AgVoice | Leveraging the 'User Generated Content'

What is it that every entrepreneur, organisation or brand wants? We are guessing it would be visibility, recognition and brand appreciation. You want customers to come to your page, purchase products, be satisfied with the experience and come back again.  To achieve that, you need to remain on top of people’s minds. To achieve that, you need to stay in constant touch with your audience. If you are thinking how to do that, we would suggest that you try User Generated Content (UGC).

You might have regular blog updates or posts on your social media channels. But, UGC can help you to a large extent in improving your interaction with your customer base, thus helping you retain brand loyalty.  And you need not generate all that content yourself. It is an easy and pliant method to woo your target group and create awareness about your brand at an economical rate.

We all love to share opinions, give suggestions and provide feedback. It is a natural instinct. Why not use it to your advantage? UGC is a means of communication that complements your already existing content; wherein the new data is generated on a regular basis by the average users. A comment, a blog post, a review – any possible information about a product from the user’s end turns out to be free publicity.

From a consumer’s perspective, they definitely prefer knowing about another fellow consumer’s experience with the product rather than hearing about a company market its own. None the less, the two-way interactive system makes consumers feel worthy. By granting them an option of voicing their opinions or criticisms, you are  making them a part of the products’ future.

The main aim of any marketing campaign is to engage consumers and UGC helps do just that. By engaging with consumers, you can create a positive brand image for yourself and establish a strong relationship with a wide and varied customer base. That in turn translates into future sales,  viral publicity and improved brand visibility.

In return to the user’s contribution, you can organize online contests, give discounts and vouchers, which will increase the chances of the users sharing their experience with others. Ultimately it makes the whole process more user- centric.

However, one of the risks involved in this process is the fact that you will be exposed to all kinds of content, from good to bad to amateurish. Also, you might want to handle negative reviews appropriately. Ignoring often enrages customers. Contrarily, take the feedback and inspire yourself to perform better. Replying to such comments is also a good idea.  Incentivize the process to ensure quality.

In today’s era of digitization, social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Big Adda, Couch Surfing, LinkedIn, etc., help publicize products and services smartly and innovatively. The best examples of UGC are YouTube and Wikipedia. It lets users share and connect with the brand and fellow users.  UGC is a definitive way to create a community of brand loyalists. | By Aashutosh Katre, Director, Yellow Seed Content Solutions