We live in a world where user generated content is the most important fuel to drive forward your brand. Customers buy based on the purchases of their peers and the influencers they follow. Making it important for the following reasons:

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Authenticity: User-generated content is often perceived as more genuine and trustworthy compared to branded content. It comes directly from real users and customers, showcasing their real experiences with the brand, products, or services. This authenticity can foster stronger connections and relationships between the brand and its audience.

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Social Proof: UGC serves as a powerful form of social proof. When potential customers see real people using and enjoying a brand's products or services, it can influence their purchasing decisions positively. People tend to trust the experiences and opinions of their peers over traditional advertisements.

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Cost-Effective Marketing: Creating high-quality branded content can be expensive and time-consuming. Leveraging user-generated content allows the brand to access a wealth of content without the same level of investment. This cost-effectiveness is particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses with limited marketing budgets.

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Community Building: Encouraging users to create and share content fosters a sense of community around the brand. This community engagement can lead to loyal customers who feel a deeper connection to the brand and are more likely to advocate for it.

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Content Continuity: User-generated content keeps the brand's online presence active and dynamic, even during periods when there might be a lull in branded content creation. It ensures a steady stream of fresh material for the brand's social media channels, website, and other platforms.

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Reach and Virality: Engaging UGC can go viral, extending the brand's reach far beyond its regular audience. Viral UGC can attract new followers, potential customers, and create a buzz around the brand.

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To maximize the benefits of user-generated content, brands need to create a positive and engaging environment that encourages users to participate willingly. Implementing clear guidelines, acknowledging contributors, and fostering a sense of community are essential to maintaining a successful UGC strategy.

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However, as a brand, getting good high quality user generated content from your customers is really hard. Posting on their feed feels permanent and like a big ask!

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There are a number of reasons why customers may not want to give a brand UGC:

1. Lack of Incentive: Users may not have a strong incentive to create content for the brand unless there's a compelling reason to do so. Brands often need to offer rewards, recognition, or other incentives to motivate users to generate content.
2. Time and Effort: Creating content takes time and effort, and not all users may be willing to invest in producing UGC, especially if they don't see immediate benefits or value in doing so.
3. Quality Concerns: Brands may be hesitant to use UGC if the quality of the content is not up to their standards. Ensuring a consistent level of quality in user-generated content can be challenging.
4. Cultural and Geographical Differences: Brands with a global presence may face challenges in generating content that resonates with diverse cultures and regions.
5. Lack of UGC Awareness: Some users might not even be aware that a brand encourages or accepts user-generated content. Brands need to promote their UGC campaigns effectively to reach a wider audience.
6. Generation Gap: Different age groups may have varying levels of comfort and familiarity with content creation and sharing. Engaging older or younger demographics might require tailored approaches.

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Despite these challenges, successful UGC campaigns can significantly benefit a brand, so it's essential to address these obstacles creatively and proactively. Brands can work on building strong relationships with their audience, offering meaningful incentives, and simplifying the content creation process to encourage more user participation. Additionally, leveraging social media, influencers, and user-generated content platforms can help increase visibility and engagement.

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We are going to address the first challenge - lack of incentive. Incentivizing for user generated content is the best way to get what you want. With Toki, you can incentivize for user generated content with cash back or store credit. You can gamify for this type of content by implementing UGC activities into challenges.

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For example, a brand would create an Activity called "Post about us on Instagram" with a reward for $10 in cashback. They would create that activity to be manually reviewed with link for proof so they can go back and see this activity later. They would then launch a challenge for the month of September where if someone posts on Instagram seven times throughout the month then they get a $100 cash prize! They would promote this activity and this challenge by posting about it on their social and notifying their fans about this challenge via email, SMS and push as well.

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This would be the best way to make the most of your UGC strategy and maximize your results.

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UGC activities can be automatically rewarded so you don't have to touch anything and you get UGC at your fingertips. Or if you would like more control over the process, you can set up UGC to go through a manual approval process before getting accepted. UGC will then go into Approvals before being added to a customers profile page.

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Interested in learning more about UGC strategy? Schedule a demo with us to talk to a strategist.