According to a report, around 93% of consumers find user-generated content quite helpful when making a purchase decision.
For brands like you, this presents a golden opportunity. You can leverage UGC to build credibility, foster trust, and, ultimately, drive actionable results.
While UGC includes a range of formats, videos stand out for their ability to deliver messages in an engaging and emotional manner.
Eager to integrate UGC videos into your brand’s marketing strategy but don't know how to get started? Well, don’t worry - we’re here to guide you!
In this blog, we will explore:
- Why brands are turning to UGC videos.
- Strategies for leveraging UGC videos to drive actionable results.
- Pro tips to make your user-generated video marketing campaign a ‘success.’
- Real-world case studies showcasing the transformative impact of UGC videos.
P.S. Need a helping hand in your UGC video strategy? You may consider Showcase - a premier UGC Marketplace. Our platform connects brands with a network of top-performing content creators so they can receive a wealth of high-quality UGC videos. The best part? You can apply advanced search filters to find creators who perfectly align with the specific requirements of your campaign.
A Quick Overview of UGC Videos
User-generated content (UGC) videos are videos created and shared by consumers or end-users rather than the official content creators or brands.
This type of content is published on various platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other social media channels.
Plus, it can include a wide range of video material such as:
- Reviews
- Unboxing clips
- Tutorials
- Testimonials
- How-to guides, etc.
Unlike traditional advertisements, UGC videos feature real users sharing their genuine experiences with a product or service.
This authenticity leads to a stronger emotional connection with potential customers because they see real-life applications and testimonials of your brand's products.
Like so:
Hurom tackled rising CPAs and stagnant sales by moving away from an 'always on sale’ approach to a ‘health-focused’ messaging strategy.
They optimized UGC creatives through inBeat agency's detailed analysis of hooks, CTAs, and social proof.
This strategic change reduced the CPA by 65%, cut overall CAC by 36%, and increased ROAS by 2.5x over 12 months.
How Can UGC Videos Drive Actionable Results for Your Brand?
User-generated videos are incredibly powerful for brands looking to enhance their marketing strategies.
Here's how UGC videos can drive actionable results for your brand:
- Higher level of trust: According to a report, 60% of consumers consider user-generated content the most authentic promotional content. That means you can enhance the authenticity of your brand messaging by leveraging UGC. This authenticity builds trust among consumers, which could lead to higher sales.
- Enhanced brand loyalty: When you empower customers to become co-creators of your brand story through UGC, you cultivate loyalty among them. These loyal customers are then likelier to promote your brand in their social circles. For instance, a PwC survey found that 52% of respondents express loyalty by recommending brands to others.
- Boost conversion rates: UGC videos showcasing the positive impact of your product or service on real people can significantly increase conversion rates. When potential customers see real people using and enjoying your product, they are likelier to be convinced of its value. Ultimately, that leads to making a purchase – which is exactly the kind of actionable result you need.
- Extended reach: User-generated video content has the awesome potential to go viral. As you can imagine, this leads to an exponential increase in brand reach. In fact, some reports indicate that UGC videos receive 10 times more views than branded content on YouTube. This extended reach allows you to tap into new audiences and broaden your market presence.
- Cost-effective marketing: Using content created by your audience means you can decrease the amount of paid content production required. Basically, you can reallocate your budget toward other marketing efforts like search engine optimization and online advertising. That’s important because these activities have higher price tags. They also help you get real leads, so it’s wise not to ignore them.
- Enhanced engagement: When consumers themselves become the creators, there is a noticeable uptick in engagement. The content they produce is obviously perceived as more authentic and relatable than branded content. That’s why it creates a buzz around your product/service. As a result, your brand’s channel would experience an increase in interactions such as:
- Likes
- Comments
- Shares
- Solid social proof: User-generated video content serves as powerful social proof for brands. That’s because it validates their credibility in the eyes of consumers. Seeing fellow customers sharing positive experiences through UGC videos reinforces trust in the brand's offerings. This social proof ultimately also influences purchasing decisions.
- Improved SEO: Research indicates that incorporating user-generated content can boost product page SEO rankings by 25%. Since UGC is created by real people, it contains relevant keywords that other real people use. Besides, UGC has natural language and diverse perspectives, both of which enhance your brand's online visibility and search engine rankings.
Top 5 Strategies to Get More Actionable Results from UGC Videos
Instead of simply hoping for UGC videos, there are proactive steps you can take to spark a wave of creative content from your audience.
Here are some effective strategies to consider:
1. Showcase User Stories and Testimonials
A study found that around 2 out of 3 consumers will likely invest in a product after watching a video testimonial.
Therefore, highlighting user-generated video testimonials is a compelling way to build trust and credibility as a means to ultimately drive sales. And do so effectively
Let’s explore how you can reach those results:
- Create a dedicated space: Establish a dedicated section on your website or social media channels where you regularly feature user-generated videos and testimonials.
- Encourage reviews and feedback: Reach out to customers directly via email or social media to request video testimonials. From our experience, this makes the process as seamless and convenient as possible for them.
- Personalize content: Showcase (no pun intended) a diverse range of user stories to appeal to different demographics and use cases. Personalization enhances relatability so you can resonate with your target audience better.
- Host live Q&A sessions: Organize live Q&A sessions on social media where customers can ask questions and share their experiences in real time. This approach builds engagement and interaction, which is exactly what you want if your purpose is getting more leads.
Pro Tip: Make it easy for customers to submit video testimonials by providing clear instructions, user-friendly submission forms, and prompt follow-up communication to acknowledge their contributions.
2. Leverage Social Media Hashtags
Launching a hashtag challenge is an awesome way to encourage users to create and share videos related to your products or services.
This tactic promotes engagement, but more importantly, it significantly expands your brand's visibility.
To implement this strategy effectively, consider the following steps:
- Initiate branded challenges: Design fun and accessible challenges that resonate with your target audience. Encourage participants to create videos that align with your brand identity or campaign goals.
- Insider tip: Don’t forget to use specific hashtags to track submissions.
- Offer incentives: Motivate users with rewards. Think of featuring their content on your platforms, offering discounts, or even prize giveaways for the most creative or popular videos.
- Showcase user creations: Share and highlight selected user-generated videos on your social media, website, or in advertising campaigns. That way, you can acknowledge and appreciate user efforts, which means they’ll be likelier to convert into leads. Or even get you more referrals.
- Leverage Analytics: Use social media analytics tools to monitor your hashtag's reach and engagement. This way, you can adjust your strategy in real time for maximum impact.
Pro Tip: Use a unique, memorable hashtag that reflects your brand identity and campaign goal. For instance, if your brand name is "EcoBloom" and you are launching a campaign to encourage eco-friendly habits, a hashtag like #EcoBloomChallenge would be ideal.
3. Provide User-friendly Content Creation Tools
Provide your audience with easy-to-use templates, tools, and guidelines to lower the barrier to content creation.
This strategy is especially effective for engaging interested users who may feel they lack the creativity or technical skills to participate.
Remember: The more you encourage and help people to participate in your UGC campaign, the likelier they are to become marketing-qualified leads.
Here’s how you can do it:
- Offer templates: Branded templates are awesome because users can easily customize them with their content. This ensures brand consistency across UGC.
- Tutorial and guidelines: Publish easy-to-follow tutorials or guidelines on creating engaging content with your products or services.
- Recommend user-friendly apps and software: Suggest tools that simplify video creation and editing, especially those with free or trial versions. Some tools we recommended to our clients include:
- Adobe Spark: A user-friendly tool with templates for creating videos, graphics, and web pages.
- InVideo: We like it because it has a wide range of templates and intuitive editing features for creating professional-looking videos.
- Canva: Everyone knows and loves Canva for its easy-to-use interface and vast library of templates for video editing and graphic design.
- FilmoraGo: This is a mobile app that allows users to create and edit videos with ease. We like it because it has a huge variety of effects and transitions.
- Mobile Optimization: A recent projection shows that 85% of all UGC will be created on mobile devices by 2031. So, be sure to optimize your template for mobile devices as well.
Pro Tip: Regularly update your toolkit and guidelines based on the latest trends in video content creation to ensure your brand remains relevant and engaging for creators.
4. Encourage a Community of Creators
Building a community around your brand can significantly enhance the quantity and quality of UGC videos.
A strong, engaged community feels more motivated to contribute content and share experiences.
Plus, this community is likelier to contain more marketing and sales-qualified leads.
To do so, follow these tips:
- Create exclusive groups: Establish exclusive groups or forums where your most dedicated users can share tips, receive early access to new products, and interact directly with your brand.
- Highlight community content: Regularly feature user-generated videos on your channels. This tactic rewards creators and shows prospective users the value of joining your community.
- Organize contests and events: Host regular contests or virtual events that encourage content creation and community engagement.
- Engage and respond: Engage with user-generated content by commenting, sharing, and showing appreciation. This positive interaction can encourage more users to share their experiences.
Pro Tip: We recommend our clients use a community management platform like Statusbrew or Khoros to better organize and engage with their community. You can use these platforms too, especially if you want to ensure no user feels left out or unacknowledged.
5. Collaborate with Micro-influencers
Partnering with micro-influencers with a niche following is a powerful way to stimulate UGC video creation.
These influencers have highly engaged audiences who trust their recommendations, so they’re extremely valuable advocates for your brand.
For example, for Greenpark, inBeat Agency used micro-influencer marketing to significantly boost brand awareness and create high-quality content. Impressively, within just three weeks, Greenpark tripled its budget while maintaining its target cost per install.
During this phase, consider these steps:
- Identify relevant influencers: Look for influencers whose interests and content align closely with your brand values and target audience. Quality over quantity is key; focus on engagement rates rather than follower counts.
- Offer value-driven partnerships: Give influencers exclusive access to products, behind-the-scenes content, or personalized incentives to encourage them to create UGC videos.
- Encourage authenticity: Allow influencers creative freedom in how they promote your brand. Authenticity connects with audiences and leads to more genuine and compelling UGC.
- Facilitate collaboration: Build a collaborative relationship with influencers by involving them in brainstorming sessions or co-creating content ideas. We noticed hundreds of times that this results in a more impactful and authentic UGC.
Pro Tip: Leverage influencer-generated content across multiple marketing channels, including social media, email campaigns, and website testimonials, to maximize its reach and impact.
Here’s a neat example:
Chipotle leveraged content originally shared by US soccer player Weston McKennie on his social channels.
This is the piece:
They amplified this content in a paid social campaign and also featured it in a TV campaign during the 2022 World Cup.
4 Pro Tips to Achieve Success in Your UGC Strategy
Starting a UGC marketing strategy isn’t enough; to truly drive actionable results, we always advise our clients to follow these pro tips:
- Diversify content formats: Beyond traditional videos, we encourage users to submit photo collages, GIFs, polls, quizzes, or even interactive experiences like augmented reality filters. Experimenting with diverse formats enriches our content mix, catering to varied audience preferences and increasing engagement.
- Amplify UGC across channels: Our influencers extend the reach of user-generated content by strategically amplifying it across multiple marketing channels. Repurposing UGC for email campaigns, digital advertising, offline marketing materials, and other promotional initiatives maximizes its exposure and impact.
- Optimize for user-generated SEO: You can optimize user-generated content for search engine visibility by incorporating relevant keywords, tags, and metadata. This enhances our website's SEO performance and attracts potential customers.
- Strategic partnerships with UGC platforms: Another great idea is to collaborate with UGC content creation platforms like Showcase. That way, your brand accesses a diverse pool of experienced content creators. And you can streamline the process of sourcing, curating, and leveraging user-generated content.
Real-Life Examples of Successful UGC Video Marketing Campaigns
We've seen how user-generated content videos can breathe life into your brand's marketing strategy.
But how do major brands leverage this power to achieve real results?
Let's dive into some inspiring examples that showcase the effectiveness of UGC video campaigns.
1. GoPro
GoPro, Inc., is a technology company renowned for its action cameras and the software and accessories that accompany them.
The company’s Million Dollar Challenge is a striking example of effectively leveraging user-generated content.
Launched in 2018, this annual challenge invites creators to submit action-packed footage captured with GoPro's latest products. In turn, the creators of the best videos and photos received a chance to win a cash prize of $1 million.
Results:
- Increased brand engagement: GoPro has successfully cultivated a community of enthusiastic content creators. This led to a massive increase in social media engagement and followers. Their YouTube channel, for instance, boasts over 10 million subscribers, with videos frequently going viral. These results showcase (again, no pun intended) the brand's reach and engagement capabilities.
- Enhanced Brand Loyalty: GoPro didn’t just use UGC videos to promote its products. More importantly, it built a sense of belonging among its users. This strategy has contributed to high levels of brand loyalty, with users more inclined to advocate for the brand through word-of-mouth.
- Diversified Content Portfolio: The UGC approach has allowed GoPro to amass a vast and diverse content portfolio. All this content proves its cameras’ capabilities in various settings, from underwater diving to skydiving.
2. Bluehouse Salmon
Bluehouse Salmon, a brand dedicated to sustainable and responsibly farmed salmon, embarked on a UGC campaign with inBeat to highlight the quality and sustainability of their product.
The campaign encouraged consumers to share their personal cooking experiences with Bluehouse Salmon on Instagram, ranging from simple home-cooked meals to more elaborate recipes.
Results:
- Enhanced brand awareness: The UGC campaign led to a significant boost in brand awareness. Through shares, likes, and user participation, Bluehouse Salmon was able to reach a broader audience. This amplified exposure often increases curiosity and visits to the brand's website or profiles. And the result is effectively converting social media engagement into potential leads.
- Credibility and trust: By featuring real customers' cooking experiences, the campaign created a sense of trust and credibility. Prospective customers were more inclined to try Bluehouse Salmon after seeing genuine, unfiltered content from fellow consumers.
- Community building: The campaign built a sense of community among health-conscious and eco-friendly consumers. Engaging with the content made users feel part of a movement towards sustainable eating. This strengthened their bond with the brand and encouraged interactions that could lead to repeat purchases and referrals.
3. CodecademyCodecademy
Codecademy
Codecademy, an online learning platform offering free coding classes in multiple programming languages, leveraged UGC to present real success stories from its users.
They initiated a campaign encouraging learners to share their journey and achievements after using the platform.
Results:
- Increased enrollment: Sharing success stories from real students made the platform more relatable and aspirational for potential learners. This approach contributed to a surge in new enrollments. That’s because prospects saw tangible outcomes of the education provided by Codecademy.
- Community engagement: The campaign stimulated discussions and interactions within the Codecademy community, with existing users sharing tips and encouragement. This enhanced the platform's supportive environment and increased visibility, attracting new followers who became marketing-qualified leads (MQLs).
- Brand reputation: Highlighting students' achievements helped cement Codecademy's reputation as a credible and effective educational resource. This enhanced credibility attracted more students, thus improving lead generation
Want to Create UGC Videos that Drive Results for Your Brand? Showcase Is Here to Help You Out
To wrap it all up, UGC videos represent a dynamic and effective marketing strategy that can drive significant, actionable results for brands across various industries.
Use our guide on UGC videos to drive meaningful actions such as increased brand loyalty, enhanced brand awareness, and higher conversion rates.
Key Takeaways:
- UGC videos significantly amplify brand reach and engagement.
- Encouraging user participation cultivates a sense of community and brand loyalty.
- Analyzing UGC video performance lets you continuously optimize your campaign for top-notch results.
- Authentic interactions within UGC videos strengthen brand-consumer relationships.
Feeling overwhelmed by the process? Don't worry; crafting winning UGC videos and ads is easier than ever with Showcase. This platform connects businesses with top-performing content creators specialized in user-generated advertising content. By leveraging Showcase, you can generate high-quality UGC videos that drive meaningful results. So, sign up now to get started!
