A guide to incorporating ugc into your digital marketing strategy

You probably knew already that user generated content could be valuable to your CPG brand. But did you realize how valuable?

In fact, 90% of US shoppers rank content produced by ‘real life’ people as the go-to source of information on buying decisions. There’s more good news: if a product is paired with user generated content, consumers are willing to pay more (81%) and wait longer (81%) for it. 

It’s authentic, it’s cost effective, and it actually works. These days, for it to succeed, you can’t afford not to incorporate user-generated content (UGC) into your digital marketing strategy. 

But what does user generated content actually consist of in the CPG context? How do you target your efforts for maximum results? Here are our digital strategy tips and tools for putting it to work. 

What is user generated content content for CPG brands? 

User generated content is precisely what it describes: any content relating to your brand or product that’s produced by your customers or followers. 

You can prompt users to generate it. It even counts as user generated content if you incentivize them to some degree (through discounts or competitions, for instance). However, if you financially reward users for their content, it’s categorized as paid advertising. Tip: if you try and pass off paid content as UGC, it can seriously undermine trust in your brand if (and when) you get found out. 

What types of user generated content should you focus on for CPG? 

As with all marketing, it’s a case of focusing on the channels your customers actually use, along with the type of content that’s most likely to resonate with them. So do your market research, and build your decisions around this. 

Broadly, there are two main content categories to focus on:

Social media. Examples include images of your product from Instagram, review videos uploaded to YouTube, or even a recipe idea posted to a Facebook group. Your research should tell you which channels to focus on. For instance if your target buyer for a particular grocery line is a 55-year old and you’re concentrating all your efforts on Instagram, just bear in mind that less than 25% of people in this demographic actually use it, compared to 68% for Facebook.

Reviews. This is undoubtedly THE most valuable form of user generated content across all demographics and products. In fact, 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from their friends. The moral? Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and the likes will give your brand a boost, but user generated content in the form of product reviews is much more likely to give you a bedrock for hitting target.