The captivating power of a great story has been employed by door-to-door salesmen, savvy entrepreneurs and business moguls for centuries. But there’s a revolution happening in the way we’re building stories – emphasis on the “we”. Thanks to the advent of social media, everyone (and their mothers) has access to stories at their fingertips, and we also have a growing number of tools at our disposal to tell our own, unique stories in a more polished, compelling and narrative-driven way. Yes – we’re talking about User-Generated Content (UGC).
In this day and age, we are all authors, editors, videographers, photographers, visual designers and publishers. Customers crafting compelling brand narratives and sharing them with their online communities isn’t just a social media fad – it’s here to stay and it’s a phenomenon that’s fundamentally changing the way we interact with brands. Unlike annoying pop-up ads, automated emails and useless chat-bot conversations, UGC hooks potential customers by being inherently raw and relatable – and brands of all sizes need to take notice.
Kirsten Baumberger, Founder and Director of Partnerships at minisocial.io, a New York-based UGC platform, agrees, “UGC has levelled the playing field for marketers in recent years. Now anyone with a good product and a few super-fans can compete with the big dogs on acquisition channels, vying for (and converting) the same customers as publicly traded companies”.
The benefits of capitalising on UGC for brands are tenfold. It can increase follower engagement, heighten brand awareness, improve credibility, boost website traffic, and most importantly, create a fiercely loyal community of brand ambassadors. There are countless reasons why customers should be at the centre of your marketing strategy, and every year, the reasons only get louder. Still not convinced? Join Wordsmith as we delve into the 5 key reasons why you should turn to your customers to amplify your brand storytelling.
1. People trust the words of customers, influencers (and even celebrities) more than you
Understanding the rationale behind our audiences’ choices and the importance of building a compelling narrative is key to boosting customer loyalty and trust – the two hallmarks of brand success. So, it stands to reason that opening the lines of communication with your customers and putting them at the centre of your marketing means they become the “hero” of your brand story. If done effectively, you no longer need to talk about being “a customer-centric brand” because you’ve become a customer-centric brand by putting your customers’ stories front and centre.
It comes as no surprise that customers are sceptical of any brand's storytelling motives, so they turn to their peers for honest, unfiltered reviews. But it doesn’t have to be friends and family alone, in fact, according to BrightLocal, 88% of consumers trust online reviews written by other consumers just as much as they trust suggestions from their personal network. Even influencer and celebrity reviews hold more weight than a brand’s advertising tactics.
Influencer marketing works particularly well because influencers have built a loyal following of like-minded people who value their opinions. So, if you find an influencer (or micro-influencer) whose core values align with your brand, they could be a potential gold mine when it comes to instilling customer trust. Remember, customers understand products and brands as end-users, not as a designer or technical product developers. So utilising content created by customers, influencers and celebrities may give you a new perspective/ angle on your brand, as these groups will approach your products/services with fresh eyes and the ability to market them to other like-minded users.
2. The Proof Is In the Pudding – and by pudding, we mean ROI
We know we’ve touched on the overwhelming benefits of incorporating UGC into your marketing strategy – but the results really do speak for themselves. Across all age groups, 55% of consumers trust UGC over all other forms of marketing, while 71% of customers agree that user-generated reviews made them feel more confident in their decision to purchase a product over a competitor. And with more than 86% of brands today using user-generated content as part of their marketing strategy, it’s time to jump on that successful brand-wagon.
“It’s important to understand what you want out of your UGC”, Mia Tinari, Global Head of Marketing and Communications at TAIT Towers, notes. “UGC can be incredible for brand loyalty, awareness and equity. However, it requires a strong strategy. If specifically creating a UGC marketing campaign, the brand should identify goals, qualifiers and expected outcomes. Simply sourcing information without an intended audience or requesting video content without brand qualifiers or sharing content without a story can all be missed opportunities.”
Never missing an opportunity to shine a spotlight on their customers, Nike, choose time and time again to share UGC in an effort to break down the barriers between complete beginners and serious athletes, and prove that sport is for everyone. Sure, they have the capital to partner with celebrities and renowned athletes who endorse their brand, but over the years, Nike continue to place real customer stories at the forefront of people's minds in their advertising – with great success. Back in 2012, The London Olympics provided the perfect backdrop to launch their “Find Your Greatness” campaign. Challenging the conventions of “greatness”, Nike created a unique UGC platform where everyday athletes’ achievements, big or small, could be celebrated. With headliners including, “Greatness is not born – it’s made” and “Greatness is not in one special place or one special person, it’s wherever somebody is trying to find it”, united a myriad of people who represented everyone, from every walk of life. And this inclusive messaging paid off, at the end of the UGC-driven campaign the company experienced revenue growth of $506m, and membership in Nike+ increased by 55%.
3. Customer-focused marketing is great for long-term SEO value
You’d be forgiven for missing the correlation between UGC and SEO effectiveness – but it’s there. Not only does UGC reach customers in a fundamentally new way, but you’ll be glad to know that it also pleases Google bots too. With the right approach and marketing strategy, brands of all sizes can now engage customers with an unprecedented sense of authenticity while also boosting their SEO.
Let’s talk facts. Ads based on UGC receive four times higher click-through rates and a 50% drop in cost-per-click compared to other ads. Brands also see an increase of 29% in web conversions when their websites feature authentic content that customers have created. And when it comes to reviews, customers do all the work that ultimately helps sites rank higher when it comes to short and longtail keywords. This is because customer testimonials tend to be product/service-centric, so they often include phrases that will naturally help strengthen your SEO. So, adding reviews on your “About Us” page or creating a customer Review page can have a positive impact on your SEO. Having customer-created videos on your YouTube channel can also help your brand rank higher for certain keywords.
4. Word-of-mouth still reigns supreme
Word of mouth marketing – the process of actively influencing and encouraging organic word of mouth discussion about your brand, is still one of the most effective tools in a content marketer's toolbox. Why? According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family over any other type of advertising. What your customers are saying about your brand matters profoundly. So, make sure you’re doing as much as you can to open those lines of communication between you and your customers so you can find ambassadors that can’t wait to shout about your brand.
Jeff Grover, CMO and co-founder of customer review platform Best Company, advises, “If you are trying to attract more customer reviews, make an in-depth video about how your brand helped change one customer's life. So many brands care about the number of reviews (or other user-generated content) they have, instead of attracting quality. You should focus on one user at a time by magnifying the quality of the few -- the quantity will follow soon after.”
Andrew Caravella, Vice President of Strategy and Brand Engagement at Sprout Social, echoes Jeff’s recommendation by suggesting, “Ask users to share their stories, thoughts and experiences in the caption of their posts so it resonates with the rest of your community. While a picture is worth a thousand words, authentic messaging and stories behind the scenes from the real people who use your product or service every day will humanize your brand and make your content more meaningful.”
Last year, Airbnb made the daring move to cut their marketing spend by over 25%, and steer their budget towards bolstering brand marketing to attract new audiences. Building on the launch of their biggest UGC Global brand campaign in 5 years, “Made Possible by Hosts” back in Q1 of 2021, they reported their strongest earnings ever in Q3 2021. Focusing on contacting real customers who book through Airbnb for business and leisure, they cover a wide range of audiences from solo travellers and adventurous couples to families who are on vacation with their four-legged friends.
Part of the UGC campaign also highlighted stories from real hosts, so audiences could see what it was like to experience Airbnb through the lens of a traveller, “to educate people on the magical experiences that Hosts make possible for our guests”. In the spectacular rolling hills of Italy, Superhost Jacopo explains that everyone’s welcome at his stone house in Parma. “I became an Airbnb host to share the story of my home and farm with people from all over the world,” he said. “It’s an ancient house surrounded by a colourful garden where you can spend time surrounded by nature.” When Carol travelled to Parma with her family and golden retriever, Miso, she reminisced, “I find an Airbnb is absolutely perfect for just being with the people you love and feeling at home, but with the excitement of an adventure just outside your door and a fresh, local perspective on the area from your host.” She continues, “the little touches to the big gestures—this is what makes hosted travel on Airbnb so special.” With real customers and hosts sharing their experiences which included reunions with families and couples celebrating their first-holiday post-pandemic, really struck a chord with customers, encouraging them to keep Airbnb at front of mind when they book their next trip.
The proliferation of storytelling has created an exciting opportunity that brands can’t afford to miss. We, as customers, all have the power to tell purposeful stories, and the way we tell these stories to the world will define how brands engage with customers. Brand storytelling, at its best, is a cohesive narrative that effortlessly weaves together the facts and emotions your brand evokes – and who better to tell that story than your customers who experience it first-hand?