• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Hypestar

educate, engage, enable

  • Home
  • About
    • Learn about Hypestar
    • Reviews
    • Become an email Star!
    • Become a Facebook Star!
  • Training
    • Learn Online
      • Log In
      • See all online courses
      • My Profile
    • Learn In-person
      • View range (Syllabus)
      • Upcoming Workshops
      • 1:1 Training Sessions
      • #MarketingMentor
      • consultancy: hire an expert
      • the skills level
      • book an appointment for your TNA
      • Going for Growth / Boost your Business
  • Tools
    • G Suite (formerly Google Apps for Business)
    • Capsule (free CRM for small businesses)
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Social
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
  • Communities
    • Digital Stars
    • Marketing Mentor
You are here: Home / Social Media / UGC / Our Guide to ‘User Generated Content’

Our Guide to ‘User Generated Content’

Published on the 27th November 2019 by Amy Stockdale Leave a Comment

Post Views: 407

User Generated Content (or, UGC for short) is becoming increasingly important when it comes to promoting your brand, products, and services. That’s because consumers online are craving transparency and trust from brands, they want to know that what you’re saying about your business is true, and UGC can most certainly satisfy this demand.

In this blog, we’ll be giving you our guide to UGC. Explaining what is actually is, how it can benefit your brand, and our top tips when it comes to thinking about driving your audience to make more User Generated Content for your business online.

The Office GIF from Tellmemore GIFs

What is UGC?

User Generated Content is essentially content (posts, photographs, videos) that are about your products or services, and that are created by your customers.

Think about any fashion brand. They’ll doubtless have thousands of people on social media talking about their clothes and posting a picture of them wearing a certain outfit.

These people will, most definitely, be tagging the brand in their post, and they may even be using a specific hashtag to go along with the post to help it get seen by the brand.

This is User Generated Content, and the great thing is that it can be created for all businesses – no matter your industry, products, or services.

Why do people want to create content for brands?

The science behind the matter isn’t entirely clear. But what we can be certain of, is that UGC is an incredibly powerful way for your business to gain exposure, and credibility from others online.

How can UGC benefit my business?

Exposure and brand awareness

In terms of exposure, think about how many followers or friends one person online might have. Now think about how incredible it would be if you could promote your brand to all of those people.

That’s what UGC enables us to do. And in doing so, allows us to surpass the need (occasionally!) to have to pay for online advertising to promote our brand or certain products or services we offer. Our customers are doing it for us.

Repurposing content

We speak to a lot of businesses, and one of the things that many of them say to us is that they struggle to create enough content for their businesses to promote on social media.

UGC is a fantastic way around this issue!

That’s because someone is literally creating content for you. Content that you can then share or repurpose (with the permission of the owner, of course!) on your own social media profiles for the world to see.

Credibility

One of the best things about UGC is credibility. By this we mean the element of trust that User Generated Content brings to you and your business.

In an era plagued full of creative ‘Influencers’ and large corporations that many feel they can’t trust, a lot of online consumers are becoming wary of false scams or paid-for promotions that don’t shine an honest light on certain products or services.

But UGC is different. Because it’s created by genuine customers who have bought your products or services and simply want to sing your praises!

This authenticity will go a long way to helping your brand be seen by many as one to trust and, ultimately, one to buy from.

Something to consider

When you’re thinking about how to encourage your audience to create content for you, it might be worthwhile considering the reality that they might want something in return for their work.

This won’t be the case for all businesses. But often with e-commerce businesses, you’ll see brands giving discounts, special codes, or a small freebie to those who have gone out of their way to create content for them.

This isn’t all doom and gloom though! Incentivising your audience to create content in this way is similar to any competition you might run, and could be the foot through the door you need to get your online audience to create that much-needed User Generated Content that you’re after.

Now For The Fun Part Enjoyment GIF from Nowforthefunpart GIFs

Our top tips for getting UGC for your brand

Now it’s time for you to start thinking about how you can launch your own campaign to get more User Generated Content for your brand! We’ve given you our top three tips to think about when doing this below…

Think about the customer

When it comes to launching a User Generated Content campaign, it’s important to remember that your customers will be the ones creating the content for you.

Because of this, it’s important to phrase your new campaign in a way that actually sounds appealing.

We appreciate that every industry is different, but you can all get creative and think about phrasing your narrative in such a way as to make your customer want to create something for your brand.

For instance, if you’re a painter and decorater, think about asking your customers for a photo of a dressed room. That way your customer gets to show off their stylish new room, and you get to show off your handy skills in a snazzy environment.

The opportunities are endless, but remember, it’s not just about you!

Create a hashtag

Don’t forget that it’s important to know when your audience has actually posted about you.

One way to stay on top of this is to create and promote a specific hashtag for your UGC. For instance, we could create the #HypestarLearner hashtag and encourage everyone who comes on one of our workshops to post about their experience and use the hashtag.

That way, later on we can search for the hashtag and find a whole plethora of UGC in one place!

Don’t forget to tell them to tag you

Another way to know that your audience has actually posted about you is to get them to tag you in their post.

When you’re promoting your desire for more UGC from your audience, be sure to remind them to tag you and use your specific hashtag in their post so that you can find their content.

It’s a simple (and possibly obvious) call to action, but it’s arguably one of the most important things to remember!

Last modified on the 28th November 2019 at 8:30 pm Filed Under: Content Marketing, Social Media, UGC Tagged With: UGC

About Amy Stockdale

Amy Stockdale is a Digital Trainer at Hypestar. Passionate about dispelling the myths surrounding digital marketing, she's involved in the creation, development, & implementation of all training & workshops at Hypestar. A true champion of brand presentation online, Amy writes about copy, content creation, & social media.

Primary Sidebar

Upcoming virtual classroom events

There are no upcoming events

Upcoming in-person Training

There are no upcoming events

Book a 1:1 with one of our trainers

One Hour 1:1 Training £100.00
Two Hour 1:1 Training £200.00
Three Hour 1:1 Training £300.00
Four Hour 1:1 Training £400.00
Six Hour 1:1 Training £600.00
All
James Lane
Amy Stockdale
All
0
Proceed with the booking
Europe London
Africa Abidjan
Africa Accra
Africa Addis Ababa
Africa Algiers
Africa Asmara
Africa Bamako
Africa Bangui
Africa Banjul
Africa Bissau
Africa Blantyre
Africa Brazzaville
Africa Bujumbura
Africa Cairo
Africa Casablanca
Africa Ceuta
Africa Conakry
Africa Dakar
Africa Dar es Salaam
Africa Djibouti
Africa Douala
Africa El Aaiun
Africa Freetown
Africa Gaborone
Africa Harare
Africa Johannesburg
Africa Juba
Africa Kampala
Africa Khartoum
Africa Kigali
Africa Kinshasa
Africa Lagos
Africa Libreville
Africa Lome
Africa Luanda
Africa Lubumbashi
Africa Lusaka
Africa Malabo
Africa Maputo
Africa Maseru
Africa Mbabane
Africa Mogadishu
Africa Monrovia
Africa Nairobi
Africa Ndjamena
Africa Niamey
Africa Nouakchott
Africa Ouagadougou
Africa Porto-Novo
Africa Sao Tome
Africa Tripoli
Africa Tunis
Africa Windhoek
America Adak
America Anchorage
America Anguilla
America Antigua
America Araguaina
America Argentina - Buenos Aires
America Argentina - Catamarca
America Argentina - Cordoba
America Argentina - Jujuy
America Argentina - La Rioja
America Argentina - Mendoza
America Argentina - Rio Gallegos
America Argentina - Salta
America Argentina - San Juan
America Argentina - San Luis
America Argentina - Tucuman
America Argentina - Ushuaia
America Aruba
America Asuncion
America Atikokan
America Bahia
America Bahia Banderas
America Barbados
America Belem
America Belize
America Blanc-Sablon
America Boa Vista
America Bogota
America Boise
America Cambridge Bay
America Campo Grande
America Cancun
America Caracas
America Cayenne
America Cayman
America Chicago
America Chihuahua
America Costa Rica
America Creston
America Cuiaba
America Curacao
America Danmarkshavn
America Dawson
America Dawson Creek
America Denver
America Detroit
America Dominica
America Edmonton
America Eirunepe
America El Salvador
America Fortaleza
America Fort Nelson
America Glace Bay
America Goose Bay
America Grand Turk
America Grenada
America Guadeloupe
America Guatemala
America Guayaquil
America Guyana
America Halifax
America Havana
America Hermosillo
America Indiana - Indianapolis
America Indiana - Knox
America Indiana - Marengo
America Indiana - Petersburg
America Indiana - Tell City
America Indiana - Vevay
America Indiana - Vincennes
America Indiana - Winamac
America Inuvik
America Iqaluit
America Jamaica
America Juneau
America Kentucky - Louisville
America Kentucky - Monticello
America Kralendijk
America La Paz
America Lima
America Los Angeles
America Lower Princes
America Maceio
America Managua
America Manaus
America Marigot
America Martinique
America Matamoros
America Mazatlan
America Menominee
America Merida
America Metlakatla
America Mexico City
America Miquelon
America Moncton
America Monterrey
America Montevideo
America Montserrat
America Nassau
America New York
America Nipigon
America Nome
America Noronha
America North Dakota - Beulah
America North Dakota - Center
America North Dakota - New Salem
America Nuuk
America Ojinaga
America Panama
America Pangnirtung
America Paramaribo
America Phoenix
America Port-au-Prince
America Port of Spain
America Porto Velho
America Puerto Rico
America Punta Arenas
America Rainy River
America Rankin Inlet
America Recife
America Regina
America Resolute
America Rio Branco
America Santarem
America Santiago
America Santo Domingo
America Sao Paulo
America Scoresbysund
America Sitka
America St Barthelemy
America St Johns
America St Kitts
America St Lucia
America St Thomas
America St Vincent
America Swift Current
America Tegucigalpa
America Thule
America Thunder Bay
America Tijuana
America Toronto
America Tortola
America Vancouver
America Whitehorse
America Winnipeg
America Yakutat
America Yellowknife
Antarctica Casey
Antarctica Davis
Antarctica DumontDUrville
Antarctica Macquarie
Antarctica Mawson
Antarctica McMurdo
Antarctica Palmer
Antarctica Rothera
Antarctica Syowa
Antarctica Troll
Antarctica Vostok
Arctic Longyearbyen
Asia Aden
Asia Almaty
Asia Amman
Asia Anadyr
Asia Aqtau
Asia Aqtobe
Asia Ashgabat
Asia Atyrau
Asia Baghdad
Asia Bahrain
Asia Baku
Asia Bangkok
Asia Barnaul
Asia Beirut
Asia Bishkek
Asia Brunei
Asia Chita
Asia Choibalsan
Asia Colombo
Asia Damascus
Asia Dhaka
Asia Dili
Asia Dubai
Asia Dushanbe
Asia Famagusta
Asia Gaza
Asia Hebron
Asia Ho Chi Minh
Asia Hong Kong
Asia Hovd
Asia Irkutsk
Asia Jakarta
Asia Jayapura
Asia Jerusalem
Asia Kabul
Asia Kamchatka
Asia Karachi
Asia Kathmandu
Asia Khandyga
Asia Kolkata
Asia Krasnoyarsk
Asia Kuala Lumpur
Asia Kuching
Asia Kuwait
Asia Macau
Asia Magadan
Asia Makassar
Asia Manila
Asia Muscat
Asia Nicosia
Asia Novokuznetsk
Asia Novosibirsk
Asia Omsk
Asia Oral
Asia Phnom Penh
Asia Pontianak
Asia Pyongyang
Asia Qatar
Asia Qostanay
Asia Qyzylorda
Asia Riyadh
Asia Sakhalin
Asia Samarkand
Asia Seoul
Asia Shanghai
Asia Singapore
Asia Srednekolymsk
Asia Taipei
Asia Tashkent
Asia Tbilisi
Asia Tehran
Asia Thimphu
Asia Tokyo
Asia Tomsk
Asia Ulaanbaatar
Asia Urumqi
Asia Ust-Nera
Asia Vientiane
Asia Vladivostok
Asia Yakutsk
Asia Yangon
Asia Yekaterinburg
Asia Yerevan
Atlantic Azores
Atlantic Bermuda
Atlantic Canary
Atlantic Cape Verde
Atlantic Faroe
Atlantic Madeira
Atlantic Reykjavik
Atlantic South Georgia
Atlantic Stanley
Atlantic St Helena
Australia Adelaide
Australia Brisbane
Australia Broken Hill
Australia Darwin
Australia Eucla
Australia Hobart
Australia Lindeman
Australia Lord Howe
Australia Melbourne
Australia Perth
Australia Sydney
Europe Amsterdam
Europe Andorra
Europe Astrakhan
Europe Athens
Europe Belgrade
Europe Berlin
Europe Bratislava
Europe Brussels
Europe Bucharest
Europe Budapest
Europe Busingen
Europe Chisinau
Europe Copenhagen
Europe Dublin
Europe Gibraltar
Europe Guernsey
Europe Helsinki
Europe Isle of Man
Europe Istanbul
Europe Jersey
Europe Kaliningrad
Europe Kiev
Europe Kirov
Europe Lisbon
Europe Ljubljana
Europe London
Europe Luxembourg
Europe Madrid
Europe Malta
Europe Mariehamn
Europe Minsk
Europe Monaco
Europe Moscow
Europe Oslo
Europe Paris
Europe Podgorica
Europe Prague
Europe Riga
Europe Rome
Europe Samara
Europe San Marino
Europe Sarajevo
Europe Saratov
Europe Simferopol
Europe Skopje
Europe Sofia
Europe Stockholm
Europe Tallinn
Europe Tirane
Europe Ulyanovsk
Europe Uzhgorod
Europe Vaduz
Europe Vatican
Europe Vienna
Europe Vilnius
Europe Volgograd
Europe Warsaw
Europe Zagreb
Europe Zaporozhye
Europe Zurich
Indian Antananarivo
Indian Chagos
Indian Christmas
Indian Cocos
Indian Comoro
Indian Kerguelen
Indian Mahe
Indian Maldives
Indian Mauritius
Indian Mayotte
Indian Reunion
Pacific Apia
Pacific Auckland
Pacific Bougainville
Pacific Chatham
Pacific Chuuk
Pacific Easter
Pacific Efate
Pacific Enderbury
Pacific Fakaofo
Pacific Fiji
Pacific Funafuti
Pacific Galapagos
Pacific Gambier
Pacific Guadalcanal
Pacific Guam
Pacific Honolulu
Pacific Kiritimati
Pacific Kosrae
Pacific Kwajalein
Pacific Majuro
Pacific Marquesas
Pacific Midway
Pacific Nauru
Pacific Niue
Pacific Norfolk
Pacific Noumea
Pacific Pago Pago
Pacific Palau
Pacific Pitcairn
Pacific Pohnpei
Pacific Port Moresby
Pacific Rarotonga
Pacific Saipan
Pacific Tahiti
Pacific Tarawa
Pacific Tongatapu
Pacific Wake
Pacific Wallis
UTC
Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HAST)
Hawaii-Aleutian with Daylight Savings Time (HADT)
Alaska Standard Time (AKST)
Alaska with Daylight Savings Time (AKDT)
Pacific Standard Time (PST)
Pacific with Daylight Savings Time (PDT)
Mountain Standard Time (MST)
Mountain with Daylight Savings Time (MDT)
Central Standard Time (CST)
Central with Daylight Savings Time (CDT)
Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Eastern with Daylight Savings Time (EDT)
Atlantic Standard Time (AST)
Atlantic with Daylight Savings Time (ADT)
MAR21
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2021
2022
2023
2024
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

Free support for social media

Get our emails

  • Join Digital Stars by Hypestar on Facebook
  • Join Marketing Mentor by Hypestar on LinkedIn

Copyright © 2021 Hypestar · Our full terms & conditions · Log in