User-generated content: what is it?

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What is User-Generated Content?

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These days, consumers are more involved than ever in creating the content that appears on their screens.

Le User-Generated Contentor User-Generated Contentis an increasingly popular and essential trend for brands wishing to stand out on the Internet.

But what exactly is User-Generated Content (UGC)?

The UGC acronym explained

Launched at the dawn of social networking, the concept ofUGC is growing from strength to strength in the digital marketing sector. As its name suggests, it simply refers to the user-generated contentrather than by the brands themselves. This can take many forms: comments, opinions, photos, videos or even news articles. blog personnel.

The benefits of UGC for brands

Adopting this strategy has a number of benefits for companies:

1. Forge stronger links with your community: Encouraging your customers to share their experience with your brand helps to create real engagement around it, and to bring the user and the brand closer together.
2. Increased credibility : content shared by your customers is often perceived as more authentic and truthful by prospects, which reinforces trust in your brand.
3. Improving referencing : Quality user-generated content can help boost your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), particularly through keyword optimisation and inbound links.

Some examples of successful UGC

To inspire you, here are a few ideas forUser-generated content that has worked for different brands.

Customer opinions and testimonials

The customer reviews are often consulted extensively during the purchasing process. By displaying these comments on your website or social networks, you show that you are transparent about the quality of your products or services. It also encourages other users to give their own opinions and share their experiences with your brand.

Competitions and challenges

Proposing a competition or challenge for your customers to complete is a fun way of obtaining content created by them. For example, a clothing brand could organise a photo competition around its latest product, and ask participants to publish their photos on Instagram with a hashtag specific.

Post on social networks

Re-use your customers' content by reposting the best publications on your profile. This enhances and rewards the user who took the time to create the content, while diversifying your own feed.

How can you encourage Internet users to create content for your brand?

Here are a few tips to motivate your customers and prospects to play an active role in creating content for your brand.

1. Highlight the UGC : encourage your customers to share their experiences, by offering them different options (written testimonials, photos, videos).
2. Add value to the content you create: Regularly highlight your customers' contributions on your website or social networks, to show that you value their commitment and involvement in your community.
3. Organise competitions and challenges: As mentioned above, this playful method stimulates users' creativity while generating interesting content for your brand.
4. Use personalised hashtags: Establish a consistent visual identity with hashtags dedicated to your brand, and encourage your customers to use them when they share content about your products or services.

The importance of respecting copyright

Once you have selected the content generated by your customers that you wish to reuse, it is important to respect the related copyrights.

• Always ask the author of the content for permission before republishing it, especially if it is a photo or video.
• Always quote the original source when sharing content created by a user (username, websiteetc.).
• Respect the terms of use of the various platforms on which you wish to share your content: each social network and website has its own rules on copyright and user licences.

By intelligently and respectfully integrating theUser-Generated Content in your digital strategyYou are open-minded and value the individuality, creativity and involvement of your customers. This also favours your online visibility, credibility and reputation.