company?
Honestly? It happens more than you think!
- A photo of a latte with the coffee shop tagged.
- A comment on a brand’s post sharing how you use their product.
- A boomerang of clinking drinks with the restaurant tagged.
- A makeup tutorial with the brand tagged in the caption.
- A comment mentioning a shop in a thread about favorite local businesses.
A great example is the iconic longboarding TikTok with Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice—which captured not only the attention of viewers around the globe, but Ocean Spray themselves. “…We were more like, ‘Well, this is some nice user-generated content and we’d love to repost it,” said Trace Rutland, Digital Hub Director at Ocean Spray.
All different levels of involvement, all without prompt, and all UGC.
But like I said—it doesn’t hurt to set yourself up for success by encouraging it!
Ask Your Customers
The first way you can encourage UGC is to just ask!
Asking is not only simple, but it’s also effective—72% of users are willing to share their content when asked by a brand.
Of course, how you ask is important. Essentially, don’t make it about content; make it about sharing excitement.
The request itself can lean more generic or be more specific to what you sell—whatever works best for you. Some examples include:
- Share your look with us! Tag @YourBusiness on Instagram!
- You’ve got great taste! We’d love to see how you style your new piece. Share your outfit and tag us! @YourBusiness
- Don’t forget to tag us in your photos! @YourBusiness
- Thank you for supporting handmade art! I’d love to see my work in your space—take a photo and tag me on socials! @YourBusiness
You can ask by hanging up a fun sign near any eye-catching displays in your store, print it on cards to include in bags or online orders, have it on your website and in your social media bio, or even have them as vinyl stickers on fitting room mirrors. Wherever it makes the most sense for your business and is most likely to be seen.
I actually found a great example that combines all of these while looking at a sourdough starter recipe.
I really like this example—it’s simple and straightforward while remaining warm, and the request itself is in a good spot within the post. I mean, it was eye-catching enough for me to take notice and think, “Huh. That’s a great way to ask for UGC…” while double-checking my measurements.
Tip: You could also create a hashtag just for your UGC that you encourage users to use. Just make sure it isn’t something generic, like #outfit! A better option might be something like #ShopNameOutfit.
Create an ✨Experience ✨
Sometimes, something as simple as an inviting atmosphere will be enough to encourage UGC.
I mean, I myself have lost track of how many times I’ve posted a photo of a unique store, perfectly-done latte, or tongue-in-cheek sign on my Instagram Story.
While it may seem more straightforward to accomplish in-store, don’t worry—you can absolutely curate an experience even if your business is entirely online. Some ways to do so include:
- Statement walls (such as a gallery wall, or flower wall)
- Tailored packaging
- Different lighting (unique lamps, LEDs, etc.)
- Conversation-starting or engaging tip jars
- Large mirrors (perfect for selfies!)
- Handwritten notes in packages/bags
- Cozy seating areas
- Branded freebies such as stickers, postcards, or buttons
- Product demos (like Lush)
- Gift wrapping
- Insta-worthy displays
- Curated samples or free products to include in packages (such as Sweetwater adding candy to each package)
- Chalkboard
- Artwork and decor
- Branded photo signs/opportunities
- Signage
However you decide to curate an experience, just make sure it aligns with your brand.
For what it’s worth, some of my favorite shops lean into their aesthetic across all touch points—whether it’s moody lighting in-store or branded packing with an online order.
Need some inspiration? Pinterest is your best friend.
We even made a UGC inspo board that you can check out!
Offer Rewards for UGC
While UGC is unpaid, rewards are a great way to encourage it! Offer rewards such as discounts, free products, or even extra points for membership programs in exchange for posting, tagging, or even leaving a review.
A great example of utilizing rewards for UGC is Heatonist, a hot sauce company best known for its partnership with the interview series Hot Ones. Their rewards program, “Sauciety,” offers extra points for engaging with their social media, referring friends, and leaving more thorough reviews. Members can then use points for things like free shipping, money off, or even extra bottles of hot sauces!
Note: If you’re asking for reviews, you can’t ask for only good reviews.
Run a Contest to Increase Participation
Contests are a great way to get both current and potential customers excited.
Some common contest structures are:
- Comment: Have followers comment a specific word or phrase, or comment on a specific item (such as their favorite product you sell) on the contest post to be entered to win.
- Share: Have users share the contest post on their story or main feed and tag your company.
- Tag a friend: Have users tag a friend (or a few!) to enter.
- Content Creation: Have users create their own content (such as a short video or photo).
Once you have everything decided, make a post announcing the contest on social media, and make sure to clearly lay out any rules, guidelines, and, of course, the reward in the caption. The caption also provides an opportunity to encourage further amplification, such as adding an extra entry if they tag a friend, or share the post and tag you.
How you pick a winner will depend on your parameters. If it’s random, some brands use automated tools to pick winners. However, if it’s based on specific criteria (such as the amount of likes or shares a user gets) you’ll have to keep tabs on each post.
What the reward is will be entirely up to you, but it should be appropriately level with the effort needed for the contest. That is to say, if people are creating videos talking about their favorite product you sell, you should be rewarding the winner with more than just some free samples.
Tip: Collaborating on a contest with another local small business benefits both of you, while also spreading brand awareness to a new audience (and vice-versa).
Take the First Step
There’s a tip that I often see in online baking communities: if you’re bringing a cake to a potluck either pre-cut it or take the first slice.
Why?
It encourages others to follow suit. By eliminating someone having to “ruin” it by cutting it, or making the first move to eat it, more people will gravitate toward it.
I find that this advice can be applied in many facets of life, and UGC is no different.
So, take that first step!
Create UGC for your brand that you want others to create. If you just bought a unique mirror to encourage in-store photos, take some photos in it and post them with a caption encouraging others to use it! For example, “Isn’t this mirror perfect for selfies? Come snap a pic next time you’re in!”
You can also encourage your employees to participate as well!
Be Responsive to Your Customers
Customers are genuinely excited to engage with brands and want to be noticed.
If you’re known as the brand that ignores when people tag them, it might influence some followers to stop (or not even start in the first place) posting about you.
So, to avoid this, make sure you’re responsive! Keep your social media notifications on so you can catch when people tag or mention you in stories, comments, and posts.
Then, it’s as simple as dropping a like and a quick comment! Use your brand voice, and aim for a balance of personal and professional.
Tip: Don’t forget to set aside time to go through any custom hashtags you have.
Maximizing the Impact of UGC
To get the most out of your UGC, you’ll want to ensure you’re posting it across relevant platforms where potential and current customers alike will engage with it.
Repost and Reshare
When it comes to reposting onto your main feed, you’ll want to ask permission—even if they tagged you.
So, either send the user a direct message, or comment on the post. It can be something as simple as “We love the way you styled our dress! Mind if we repost this on our page (and tag you, of course!)?”
Once you get permission, make sure you give proper credit by tagging them.
When it comes to Instagram and Facebook stories, if a user has a public account and tags you, you’ll have the option to reshare that to your own story. And don’t be afraid to add some personal flair with an emoji, a sticker, an interactive item (such as a poll or slide bar), or text.
If you’re using Instagram, consider making a story highlight where you can keep all of your UGC stories. This way, you’ll have a central hub of UGC for new customers to check out.
Tip: You can have multiple Instagram story highlights, so you could even create highlights for different products or UGC types (such as “Reviews” and “Uses”).
Create Additional Content from UGC
UGC doesn’t stop at hitting “share.” You can continue to create brand new content by featuring things like customer comments and reviews!
For example, if someone leaves you a 5-star Google review, you could expand its reach by posting a screenshot or creating a graphic of the review to share on your social media. This is a great chance to show some love to positive reviews or share praise from the comment section!
Additionally, platforms like TikTok and YouTube (shorts) allow you to duet a video or directly reply to a comment with a video, which are both effective ways to create your own content from UGC.
And It’s not uncommon for customers to drop their own tips, tricks, or experiences in a brand’s comment section. Listen to your audience and use this to your advantage!
Like in this example, where indie makeup brand Sunset Makeup replied to a comment following their suggestion for a lip combination.
Similarly, customers often show how they use, style, or work with a product in their own video. For example, someone making a video styling an outfit that features a shirt from a small boutique.
Or, if you’re Gordon Ramsay, duetting videos of people making food and providing encouragement (or disappointment!) with additional insight.
By replying to comments or duetting a video, you get the opportunity to show you care and further connect with your audience.
Tip: Comment sections are often full of questions, complaints, and suggestions. Keep an open mind when reading—you can use these comments as an opportunity to provide clarity, offer insight, address issues, or even make changes based on feedback.
Feature it on Your Website
Another great place to feature UGC is on your website.
Again, UGC builds trust—and what better place to drive the point home that your brand is beloved than right where people are about to make a purchase?
By having UGC featured on your website, you can show customers how their peers style, use, or appreciate your products in their day-to-day, making a purchase all the more compelling.
You could include a section that features your latest social media posts or reviews like Proactiv has on their homepage.
Feature key reviews or photos on individual product pages like Revel Nail.
Or, have a dedicated page/inspiration gallery, like the furniture store, Article.
Tip: Another great place to feature UGC is in-store! You can print out reviews or comments with tips/tricks and put them in a sign near specific products.
Embracing UGC
Now, more than ever, consumers not only appreciate, but actively seek out, authenticity and community.
By encouraging and utilizing user-generated content, small business owners can build a loyal customer base while amplifying their brand message through genuine voices.
In the end, that authentic, relatable, and real UGC is what will set your brand apart and drive lasting success.
