User-generated content, or UGC, has transformed content creation for e-commerce businesses. It involves creating content for your social channels, showcasing customer experiences. One of the main reasons why it is a good idea for e-commerce businesses to opt for creating user-generated content is that it is a social proof of your brand – it builds trust and credibility for the authenticity of your brand in the hearts of your customers. It also helps your brand reach a wider audience base, helping in your marketing strategy. 

In this blog, we will talk about the importance of user-generated content and how to leverage it to improve your sales.

Let’s get started!

Before we get to it, let us first understand what is included in UGC –

Ratings and reviews

Any type of feedback that you can get from your customers, be it by way of star-based ratings or written reviews, is included in user-generated content. Such UGC can help your potential customers make their decision about whether or not to make a purchase by understanding the quality of your products and services. Reviews are a source of immense credibility for your brand – most users trust honest reviews more than any advertising tactics you might implement, making it one of the top types of UGC.

Social media 

It’s only fair that when a customer is happy with their purchase, they would want to post your product or services on social media. With the increased use of social channels, this has become the norm for them – sharing pictures, videos, and stories about your brand on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter (X), Facebook, and more.  This can help their friends and family also become aware of your brand and its offerings, creating a chain reaction of getting them to try your products too. This way, you can reach a wider audience and improve your sales.

Product demos

Many creators on YouTube create content around unboxing products or product demonstrations to show you how they look, are packaged, and work. You can also find this type of content on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and more, as it includes unfiltered opinions about your offerings, which users tend to trust more. Because such product demos or unboxing videos are not scripted, the authenticity quotient in this type of e-commerce content is high and can help potential customers generate more confidence in your products or services.

How to leverage UGC for better sales?

Now that we have a fair idea of what exactly UGC is, it is also important to understand how to leverage it to get better sales for your e-commerce business.

Urge your customers to create UGC

The best way to go about it is to develop a content marketing strategy that includes encouraging your customers to create content for the products and services your brand offers. It is also always a good idea to openly thank your customers if they do it, making them feel valued. 

You can also repost it to display it to your audience – it has several benefits. If you repost a customer’s content, they can become even more loyal to your brand, thanks to the stronger connection it might create, and it can also urge more customers to create such content. This can lead to building stronger relationships with your customers, along with a stronger foundation for future potential customers.

Create UGC-centric marketing campaigns 

Another great idea to generate better sales is to go for e-commerce advertising with UGC. You can come up with brand hashtags and urge your audience to use them for better reach for your content. They can also use them when they share photos, videos, reviews, or testimonials about your products, services, or brand as a whole. 

This can help you in expanding your reach, visibility, and engagement on your social channels, all the while also driving sales through paid efforts. UGC-focused marketing campaigns perform the best in comparison with other assets, making it one of the most powerful ways to leverage it for better sales.

Build a community

There are many people who like creating as well as watching UGC – it can be a good idea to include all such customers in a community that can double as your portfolio for your products and services. This can be a part of digital marketing services that you can hire for your e-commerce business.

UGC is a highly convincing type of content, which is why the more it reaches your potential audience, the more chances there are of better sales. For this, you can use platforms such as Facebook or Discord, or go for email marketing campaigns through HubSpot, Zoho, and more.

Final thoughts

To sum it up, one of the best strategies for content marketing in digital marketing is generating UGC. It is gaining more and more popularity in today’s marketing world for its authenticity and credibility. This type of content can do wonders for your overall e-commerce marketing to improve your sales. This can also help you build better and stronger customer relationships while generating revenue like never before.