User-Generated Content: Why It Is Important For Successful Marketing In 2022
https://youtu.be/KgWpcDYZa9o In a rapidly growing world of the internet and technology, filling up every day with swarms of old, current and new users, the one thing that is persistently growing with it is the demand, competition and challenges for the providers of all the possible products and services to its users. While the need for marketing products is not new to the world and the marketing industry, the one thing that is definitely going on changing is the way of doing it. Newsletters, e-mails, promotional campaigns, pamphlets etc. are still the very active members of the marketing procedures, although, the new era of User-Generated Content has begun and spreading like the bees of a colony. The most basic definition of this particular term can be- “the content that is generated by the users”. However, the importance of it is not as basic as its simple definition. Its diversity is based in the diverse platforms from where it is generated. The internet today offering an endless variety of platforms to use for both the provider and the user creates the opportunity for its users to access and create content in many forms. The World Wide Web, social media, Google’s search engine, various web sites, virtual communities, etc. are many of all the sources where both the parties can communicate. User-Generated content has its own different types ranging from a professional review to something as easy as a comment on a social media post of a particular brand. While this content can also bring negative reviews towards the reputation of a brand, the positive and the most genuine reviews or any content can act like the sweet nectar produced by the bees. The question here arrives that why this type of content is needed today when the brands or the companies can authentically create content for its promotional purposes and activities? The answer to this lies in the immenseness of audience it brings along with it. In the year that we are living in, the most and the least famous of people and brands are all showcased on the internet where opinions of all and everyone is valued and affects the judgment of many. As important as it is for a brand to successfully build its name, it is as important for it to maintain the same for the world to see which in turn keeps its glory shining and using the user generated content can add brightness to this shine. Why is User-Generated Content important for successful marketing today? Gains trust of the consumers Marketing through the user-generated content helps gain a lot of trust for the brand as it shows the genuine aspect of the products or the services that the brand is offering. For example, when we decide to look through different brands to buy a particular product, we are more likely to purchase from a brand that is trusted by the most audience for its durability, price or quality. Hence, a product of a particular brand with more positive user-generated reviews is more likely to be purchased than the one that only showcases the brand-generated content that promotes the product. User-Generated Content is more likely to gain more audience As a common practice of sharing things that we post on the social media or other platforms with our friends and family, the content that we produce as users, reaches more people and as a result it helps in the promotion of the company. While one person doing the same might not make a big difference in the marketing for the brand that is already established, if multiple users follow the same process it would. On the other hand if the one person sharing has a huge following of himself, it might take the promotion of the brand to a next level. Saves money for the brands Other marketing procedures that offer promotion for the brands require a huge amount of money to be invested that can be saved through using the User-Generated content for the marketing process. A normal user including an authentic user who religiously follows the brand are more likely to offer free reviews or vlogs and would feel delighted to be featured by the brand itself. Works well with social commerce Everyone enjoys the ease of purchasing a product directly from the social channel on which they find it. User-Generated content influences the users and promotes the brand credibility and also works in harmony with social commerce. So while there are many more benefits that the UGC brings along with it, it completely depends upon the brand weather to use it or not. Some of the surveys and researches also suggest that there are different opinions, from the brands and the users, over the authenticity of UGC. However, in the year that we are living in UCG plays a vital role in the marketing industry considering its wider reach into the audience.
