Do you want to empower your customers with a strong integration of user-generated content?
You are at the right place then. Here we are going to discuss X creative ways to integrate user-generated content into your e-commerce site!
Knocking on doors, blind cold calls, and other traditional marketing methods are unreasonable. Because these methods not only take many resources to execute but also longer to show results. Waiting and losing a single prospect can be an expensive mistake in this fast-paced and competitive digital world iganony.
So, is there any way to set apart your e-commerce site from the competition?
Yes, there are many, and one of the most important ones is to integrate creative user-generated content.
Building and maintaining a relationship with your customers is the foundation of a solid e-commerce business strategy. To start with the nurturing process, you need to introduce yourself most appealingly to attract new visitors to your site. Hence, a content-based strategy is one of those organic tactics that help you gain this effectively. Among content-based marketing, user-generated content is one of the most precious ones as prospective customers blindly trust the previous customers.
Other than most of the traditional marketing strategies, content marketing generates 3 times more sales. Also, 82% of the consumers feel more positive after reading custom content.
Although, crafting content based on user-given inputs and generating sales with content marketing are two different things. If you fail to offer value to the visitors through the content, you may lose them permanently. Non-targeted and poorly crafted user-generated content strategies aggressively drop your conversion rates. If this issue continues, there may be damage to your brand and you can even lose your existing customers.
So, crafting a user-generated content strategy is an important part of any e-commerce site.
Let’s get into the details!
What is user-generated content (UGC)?
Before knowing about creative ways to integrate user-generated content into your e-commerce site, it is important to know what user-generated content is.
UGC or user-generated content is any sort of content created by users or contributors, most probably your customers. The interesting part is giving useful content too without any compensation. It includes a variety of forms, some of which are:
- Images
- Videos
- Text, like, reviews, or testimonials
- Blog Posts
- Forums
E-commerce sites can capture such customer interactions for different social media and marketing channels too. They can easily gain the benefits without spending too much time to produce content on their own.
But why is user-generated content very effective in e-commerce?
The major reason to support this statement is the ‘trust’ that any new customer needs before investing. User-generated content is very effective and valuable for them to make any decision and thus fuels customer engagement. After all, fully engaged customers show a 23% revenue rise and relationship growth in the company.
As you read UGC helps prospects to purchase on your e-commerce site, but how can such content be integrated?
Continue to read!
What are the creative ways to integrate user-generated content into your e-commerce site?
There are several ways to get user-generated content into your e-commerce site, but the easiest one is to ask for it. You can request for UGC via social media platforms or email campaigns. There are many automatic tools to gather reviews. You can also receive user-generated content through competitions and giveaways. Once you get powerful user-generated content, here is how you can use it!
Dedicate a unique page for UGC
Having a dedicated page for user-generated content is one of the important ways to integrate it on any website. If you create a page for such content, visitors can find it easily in one place. This should be an additional page to other key pages of the products or services.
For instance, if you own a website to develop WordPress plugins, themes, or websites. You can have a dedicated key page of every service, like, the WordPress plugin development page. But don’t forget to have a dedicated user-generated content page having reviews and testimonials of your services.
Integrate video UGCs
An innovative and affordable strategy to increase the number of people who see your product is to get in touch with influencers or micro-influencers in your industry. And offer them a free sample of your offering in exchange for a thorough video review or product unboxing.
To further leverage the power of video reviews, consider integrating them into your e-commerce site. As per a report, over 90% of consumers are more likely to trust customer reviews than influencers’ videos.
So, there’s a reason why big e-commerce giants, like Amazon, permit video reviews, and you need to do the same as well. Seeing what customers have to say via the video and witnessing them use the product is always energizing and builds confidence to buy your product or service as a whole.
Add e-commerce UGC galleries
Enhance your user-generated content by adding shoppable galleries to your website and tagging products in user photos so that your followers can make purchases while they browse.
That’s how a lot of e-commerce websites operate. To have their photos included on the website, brands invite their followers to post them on Instagram or any other social media platform with the hashtags. Additionally, this gallery on your site allows one to shop it.
Create a valuable community
Consumers adore a personal experience. Creating a community around your brand allows a consumer to feel more connected to it overall. Additionally, it makes the user and brand more trustworthy. Building a community serves as social proof for potential clients as well. Here, you can respond to their inquiries about your product and turn them from prospective users into paying customers.
It also turns your customers into your marketers. Establishing a personal connection with the clients is also beneficial. To be honest, building a community is difficult at first but effective in the long run.
You can begin by asking your customers questions about their experiences using your products or by showcasing their testimonials. They will feel as though their opinions are appreciated as a result.
Include user-generated content in your emails
Including user-generated material in your marketing and sales emails is a really good method to showcase it. This could significantly increase the overall return on investment (ROI) of your email marketing channel connected with your website or online presence.
With this feature, you may create a gallery of user-generated content (UGC) photographs and then just insert a line of code into an email to have the gallery of images displayed. You can take the help of various email marketing tools to do it effectively.
Highlight product advantages
When it comes to their user-generated content, e-commerce sites have to get rather inventive. A business selling real goods, such as manufacturers or resellers, stands to gain greatly from this approach, but software or applications sellers need to think much more creatively.
When you don’t have a product to display, you can concentrate on the advantages that the customers can get by using those products.
Take the help of social media campaigns
You can take the help of different social media platforms, like, Instagram, Twitter, etc. The best part is that these platforms are free to use.
Encourage people who have shared content to tag your profile. Giveaways and recurring contests are other strategies to encourage participation. It is always advised to target various consumers and demographics using a variety of marketing platforms.
Wondering how social media campaigns can help your e-commerce site?
You can tag related pages and posts on pages of your website from where visitors can know more about you and your online presence.
Put client images on product pages
Excellent client photos are an asset to any product page. Choosing the appropriate photos can boost conversions by up to 40%. However, all brands on the internet are now employing higher-quality photos. By focusing on your customers instead of the typical pictures provided by manufacturers, you can make your items stand out.
Make your customers become models to start with like video reviews as already discussed. Seeing actual clients wear and use your products increases interest and trust in visitors significantly. In addition, it may assist in conveying a certain message while bolstering your campaigns and brand.
Summing Up
No matter how you are utilizing user-generated content in your e-commerce site, try to be creative and best. We know that the e-commerce industry is quite a crowded place in this digital world, but countless businesses are using user-generated content because they are aware of its potential.
You can start using any or all of the aforementioned creative ways to integrate user-generated content into your e-commerce site. This way you can attract more and more potential customers and expand your reach.
User-generated content is here to stay and is not simply another fad in marketing. The sooner you adopt and utilize it, the more advantageous it will be for your e-commerce brand.
So, think outside the box and come up with a creative and compelling way to make the most out of user-given content to provide high value to your prospects.
Good Luck!
