Did you know that 85% of consumers find visual user-generated content (UGC) more influential than brand photos or videos?
In fact, ALL content created by users generates 6.9 times higher engagement than brand-generated content.
These stats highlight the power of UGC in building trust and driving engagement.
However, to truly harness the potential of UGC, it’s essential to repurpose it effectively.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how to maximize your UGC content through strategic repurposing. You’ll learn about:
- Benefits of repurposing UGC content
- Essential steps to seamlessly integrate UGC into your marketing efforts.
- Proven strategies to repurpose UGC for maximum impact.
- Way to measure the effectiveness of repurposed UGC
P.S.: Want to create UGC campaigns that deliver exceptional results? inBeat can help! We specialize in generating performance-driven, user-generated content tailored to your audience’s interests. Our creators understand various social media platforms and current trends, ensuring your UGC creatives achieve low CPAs and high engagement. Book a FREE strategy call now!
TL;DR:
- Power of UGC: User-generated content (UGC) significantly outperforms brand-generated content in terms of engagement and influence, making it a valuable asset for marketing strategies.
- Benefits of Repurposing UGC: Extends content lifespan, boosts engagement, is cost-effective, enhances trust and credibility, improves SEO, and broadens reach.
- Strategic Repurposing Steps: Identify relevant UGC, define audience and objectives, and obtain permissions from users to use their content legally and ethically.
- Effective Repurposing Strategies: Integrate UGC in advertising across digital, print, and video platforms; leverage it in social media campaigns; transform it into blog content; use it in email marketing; and enhance website authenticity with UGC.
- Measuring UGC Effectiveness: Track engagement, conversion rates, traffic, and ROI to assess the impact of repurposed UGC and adjust strategies accordingly.
- Real-Life Success Stories: Brands like Deux par Deux, Hurom, and Native have successfully repurposed UGC on their websites and product pages to increase credibility and customer trust.
- inBeat’s Role: Offers specialized services in generating and repurposing UGC to maximize brand engagement and reach through tailored content and influencer marketing strategies.
Benefits of Repurposing UGC Content
Repurposing UGC offers numerous advantages for brands looking to maximize their marketing efforts.
You can significantly enhance your content strategy and overall performance by reusing UGC across various platforms.
Some major benefits of repurposing UGC are:
- Extended content lifespan: Repurposing UGC extends the lifespan of your content by allowing it to be reused across different platforms and formats. This maximizes the value you get from each piece of content created by your users.
- Increased engagement: UGC resonates more with audiences due to its authenticity. Repurposing this content can lead to higher engagement rates such as more likes, shares, comments, and overall interaction. You can even use UGC in your marketing emails to get up to a 73% increase in email click-through rates (CTR).
- Cost-effective: Using UGC can significantly reduce content creation costs. Since the content is created by users, brands save time and resources that would otherwise be spent on producing original content. Even better, UGC is 50% more cost-effective than traditional marketing campaigns.
- Enhanced trust and credibility: Audiences tend to trust content generated by fellow consumers more than branded content. So, build trust and credibility with your audience by repurposing UGC. Remember, 92% of consumers trust organic, user-generated content more than traditional advertising.
- Improved SEO: UGC can enhance your website’s SEO performance. Content like reviews and testimonials can help with keyword diversity and provide fresh, relevant content that search engines favor.
- Broader reach: Repurposing UGC across various channels (social media, blogs, websites, etc.) allows brands to reach a wider audience. Basically, each platform can attract different segments of your target market which increases overall reach and visibility.
3 Crucial Steps to Repurpose UGC in Your Marketing Efforts
Repurposing UGC can significantly amplify your marketing strategy by leveraging authentic and engaging content created by your audience.
Our experts at inBeat use the following steps to effectively repurpose UGC in their marketing efforts.
1. Identify Relevant UGC
First of all, look for the UGC that best represents your brand and resonates with your audience.
This step is crucial in ensuring that the content you repurpose is impactful and aligns with your marketing goals. Let’s see how to identify relevant UGC:
- Monitor social media: Utilize social media listening tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, or Brandwatch to track mentions, hashtags, and keywords related to your brand. Platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are rich sources of UGC. Look for posts where users have tagged your brand or used your branded hashtags.
- Review customer feedback: Check customer reviews and testimonials on your website, e-commerce platforms (like Amazon or Etsy), and third-party review sites (such as Yelp or Google Reviews). Even Reddit is a great source of insights. These reviews contain valuable insights and authentic content that can be repurposed for marketing.
- Analyze user engagement: Identify which user-generated posts have the highest engagement rates. This includes likes, comments, shares, and overall reach. Content with high engagement is a strong indicator that it resonates well with your audience and is worth repurposing.
For example, the hashtag #zarawoman on Instagram features numerous user-generated posts showcasing Zara's clothing, which can be repurposed for marketing.
2. Define Your Audience and Objectives
To effectively repurpose UGC, it’s important to clearly define who you’re targeting and what you aim to achieve.
This ensures that the repurposed content is relevant and impactful.
You can do this by following these steps:
- Understand your target audience: Segment your audience based on demographics, interests, and behavior. Use tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, or customer surveys to gather data. Knowing who your audience is will help you select the most relevant UGC to repurpose.
- Set clear objectives: Determine what you aim to achieve with the repurposed UGC. Objectives might include increasing brand awareness, driving traffic to your website, boosting engagement on social media, or enhancing conversions and sales. Clear objectives will guide your strategy and ensure that your efforts are focused.
- Align content with goals: Ensure that the UGC you choose to repurpose aligns with your marketing goals. For example:
- If your goal is to increase brand trust, select testimonials and positive reviews.
- If the goal is to drive engagement, opt for visually appealing and interactive content like customer photos or videos showcasing your product in use.
3. Obtain Permissions from Users
Securing the right to use UGC is essential to maintain trust and legality.
Our team of experts at inBeat follow a series of steps to acquire UGC usage rights.
Feel free to copy the same action plan to avoid legal issues in your UGC campaigns.
- Request permission: Always ask for permission from the original content creators before using their UGC. This can be done through direct messages, comments on their posts, or via email. Obtaining permission not only respects their rights but also builds trust and goodwill between your brand and its customers.
- Give credit: Properly attribute the content to the original creators by tagging them in your posts or mentioning their names. This not only adds authenticity to the content but also increases its reach as the creators are likely to share it with their own followers, expanding your audience.
- Offer incentives: Consider offering incentives to users for allowing you to use their content. This could be in the form of discounts, shout-outs, feature posts, or even exclusive access to new products. Incentives encourage more users to create and share content related to your brand. Also, it creates a solid cycle of UGC generation and repurposing.
For instance, take a look at how oVertone requests permission to repurpose UGC through Instagram comments.
Or you can also leverage this email template used by our professionals at inBeat to request permission for republishing UGC:
Looking to Maximize Your UGC Content? 5 Effective UGC Repurposing Strategies
Leveraging UGC effectively can transform your marketing strategy and make it more authentic and engaging.
Five proven strategies by inBeat experts to maximize the impact of your UGC are:
1. Integrate UGC in Advertising
Repurposing UGC can significantly enhance your advertising efforts by adding authenticity and building trust with your audience.
Let’s see how to repurpose UGC across various advertising channels:
- Digital ads: Repurpose customer photos and testimonials by incorporating them into your online ad creatives. For instance, use the same customer review from your social media posts in your display ads.
- Print ads: Use customer stories, quotes, and photos from your online reviews and social media in your print ads. For example, if a customer shared a great product photo on Instagram, use it in your brochures, magazines and flyers to make your print media more engaging and trustworthy.
- Video ads: Collect customer video testimonials, product demos, and real-life usage stories from social media or review sites and compile them into video ads. Create highlight reels of the best customer content or edit together various testimonials to build a cohesive and engaging story.
One of our clients, Bluehouse Salmon, a brand that retails organic salmon, leverages Instagram to promote its products by repurposing customer content.
Nearly all of their content calendar is filled with posts from customers and restaurants showcasing recipes using Bluehouse Salmon.
2. Leverage UGC in Social Media Campaigns
Using UGC in social media campaigns can increase engagement by 50%. UGC is a powerful way to engage your audience visually and emotionally.
You can create dynamic and relatable content that resonates with your followers by strategically repurposing UGC.
Key strategies to leverage UGC in your social media campaigns are:
- Share customer stories: Repurpose user-generated photos and videos by sharing them on your social media channels. This showcases authentic content that resonates with your audience. You give them recognition and encourage others to share their experiences by reposting content from customers.
- Create UGC hashtags: Encourage your audience to use specific hashtags when sharing content related to your brand. Repurpose the posts that use these hashtags by featuring them on your social media profiles. This builds a community and creates a repository of authentic content that you can use in future campaigns.
- Run contests and giveaways: Host social media contests that incentivize customers to share their content for a chance to win prizes. The UGC generated from these contests can be repurposed in numerous ways, but always feature winning entries on your social media channels. This approach generates a wealth of fresh content and also boosts engagement and brand visibility.
For example, Parachute, a home décor brand, repurposed customer photos posted under the hashtag #MyParachuteHome. They integrated these images into their ads and email marketing.
This shift from product-centric to consumer-centric advertising helped Parachute grow their community and build genuine customer loyalty
3. Transform UGC into Blog Content
Repurposing UGC into blog content is a smart way to maximize the value of user-generated material.
Some effective strategies to transform UGC into compelling blog content are:
- Customer spotlights: Repurpose detailed customer stories into blog posts. Highlight their journey with your product, their unique experiences, and the benefits they've gained. This adds a personal touch to your blog and deepens the connection with your audience.
- UGC roundups: Compile and curate top user-generated content into a single blog post. For example, create a “Top 10” list featuring the best customer photos, reviews, or testimonials. This method showcases diverse experiences and fosters a sense of community among your readers.
- How-to guides: Use UGC to create step-by-step guides or tutorials. Incorporate customer photos, videos, and quotes to demonstrate how they creatively or effectively use your products. This provides practical value to your readers and shows real-life applications
GoPro is a great example of a brand that excels at repurposing UGC into blog content. They frequently feature customer-submitted photos and videos in their blog posts section “World of GoPro”. Moreover, the brand also highlights extreme sports enthusiasts using their cameras in various adventures.
4. Use UGC in Email Marketing
Almost 50% of modern marketers have incorporated UGC into their email campaigns because it is another highly effective strategy to boost authenticity and engagement.
You can create compelling and relatable email campaigns by leveraging real customer experiences.
Some innovative ways to repurpose UGC in your email marketing efforts are:
- Incorporate UGC in newsletters: Repurpose customer photos and testimonials from social media or reviews by highlighting them in your regular email newsletters. This adds authenticity and showcases genuine satisfaction and encourages other subscribers to connect with your brand.
- Personalize promotional emails: Use user reviews and photos collected from various platforms in your promotional campaigns. This increases authenticity and effectiveness by providing real-life usage examples and positive feedback from other customers.
- Customer success stories: Transform detailed customer experiences into dedicated email campaigns. Repurpose these stories by including UGC such as quotes, photos, and videos. Provide compelling narratives that highlight the value of your products and inspire your audience.
Vieve is a great example of a brand successfully incorporating UGC into their email marketing strategy. They regularly send out emails featuring user-generated content, which helps build credibility and engage their audience.
You can explore their approach further in their email campaigns here. For example, this Vieve email offers a practical tip for using two of Vieve’s products together as a substitute for their bronzing drops.
The email emphasizes these specific products to ensure that customers know exactly what to look for when following the provided tip.
By listing the product names with direct shopping links, it facilitates a straightforward purchasing experience.
5. Enhance Your Website with UGC
According to a survey, websites that include UGC see a 20% increase in return visitors and up to a 90% increase in time spent on the site.
So, boosting your website's authenticity and engagement can be effectively achieved by repurposing UGC.
Real customer experiences lend credibility and relatability to your online presence. You can do this by following these steps:
- Product pages: Feature customer photos and reviews directly on product pages. Repurpose content from social media or review sites to provide social proof, and demonstrate how others benefit from your products.
- UGC galleries: Create a dedicated section on your website showcasing the best user-generated content. Curate and repurpose photos, videos, and testimonials to highlight customer experiences.
- Homepage features: Use compelling UGC on your homepage to immediately capture visitors' interest. Repurpose standout customer photos and quotes to create an authentic and engaging first impression and encourage further exploration.
A perfect example of this is found on the Converse product pages. Converse features UGC photos alongside their products. This allows potential customers to see real-life applications and styles.
How to Measure the Effectiveness of Repurposed UGC: 3 Essential Tips
Repurposed UGC can be a powerful tool for engaging your audience and building trust.
However, to ensure its effectiveness, you need to measure its impact systematically.
Our team of experts at inBeat Agency follow specific measures to determine the effectiveness of their UGC campaigns.
Let’s uncover these tips:
1. Identify Key Metrics
To measure the effectiveness of repurposed UGC, start by identifying the key metrics that align with your goals.
Common metrics include:
- Engagement rates: Track likes, comments, shares, and saves on social media platforms to see how well your UGC resonates with your audience.
- Conversion rates: Measure how often UGC leads to desired actions, such as purchases, sign-ups, or downloads.
- Traffic: Analyze the amount of traffic driven to your website or landing pages from UGC.
- Reach and impressions: Assess how many people are seeing your repurposed content and how often it appears in their feeds.
- Brand mentions: Monitor mentions of your brand in UGC to gauge its spread and influence.
- Time on page: For UGC repurposed as blog posts or articles, track how long visitors spend on the page.
- Return on Investment (ROI): Calculate the ROI by comparing the cost of creating and distributing UGC to the revenue generated from it. This helps determine the financial effectiveness of your UGC campaigns.
Pro Tip: Utilize social listening tools like Brandwatch or Hootsuite to capture brand mentions across different platforms.
This can help identify emerging trends and new opportunities for repurposing UGC.
2. Monitor Metrics
Once you’ve identified your key metrics, the next step is to monitor them consistently.
Use tools to gather data and set up regular reporting schedules to keep track of performance over time.
inBeat experts do this by using:
- Social Media Insights: Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offer analytics on engagement, reach, and impressions. Leveraging these insights can help you understand which content performs best.
- Customer Feedback Platforms: Tools like SurveyMonkey or direct feedback from social media comments can provide qualitative insights. Understanding your audience’s reactions and opinions on your UGC can help refine your strategies.
- Analytics Tools: Use platforms like Google Analytics to track website traffic, conversion rates, and user behavior on pages featuring repurposed UGC. These tools provide detailed insights into how users interact with your content.
Pro Tip: Implement a feedback loop where you periodically ask your audience for their input on the content. This direct feedback can guide your future UGC repurposing strategies.
3. Adjust and Optimize
Use the data and feedback you’ve gathered to adjust and optimize your strategy. Identify what’s working well and what needs improvement.
Let’s explore how you can do this:
- A/B testing: Testing different versions of repurposed UGC can also help determine the most effective approaches. Try different formats, captions, or visuals to see which versions of UGC perform best.
- Platform focus: Allocate more resources to platforms where your UGC performs best. This strategic focus maximizes the impact of your repurposed content.
- Posting strategy: Experiment with different posting times and frequencies to find the most effective schedule. This helps maintain high engagement and prevents your audience from feeling overwhelmed.
Pro Tip: Use heatmaps and user behavior analytics tools like Hotjar to see exactly how users interact with your UGC on your website. This can provide insights into which parts of your content are most engaging and where drop-offs occur.
Real-life Examples of Repurposing UGC content
Now, let’s look at some real-life examples from our clients.
Let’s explore how these brands effectively repurpose UGC content to enhance their marketing strategies:
1. Deux par Deux
Deux par Deux, a popular children's clothing brand and one of our clients, brilliantly utilizes UGC by featuring photos of kids wearing their clothes on their website.
This strategy showcases their products in real-life settings and also builds a community around their brand.
Parents who see other children wearing Deux par Deux outfits are more likely to trust the brand and make a purchase for their own kids.
2. Hurom
The cold-press juicer brand Hurom is also one of our clients.
Hurom Australia, known for their high-quality juicers, effectively repurposes user-generated content by prominently featuring customer reviews on their website.
Showcasing these reviews allows potential customers to read about real experiences from other users, which can significantly influence purchasing decisions.
This approach highlights the effectiveness and satisfaction of their products directly from the consumer's perspective.
3. Native
Our agency’s client Native, a well-known brand for natural deodorants, effectively repurposes user-generated content by incorporating it directly into their product pages.
For example, on their Coconut & Vanilla deodorant product page, they feature videos of real customers sharing their experiences and demonstrating the product.
This strategy provides social proof as well as enhances the credibility of their products through authentic testimonials.
Maximize Your UGC Content Effectiveness with inBeat
With the steps and strategies detailed above, you are now prepared to repurpose UGC effectively and amplify its benefits.
Remember, UGC shines through authenticity and relatability, so harness the real experiences of your customers to create compelling content.
Key Takeaways:
- Identify and repurpose highly engaged user-generated posts to ensure impactful content that aligns with marketing goals.
- Always obtain permissions from original content creators before repurposing UGC to maintain trust and legality.
- Repurposing UGC extends the lifespan of content by allowing it to be reused across different platforms and formats.
- Repurposing UGC across various channels helps brands reach a wider audience, increasing overall reach and visibility.
- Transforming detailed customer experiences into blog posts or email campaigns can add a personal touch and deepen audience connection.
Feeling uncertain about how to optimize UGC for your brand's success? Let inBeat be your guide!
Our comprehensive services, including content creation, influencer marketing, and micro-influencer recruitment, guarantee that your brand receives authentic content that truly engages your audience.
Partner with us today to convert your UGC into impactful marketing assets that naturally highlight your brand's unique strengths.
Book a FREE strategy call now!
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