What's one way you've integrated user-generated content into your marketing strategy?

Question

Discovering innovative ways to weave user-generated content into marketing strategies is key for engagement, as demonstrated by CEOs and Founders in our latest roundup. From showcasing customer feedback and testimonials to inspiring customer stories for community building, we've compiled twenty-four creative methods to enhance your marketing efforts with authentic user contributions.

Lauren Parr · Answer

We strategically integrate user-generated content by capturing and showcasing our customers' feedback and testimonials (with their consent) across various marketing materials, including our website, product flyers, marketing one-pagers, and landing pages. We actively encourage our customers to leave reviews on trusted platforms, highlighting their positive experiences.
According to VWO, testimonials can boost conversions on sales pages by 34%, and 72% of consumers say positive testimonials and reviews increase their trust in a business. By displaying testimonials, case studies, reviews, and star ratings, we aim to build trust and confidence by showcasing real customer experiences. This approach also provides prospective customers with a genuine glimpse into our business, helping them make informed decisions.

Elyas Coutts · Answer

At Connect Vending, we realize that user-generated content, specifically testimonials, reviews, and feedback, is vital to building brand credibility and trust. We integrated Feefo’s average customer feedback rating on our website, along with sharing the images that clients send us in newsletters and LinkedIn posts. Using authentic reviews and feedback from real customers in our marketing has bolstered our ability to engage a larger audience and helped us manage some remarkable campaigns.

Ashley Kenny · Answer

The ability to successfully integrate user-generated content into your corporation's marketing strategy may be fraught with challenges. One issue is the dynamic, unpredictable, and often inconsistent content that is shared. At Heirloom Video Books, we recently received an email from our customer Lori S., who wrote, "I never do this, but I HAD to write and let you know how incredible your product is. My daughter just had her dance recital, and if she wanted to watch it, she didn't know how to. Well, this book solved that problem. She watches her recital over and over and just loves it. I can't tell you how much I love this product."
In addition to her message, she submitted two photos of her daughter enjoying the product. These user-generated images unmistakably represent how special our product is to her daughter. After securing her permission, our marketing team incorporated these images and statements into our newest marketing materials. Content like this is key to our marketing strategy as it demonstrates genuine use cases and also product-market fit for future customers.

Kartik Ahuja · Answer

Directly requesting consent from people before using their content has proven to be an effective component of our marketing plan. We only get in touch with them to get permission to use their words in our advertising. We make it a point to first obtain their consent because we value their work and opinions greatly. We are able to authentically present their stories and experiences in this way. It's similar to us and our users working together to enhance our community and foster trust. In addition, it benefits both parties as we get to offer authentic information that appeals to our audience, and they gain exposure. We establish a more genuine and engaging relationship with our clients in this way.

Matias Rodsevich · Answer

One way we've integrated user-generated content into our marketing strategy is by showcasing client success stories on our LinkedIn and X accounts. We pair testimonials from our clients with the impressive results we've achieved for them. This approach not only highlights our capabilities but also builds trust and credibility with potential clients. Sharing these authentic stories has significantly boosted our engagement and attracted new business opportunities.

Kate Kandefer · Answer

As a company focusing on AI-generated article writing software, in many ways, every article that one of our clients publishes is something of a user-generated bit of our marketing strategy. In all seriousness, though, as a B2B SaaS business, we don't have a ton of opportunities to dip our toes into user-generated marketing content. However, what I do find useful in this space is offering free informational webinars and pitching them to other industry players, as it allows us to piggyback off of their posts and marketing efforts.

Rob Clegg · Answer

Exclaimer creates a variety of resources for our customers, with a special focus on existing clients benefiting from our solutions. We have a dedicated team that works with our customers to collect reviews, testimonials, quotes, and feedback, which then makes its way to a variety of marketing assets, including case studies, white papers, newsletters, blogs, and videos. Promoting this content has given our marketing campaigns a very sincere and authentic tone, as the very real success stories of our customers resonate with audiences better than hypothetical user personas.

Nick Valentino · Answer

In many ways, user-generated content is the backbone of our marketing strategy. While we do put an emphasis on our transparent pricing and easy online sign-up process, the real selling point of our business—and any business in our industry—is reviews, referrals, and recommendations. We're a high-cost service, and customers need to trust us with all of their personal belongings. This makes it especially important for potential customers to see actual, real-world results from past customers, and we feature that content front and center in our marketing materials. This takes the form of quotes, photos, reviews on multiple platforms, and even some influencer video content where they document their move with our business.

Mohammad Goodarzi · Answer

At Pixune, we've integrated user-generated content into our marketing strategy by showcasing client projects on our web pages and social media channels. By featuring the stunning 3D animations, game art, and character designs created by our clients using Pixune's services, we highlight their creativity and demonstrate our work's quality and versatility. We also encourage clients to share their projects with us, promoting a sense of community and collaboration. This approach boosts engagement and serves as authentic testimonials, showcasing real-world examples of our capabilities to potential clients.

Gary Gray · Answer

Our couponing platform was created to help people save money on everyday purchases, but if we're being honest, we know our users are the ultimate deal-finders, with their fingers on the pulse of the latest coupons and discounts. So, we tap into that expertise by conducting surveys where users share their absolute favorite deals across different categories. These could be anything from the best grocery store bargains to must-have back-to-school steals.
Once we have this information, we create personalized "Top Picks" lists featuring these user-generated favorites. These lists are then shared with our target audience, taking into account demographics and shopping habits. Basically, we're using the power of UGC (user-generated content) with real people recommending real deals they love to people very similar to them, so it rarely ever misses the mark.

Diana Royanto · Answer

We turn our audience into brand advocates by reposting user-generated content! When someone interacts with our infographics, like sharing their creative uses for them, we might repost and credit them. This builds trust and authenticity, showcasing the versatility of our infographics through real-world examples. It also encourages further engagement and fosters a community of infographic enthusiasts.

Aimie Ye · Answer

At Centime, one effective method we've employed in integrating user-generated content into our marketing strategy is through producing compelling case studies. These studies highlight both customer experiences and the benefits to our banking partners, enriched by recorded interviews with key stakeholders. We focus on their challenges and the transformative impacts of our solutions, which illustrates our platform's capability to streamline financial management processes. These case studies, showcased across our digital platforms, serve as authentic, relatable content that not only demonstrates our product's effectiveness but also enhances credibility and engagement with potential customers and partners.

Dilruba Erkan · Answer

I've used user-generated content in my marketing strategy effectively by running contests. We promote these contests on social media and email campaigns with the help of some influencers. This allows us to reach a larger audience and encourages people to create and share their content.
We organized a photo contest before, in which participants shared pictures of our product. We advertised it on Facebook, Instagram, and email newsletters. We also partnered with influencers, and our social media engagement increased significantly.
Running contests boosted our brand awareness and generated a lot of user content. This approach expanded our reach and helped build a strong community around our brand.

Joshua Long · Answer

As a technology product with apps on both major app stores and a plethora of reviews out there on other websites, we felt that it was a good idea to ensure that good things that are said elsewhere are brought into our social media marketing output. This is useful as the cost of switching search engines for a user is very low, but even then, there is a degree of effort that has to be put in to learn a new system and have it set as default across your devices. 
Social proof is one of the easiest ways to convince prospective customers that they should give us a try. To this end, we regularly take good reviews, whether as screenshots, links, or direct quotes, and pull them into our posts. This then allows our following across many channels to share something that doesn't come directly from us, encouraging others to come and see what the buzz is about.

Craig Bird · Answer

User-generated content is an underutilized area among tech businesses. It provides inspiration for content, and it's a great way to boost your SEO if you know how! 
We use testimonials written by our customers alongside our copy on the CloudTech24 website. Testimonials are an important trust signal for visitors learning about your company for the first time. 
They also provide a way to use keywords you wouldn't naturally use otherwise. Learning how your customers talk about your business can help you understand the language that will resonate with your target audience. 
Alongside this, we repurpose these testimonials to create social posts for various platforms.

Jennifer Hristovski · Answer

One way to incorporate more UGC into your strategy is to harness the power of your existing customer base or email list. Create a survey using Google Forms with questions tailored to the content you are planning to write on your brand's website. From there, you'll be able to compile user-generated answers that can serve as additional content within a broader piece to help expand on the topic through other voices.

Wendy Makinson · Answer

Something we're experimenting with is how we can utilize user questions that we're asked frequently, into more of a 'Q&A' style output of content creation.
This not only shows how seriously we take the questions from our audience, but also ensures that we're proactively answering questions and specifics that our target audience may have (and can benefit from).

Shane McEvoy · Answer

A great way we've involved our customers is by organizing UGC contests. We focus on what our audience loves, like customized shoes for sneaker fans or dream vacation spots for travel enthusiasts. Clear rules and fabulous prizes are key. We ensure everyone knows what content we want and what they can win. We spread the word everywhere, from social media to emails, using hashtags to get more attention.
The best part? It's a win-win. We get fantastic content showing our products in action, and customers are excited about participating. Since people trust their friends more than ads, seeing real people enjoying our stuff is super convincing. Plus, it's not just about the contest. We celebrate every entry, building a community of happy customers who love our brand. It's all about creating a loyal following and turning customers into our biggest fans.

Adam Bogle · Answer

One specific way we've incorporated UGC is by hosting a photo contest where customers share pictures of their newly installed garage doors, showcasing how they've improved their homes.
We promoted the contest through our website, email newsletters, and social media channels, inviting customers to submit their photos with a chance to win a home-improvement gift card. We created a dedicated landing page for submissions and used a branded hashtag #MyNewGarageDoor for social media entries.
The winning photos were featured on our social media platforms, in our email marketing campaigns, and on our website's testimonials page. This strategy not only provided us with a wealth of authentic, high-quality images but also built a sense of pride and ownership among our customers. By leveraging their real-life experiences and showcasing their satisfaction, we were able to build trust and credibility, ultimately driving more engagement and sales.

Russ Vall · Answer

Integrating user-generated content has been a game-changer for Mio Jewelry. A few years ago, we started a campaign encouraging our customers to share their purchase experiences on social media. We asked them to use a specific hashtag and tag us in their posts. The response was overwhelming. Customers were excited to showcase their new luxury watches, and their enthusiasm attracted more potential buyers. This user-generated content gave us authentic testimonials and broadened our reach organically.
One memorable instance was when a long-time client posted a heartfelt story about purchasing a Patek Philippe watch from us for his son's graduation. The post went viral within our community, boosting our brand's visibility and establishing a deeper emotional connection with our audience. Seeing these real stories made other potential clients more confident in choosing us for their luxury watch needs.
The key to integrating user-generated content is to make it a fun and rewarding experience for your customers. Encourage them to share their stories and provide a platform to be heard. Always acknowledge and appreciate their contributions.

Rishi Dhuck · Answer

One specific technique we've used is encouraging customers to share photos of their flower arrangements on social media, using a branded hashtag like #BloomsByBloomen.
To implement this strategy, we included a small card with each delivery, inviting customers to share their photos for a chance to be featured on our social media accounts and win a discount on their next purchase. We also promoted this campaign through our email newsletters and social media channels.
By regularly featuring customer photos on our Instagram and Facebook pages, we created a vibrant and authentic gallery of our products in real-world settings. This not only provided social proof but also inspired potential customers with ideas for their own flower arrangements. The authentic, user-generated content helped build trust and credibility, making our brand more relatable and appealing to a broader audience. This strategy significantly increased our social media engagement and drove repeat business from satisfied customers who enjoyed seeing their photos shared.

Staci Anderson · Answer

We invited satisfied customers to share their experiences and showcase their new garage doors by submitting short video testimonials.
To encourage participation, we offered a discount on future services or a small gift as a thank-you for their contribution. We promoted this initiative via email and on our social media channels, providing easy guidelines and tips for creating the videos.
These testimonial videos were then featured on our website, social media pages, and in our email marketing campaigns. Highlighting genuine customer experiences in video format added a personal touch and served as powerful social proof. Prospective customers were able to see and hear from real people, which increased their trust in our products and services.

Ahmed Yousuf · Answer

One effective way I've integrated user-generated content (UGC) into my marketing strategy is by adding comment and discussion sections to all our informational content pages, like blogs. This approach leverages the current trend where Google SERPs favor UGC, helping boost our visibility.
But I didn't stop there. Inspired by Reddit, I created micro-niche discussion forums on a smaller scale. This strategy has been particularly successful for question-based search queries. When people search for answers, they tend to trust content generated by real users more.
The results? Enhanced engagement, improved search rankings, and a community of loyal users who actively contribute to and enrich our content.

Alexander Brandrup · Answer

As a business in the health and wellness sector, one of the ways we integrate user-generated content into our approach is by inspiring our customers to share their experiences. Health and wellness is generally quite a vulnerable subject area and needs to be treated with care. As such, it is vital that customers are able to trust you, and one of the best ways of doing this is by showing the stories of unbiased people in the same position as them.
We greatly encourage stories, but also communication. Creating a community among your audience goes a long way in helping people feel connected. If you encourage people to discuss their experiences with each other and the kinds of journeys they are on to buy these products, the relationship between them is built with your business at the center.
If you can inspire people to share their stories by giving them a platform, it makes for a much stronger relationship with your audience and gives your brand more authenticity.

How Do You Integrate User-Generated Content Into Your Marketing Strategy?

How Do You Integrate User-Generated Content Into Your Marketing Strategy?

Showcase Customer Feedback and Testimonials

Utilize Authentic Reviews in Marketing Campaigns

Feature Genuine Customer Experiences

Obtain Consent for Authentic Storytelling

Highlight Client Success Stories on LinkedIn

Host Informative Webinars for B2B Engagement

Collect and Promote Customer Success Stories

Emphasize Reviews in High-Cost Service Marketing

Showcase Client Projects for Community Engagement

Create User-Recommended 'Top Picks' Lists

Repost User Interactions as Brand Advocacy

Produce Case Studies with Customer Interviews

Run Contests to Generate User Content

Share Positive Reviews Across Social Media

Feature Testimonials for SEO and Trust

Compile Survey Responses for Content Expansion

Turn User Questions into Q&A Content

Organize Contests for Engaging UGC

Host Photo Contests Featuring Customer Products

Encourage Hashtag Use for Luxury Watch Stories

Feature Customer Photos with Branded Hashtag

Invite Video Testimonials for Personal Touch

Add Comment Sections to Boost UGC and SEO

Inspire Customer Stories for Community Building