How would you feel if I told you that the best tactic to build up your brand’s relevance not only wouldn’t cost you a thing, but it wouldn’t even require you to do any work? Chances are, you’d laugh and think that I was joking. But it’s actually true – the best way to build up your brand’s relevance (especially with millennials) is by letting your customers generate the content. These days, smart businesses are outsourcing some of their content marketing to their customers. Hashtags, slogan contests, asking for photo and video submissions – these are all great ways to get consumers to engage with and buy into your brand. This infographic from Venngage gives some statistics that show why letting your users contribute should be a big part of your marketing strategy, as well as tips on how to encourage them.
Look at the numbers. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube all have enormous numbers of active monthly users, and these channels can influence how they feel about your brand:
- 86% of people look to user-generated content as an indicator of product or service quality
- 65% of them consider user-generated content to be more honest and valuable
Build in space for engagement. Integrate your customer’s social media contributions into your testimonials section, or create a microsite to hold it. Encourage your users to create and publish their content on your site, and maintain a social media presence so that customers have a place to leave comments where you are able to review and respond.
Grow trust. Make sure that you keep on top of your social media pages – if you’re absent or neglect to respond, that won’t help you build relationships. If your customers have valid complaints or suggestions for changes to your products or services, use them as guidelines for future products and services. When customers see that you care about their concerns, that helps to build trust and engagement with your brand.
Who can say no to free marketing and more engagement? I’m on-board with encouraging user-generated content. I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
