Do you find yourself looking for creative but authentic ways to create buzz? Well, then, it’s time for you to jump into UGC video marketing.
Real customers posting videos about your products oozes authenticity that branded content fails to do. UGC video content:
- Is cost-effective
- Acts as social proof and gives you credibility
- Drives better engagement as they are more relatable and appealing
- Fosters a sense of community
- Demonstrates promising potential to go viral
- Provides valuable feedback you can use to improve your offerings
Wondering how to collect them? We will show you the right way.
But first–
What is UGC video content?
Businesses often spend thousands of dollars to create catchy video ads to promote their products and services. Nowadays, many customers are tired of the false promises that professional marketing content communicates.
80% of customers say they would purchase products from an online business with content from real people. If you don’t actively collect and showcase user-generated content – you’re missing out on a powerful marketing opportunity.
User-generated content allows you to tap into the persuasive social proof straight from customer experiences. The goal is to create a loyal community that will do marketing for you – by sharing positives about your brand.
User-generated video content (UGC) involves brand users creating videos talking about a product. This type of content blends the engagement potential of video content with the authenticity of UGC, making it much more impactful than branded content marketing.
Let’s dive deeper into the benefits of UGC and how you can collect it for your business.
What Can UGC Do For A Business?
Every business wants to look good to potential customers, but saying nice things about yourself can only go so far. That’s where user-generated content (UGC) comes in.
UGC is any type of content created by your customers. This includes reviews, social posts, photos, videos, and more. The main thing going for it is that it shows people’s real experiences with your products or services.
Here are the biggest benefits UGC can bring to your business:
Boost Authencity
Advertising your business is fine, but people are more skeptical of traditional methods. Nowadays, it is much easier to spot over-polished promotions. UGC cuts through that skepticism in a big way.
When content comes from actual customers, it feels more real and believable – like an insider look rather than fluff. There’s a vibe of trustworthiness since the contributors have no sales agenda – only authentic experiences to share.
79% of online shoppers think user-generated content highly impacts their purchase decisions. It holds more credibility in the eyes of modern buyers who are wary of dishonest advertising.
The bottom line is – we all trust recommendations from real people over corporate messaging.
Enhance Brand Loyalty
People like feeling part of a community of like-minded individuals sharing the same interests. UGC helps create that feeling of belonging for your customers. Every time someone enthusiastically shares their experiences with your brand, it reinforces this connection.
As 67% of consumers state that they need to trust the brand behind the product, brand loyalty is essential. Why would your customers go elsewhere when they are already part of the community? UGC makes your customers feel heard and validated, strengthening their emotional investment in your brand.
Salesforce does a great job at cultivating brand loyalty. Along with their in-house social media content, they also curate content from their users and influencers. This type of content cultivates the branding of Salesforce in a natural manner. Additionally, this can inspire other prospects to convert as new users.
Influence Purchase Decisions
Customer journey is very research-heavy before making a purchase these days. Modern buyers rely immensely on the opinions and experiences of fellow buyers when making decisions.
UGC acts as unbeatable social proof that your brand is truly worth their time and money. Essentially, this is amplified word-of-mouth marketing at scale. Seeing enthusiastic and satisfied customers praising your business can be that pivotal nudge someone needs to convert.
As most users double-check aggregate review platforms to check the validity of your brand, your rating influences purchase decisions. People are likelier to trust your brand and buy your product/service if your rating exceeds 4 stars.
The promotion from real and passionate people carries far more persuasive power than traditional marketing.
Increase Adaptability
What’s trendy and buzzworthy is constantly shifting these days. Just when you’ve meticulously optimized your marketing campaigns to perfection, some new aesthetic pops up that intrigues your audience. It can feel like a neverending battle.
This is where UGC gives you a direct line into what your customers truly care about at any given moment. You can analyze their emerging interests and sentiments in real time before they explode into the mainstream.
One example could be a critical product review, which can give an insight into potential changes you can make. This lets you quickly adapt marketing strategies, visuals, and even product features to meet changing expectations and demographics.
Promote Cost-Effectiveness
Quality visual content is essential to drive engagement, brand memorability, and converting audiences into loyal customers and evangelists. But, hiring photographers, videographers, and designers can increase your expenses before you realize how much you can save.
UGC lets you crowdsource amazing visuals from the best source possible – your customers and fans. The best part of it? You can get this content for free.
This is an incredibly cost-effective way to fill your channels and campaigns with human content that resonates with your audience. One professional video campaign can cost you even hundreds of UGC ads – and that’s where the value of user-generated video content shines.
Types of UGC video content
UGC videos can boost your brand’s authenticity and credibility. However, you must select formats that resonate with your audience and complement your products and services.
For example, if you sell DIY furniture, customer testimonials, unboxing videos, and demos will be ideal UGC video types for you. Similarly, SaaS companies can use testimonials to establish trust, and corporate event UCG to build authority.
Here are some notable UGC video content types to consider:
1. Testimonials
Testimonials are user-generated videos in which happy customers talk about their experience with a product or a service. You can consider them visual success stories in which, instead of writing how you helped a customer, you let the customer appear on screen and gush about your brand.
Any brand will say nice things about their products. Text-based customer stories aren’t solid proof that you have actually driven the quoted results.
But when your commercials feature real customers praising your brand in their own words, they look much more honest to your audience. Video testimonials show that your customers like your services enough to take some time out of their busy days to vouch for your products.
Result? Your audience starts believing that you just don’t talk the talk but walk the walk. Testimonial videos also capture genuine reactions and customer delight. Adding them to your website alleviates the initial worry of potential customers and hits the “buy now” button.
Some video testimonial statistics even note that 2 out of 3 people are likely to purchase something after watching video testimonials from other customers.
Some companies also use testimonials as a part of their social media marketing strategy. This creates brand credibility within the target audience, builds buzz, and improves sales.
For example, Bloom Institute of Technology posts student testimonials on YouTube. The above UGC video testimonials feature BloomTech alumni discussing how the institution helped them bag high-paying tech jobs.
But what’s the recipe behind this successful video testimonial campaign? They are short and informative, with multiple individuals presenting their various perspectives, goals, and experiences. So, whether you are a new tech graduate looking for high-salary packages or a tech enthusiast craving job satisfaction, Bloomtech’s UGC content will resonate with you.
To get more students, BloomTech also embeds both text-based and video testimonials on their Outcomes page.
2. Product reviews
Product review videos are a type of UGC video content in which a customer analyzes the pros and cons of a product. They also offer a peek into the user experience, helping potential customers make informed decisions.
This UGC video content lets the audience see your product in action and understand its functionality. It also helps them visualize the product’s suitability for their needs and make informed decisions. Since product review videos often include detailed evaluations of features and potential drawbacks, they develop a deeper product understanding for the audience. You get prospects who are genuinely interested in your website and increase conversion.
For example, Dr. Squatch showcases product reviews on its website.
You can shop the featured products once you click on any of the videos. Using product review UGCs is an excellent sales-boosting method, as it plays on the shopper’s instant impulse to buy the product your existing users are praising.
3. Unboxing videos
Another impactful type of UGC video content is unboxing videos. These involve customers recording themselves unboxing their purchased items once they arrive on the doorstep.
Unboxing videos offer an honest insight into your packaging, whether you offer any free gifts and an initial overview of your product features. They offer transparency and create excitement and curiosity in your audience. Seeing a real person getting excited about your product influences their perception of your brand and improves their likelihood of buying it themselves.
This type of UGC video also benefits your SEO positioning as they usually include product names and keywords in their titles. Prospective customers also search for these videos proactively before choosing products. In fact, YouTube videos with “unboxing” in their title got 25 billion views in 2023.
For example, here is an unboxing video of the Samsung Galaxy Fold. The UGC details the intricacies of the packaging, product pricing, and what customers should expect to find in the box.
4. Demos
Product demonstrations and tutorials are another effective UGC format for showing off product features without being sales-y. These videos offer step-by-step instructions on how to use a brand’s product and tips for getting the most value out of it.
UGC demos present your products in action, offer educational value, and hook the audience’s attention. The OP also often adds product links to the videos, directing traffic to your website.
For example, here is a demo video by YouTube creator Sabrina using products from Home Depot. She guides the audience step by step on making a DIY platform bed using Floyd Home bed hardware.
She offers product details and links and praises Home Depot as her “favorite place.” This particular UGC is authoritative, thanks to Sabrina’s status as a “self-employed furniture painter.” As it’s not a paid promotion, the demo video is authentic and reflects the creator’s genuine love for the brand.
You can find and share such UGC demos on your handles with links to direct viewers to the featured products and other complementary items that would look good with their product. Brands can also create an immersive feed of UGC demos on a dedicated webpage and add persuasive CTAs.
Long UGC demos can also be repurposed into reels and YouTube Shorts to appeal to the quick-scrolling audience.
5. Challenges or contests
Want to create excitement in your target audience while collecting powerful UGC? Host a challenge or contest and see user-generated videos pouring in. They engage your community and get your fans to spread brand awareness among their peers.
Contest UGCs also have high virality. They can push your UGC to the relevant feed and optimize exposure within a wider audience.
You can ask your followers to post relevant UGC videos on social media using your branded hashtag. To maximize participation, keep small gifts or rewards, such as unique company merch, as the contest prize. This will create urgency and competition, generating creative and high-quality UGC videos.
For example, e.l.f Cosmetics hosted a TikTok contest asking fans to showcase their makeup looks for a chance to win products worth $250 from the brand. They also partnered with TikTok and created an original song for the challenge.
The contest went viral quickly. Even the branded song became a hit, reaching number 4 on the Spotify Viral 50 chart.
6. Behind-the-scenes footage
Promote behind-the-scenes footage to humanize your brand further. This can be sneak peeks of your upcoming events, glimpses of your manufacturing process, or footage of a meet-and-greet with the brains behind your products.
This type of UGC can establish trust by showcasing the real “you” behind the brand. It narrates the ups and downs of your creative journey, be it organizing a branded event or innovating new products. Such raw transparency resonates with the audience and creates a strong bond.
Brands can partner with relevant creators and ask them to film and post behind-the-scenes footage. They can also make it a contest, invite their long-term customers to their manufacturing facility, and request that they post videos about their experience.
Here is an example of a behind-the-scenes video by YSL Beauty.
7. Event coverage
Want to amplify the post-event effect? Use event coverage UGC videos and turn a good event into a memorable one. Such user-generated videos include footage that your event attendees film and post. It can be a reel or a full-length vlog detailing the entire experience.
How to collect UGC content
Now that you know the various types of user-generated videos and their individual perks, the remaining question is, “In the sea of content, how do I find UGCs for my brand?”
Here is your answer:
1. Social media campaigns and challenges
Over 5 billion people use social media, constantly creating, sharing, and consuming content. This community-driven ecosystem makes social networks the perfect environment for creating user-generated content.
When you search for your brand on LinkedIn, for example, #salesforce, you will find a bunch of user-generated content:
You can look at the posts and analyze the engagement factors, to determine which you can feature on your profile.
Social media platforms are the best place to collect UGC, and many brands know that. Don’t be the black sheep that isn’t aware of their advantage.
Host social media challenges and excite the audience about your UGC campaign. Top brands love this UGC collection method because social media contests are fun, engaging, and effective. Even the finicky algorithm loves them enough to push contest UGCs to a wider audience.
We suggest keeping the context of the challenge flexible enough to run across various social media to expand reach and maximize UGC generation. You can build a landing page with an entry form and promote it on social media handles. If your budget permits, consider running paid to market the contest to the target audience.
In addition to collecting feedback online, you can follow up with your customers via your call center software when providing customer support.
2. Branded hashtags and mentions
Want to simplify UGC collection and set your contests apart? Create a unique hashtag for your user-generated campaigns. It creates exclusivity and keeps your UGC organized. You can simply search your hashtag on social media and find relevant content posted by your customers.
While promoting UGC contests, ensure that the guidelines specify that mentions are mandatory to enter the challenge. This way, you will get notifications every time a user tags you on their post.
Here are a couple of tips to craft an irresistible hashtag for your brand:
- Keep it short and catchy. You want something memorable and that doesn’t take too much effort to include.
- Make it distinctive. Your hashtag should represent your specific brand personality while being recognizable, even to outsiders.
- Promote it. When you post something on social media, make an incentive for your audience to use the hashtag. You can do this through giveaways, influencer collaborations, and much more.
Once you have something witty and on-brand, consistently highlight the hashtag everywhere. This creates an unifying label that makes your UGC easier to discover and share.
Canva is a great example, with its product updates. As Canva is notorious for being one of the top design tools online, they are tapping into that audience segment with their hashtag.
3. Influencer partnerships and collaborations
Nurture relationships with relevant influencers and collaborate with them for event coverage and behind-the-scene UGCs.
To maintain authenticity, avoid purely monetary partnerships. Instead, offer the creator your products to try and seek their feedback. Help them develop a genuine love for your product so that their content reflects sincerity and honesty.
4. Customer feedback and testimonials requests
Start the testimonial collection process by seeking authentic customer feedback. This shows customers that you value their input, want to give them the best possible experience, and want to maximize testimonial submissions.
Once you complete a delivery or customers start using your services, ask them for a review. Contact the happy customers and request them to submit short video testimonials. Use the critical ones as insights for improvement. Promptly addressing their concerns can improve customer satisfaction and prompt more chances of glowing testimonials.
However, to maximize feedback submissions, you must make the process as simple as possible. How? With Trustmary’s video testimonial collection tool.
Our platform offers an easy campaign creation flow to let you set your message, UGC form, reminder, and other settings on one page, streamlining the UGC collection. Your customers can record video testimonials with their devices and send them to you immediately.
In short, from asking clients for testimonials to embedding social proof on your website, Trustmary makes the UGC video collection feel like a breeze.
5. Use email campaigns to request content
Use your email marketing framework to promote UGC campaigns. Ask customers to post about their experience on social media and clearly define what’s in it for them. Communicate the UGC hashtags and mention regulations clearly in the email. Add a CTA that takes them directly to your UGC submission page to simplify the process.
You can take a more individualized approach to sourcing UGC with strategic cold email outreach. First, identify specific individuals who’ve already positively mentioned your business before. Use an email finder tool to find relevant and valid email addresses.
Then, craft pitches with personalization variables to take that initial spark from customers and repurpose it in content. Some compelling cold email hooks to motivate UGC can be:
- Offer incentives such as gift cards or affiliate codes to create in-depth video reviews or tutorials.
- Ask for permission to reshare and amplify their previous testimonials across your channels.
- Invite them to get involved with your brand by joining your brand ambassador program.
With convincing copy and proper scaling, cold emails are a powerful tool to motivate unique UGC partnerships.
6. Engage with Contests
Contests and giveaways are a tried-and-true tactic to activate your audience and spark engagement. After all, people love free stuff. You can strategically design these campaigns to engage the creation of branded user-generated content.
Here are some additional contest ideas to utilize:
- Comment contests – You invite the participants to tag their friends on your post to participate. This exposes more users to your product/service, which can drive further growth.
- Hashtag contests – You ask the participants to post photos using your product/service and use the branded hashtag to participate. This increases your share of voice while sparking user engagement.
- Video contests – You invite your audience to post a video of your product, tagging your brand as well. Similar to hashtag contests, video contests increase your share of voice and prompt users to create valuable content you can repurpose.
The key to contests is to make the entry requirements as frictionless as possible. This will ensure maximum engagement and more UGC material to collect.
7. Explore QR Codes
QR codes present a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between physical experiences and digital content submission. This makes them a valuable tool for collecting user-generated video content.
Here are the ways your business can leverage QR codes to collect UGC video content:
- Print unique QR codes on product packaging that instantly lead to a video review page.
- Place QR code decals on in-store displays that customers can scan to share their experience.
- Integrate QR codes on your website and social media profiles for a seamless way to share reviews.
As most modern smartphones have built-in QR readers, these codes eliminate friction for customers to engage in the real world.
Conclusion
UGC collection may seem like a chaotic process at first. Asking customers for testimonials can be awkward, and finding the right influencers for event coverage can be tricky. While challenges are multiple, the above strategies can help you collect the most impactful UGCs.
However, UGC video collection is not the end of the road. You must also showcase them cleverly on your website to build credibility with potential buyers.
Sounds complicated? With Trustmary, it doesn’t have to be. You can create UGC forms, collect UGC videos, and even import reviews from social media, review platforms, and spreadsheets to make your wall of love more vibrant.
So what are you waiting for? Try Trustmary for free, simplify UGC marketing, and boost your sales with authentic video content from real customers.
