User-generated content – aka UGC in franchise marketing parlance – is raw, unfiltered and unpolished content that helps tell your franchise brand’s story through the eyes of your customer.
Why? It’s all about authenticity for the user – your customer. Unlike more polished commercial video content, this type of content resonates more with online social media audiences.
If you’re not familiar with UGC, it includes video and photos created by customers (not brands) that highlights product use in the real world through reviews, personal experience stories and selfies with the products.
In short, it’s an ad that doesn’t leave the viewer with the feeling they just watched an ad. It’s also a delicate balance for franchise brands. When done effectively, it’s online gold that allows a brand to build trust with an ever-growing consumer base skeptical of traditional marketing tactics.
UGC’s Perception and Impact
Authenticity in marketing has never been more important. It’s something Stackla, a UGC video management platform, has found in a series of studies over several years.
In one study, Stackla found 90% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding what brands they want to support, up 4% from their findings in 2017.
The study also showed consumers are 2.4 times as likely to think UGC is the more authentic when compared to content created by brands. The UGC in these instances acts as social proof that demonstrates others’ successes or failures with the brands in question.
When it comes to what impacts purchasing decisions, nearly 80% of those surveyed said UGC plays a part, while 13% said branded content was impactful.
It’s no secret that consumers can be fickle. Once a brand publishes content that has a polished, professional-like quality, it’s suddenly not as relatable and takes away the authenticity. And that’s backed by the data. In the study, 56% of consumers said UGC photos and videos are the content they most want to see from brands.
Much like the beloved “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” UGC resonates with consumers because it’s relatable and nearly anyone can create their own on a smart phone, similar to the home camcorder of the 1980s and ’90s.
In Stackla’s study, consumers reported they like to create the content they want from brands. In the case of restaurants, 85% said they would post about a positive restaurant dining experience and 65% would post about a positive health or beauty product experience.
But how can a company support and promote the creation of this content to help boost the bottom line?
Encouraging and Capturing Content
While franchise brands toil on consumer- and fran dev-focused UGC marketing campaigns, they need to delicately balance their content and engage the user. That means it can’t be forced, polished or contrived and should focus on creating a personalized experience, which is an important aspect to consumers – especially Gen Z at 73% and millennials at 70%, according to the study.
So, what can that look like? Think featured content on social platforms, ambassador programs, photo and video challenges, along with social media contests. Engage with your online community and build it up with success stories. Oh, and don’t forget the coupons for your consumers.
Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign was a great use of UGC that amplified the brand. Coca-Cola created Coke bottles with personalized names and nicknames that prompted its customers to share their experiences on social media and engaged its online community.
