Your low quality UGC isn’t cutting it as a content strategy…

I hate to use such a classic buzzword, but your content doesn’t feel authentic.

Long gone are the days of simply sending a popular influencer your product and getting some free marketing….

But not so long gone are the days of UGC - and, no, I’m not talking about a solid content strategy that involves a diverse range of high quality UGC partnerships. I’m talking about when I head to a brands’ Instagram page and every. single. video is the same UGC video, reading off the same script, and spitting out the same 4 product features.

Let’s break things down first…

What even is UGC? Basically, it's content created by your audience, rather than by your brand. Think customer testimonials, product reviews, photos, videos, and even memes shared by your followers. It's authentic, genuine, and has the potential to be incredibly powerful.

A UGC only strategy might still be the way to go for certain business types.

(Picture those electronic home products you definitely don’t need)

And sure, your UGC creators are all well spoken and have good lighting, but who are they, and why should we trust them?

If you’re trying to convey a tone of high-quality and exclusivity, you're going to need to be doing a little more than that.

It’s about COMMUNITY, remember?

Your audience is your greatest asset, and UGC is the perfect way to celebrate them. When you feature user-generated content on your social media channels, you're not just broadcasting a message – you're starting a conversation. By acknowledging and amplifying the voices of your followers, you're fostering the sense of community and belonging that’s going to have customer's LINING UP to give you their money.

Your paid UGC is well thought out, but you need to be encouraging and rewarding your unpaid UGC too!

Authentic, unpaid UGC content from genuine lovers of your brand are the most valuable and trustworthy pieces of content you can have.

You need to be showing your gratitude for unpaid UGC by engaging with the content you want to see — like, comment, and share things created by your community to show your followers that their voices are valued. Heck, why not send out even more products to those that are making genuine content for you! By building genuine connections with your community, you'll encourage even more UGC in the future.

2024 is about relationship building.

Let’s face it, we are well and truly living in a world where everybody knows which creators and influencers they love. We’re also living in a world where we can also spot an ingenious collaboration from a mile away.

Your audience wants to see brands partnering with creators who are perfect for their brand, and actually use their products.

Because if I’m certain about anything, it’s this:

If you show me a killer piece of content made by a creator styling a cute top, and I go to the creator’s page and see that they not only wear clothes from your brand often, but were a customer before they even got the collaboration? Yeah, I’m sold.

On the flip side, if I’m a creator who’s talked about a brand I love before, and then get offered a collaboration with them, I am probably going to make the best content I’ve ever made in my life. (and trust me, the honesty will SHOW).

So if you’re going into 2024 with the same, UGC-only content strategy you had in 2022 and 2023, you’re not going to stand out anymore, and you’re also not going to gain your audiences’ trust.

Think about your community first, and get to know who they connect with.

Finding the right UGC creators for your brand is a strategy in itself, and one that’s going to show your audience the look, feel and overall vibe of your business (it’s all about the vibes over here).