Amplifying User-Generated Content Through Social Media

When your customers are spending a substantial chunk of their lives on social media serving them authentic content much of which was created on social in the first place is a surefire way to reach them and stay top of mind as a relevant approachable brand Just look at the sheer amount of content and consumers brands can now connect with via sites like Facebook and Instagram amp160According to Omnicore as of December 2017 Instagram alone had 500 million active daily users who upload 95 million photos per day up from 70 million in the previous yearConsumers especially if theyamp8217re Millennials or younger increasingly report that they trust usergenerated content UGC material that comes from independent content creators amp160The 2017 Consumer Content Report from Stackla notes that 86 percent of consumers say authenticity is important in choosing which brands they support and 60 percent say UGC is the most authentic form of content amp160Social media is built around UGC so thereamp8217s no better way for brands to provide their customers with memorable videos images and other forms of media produced by users just like themamp160No matter how brands decide to increase their presence on sites like Facebook Instagram Snapchat and Twitter itamp8217s clear that the use of social media has almost become a prerequisite for successful marketing amp160Beyond its effectiveness as a platform for UGC itamp8217s also one of the most direct and personal ways for brands to meet customers where they are amp160Consumers donamp8217t want purely transactional relationships with the companies they love they want engagement conversation and personalizationWhen brands interact with customers on social media whether itamp8217s a retweet or a message inquiring about the use of an Instagram photo for a campaign this builds loyalty and makes customers feel like partners instead of mere consumers amp160For similar reasons when consumers see UGC in your marketing campaign your brand suddenly seems less remote and more accessibleInstagram isnamp8217t the only social media platform thatamp8217s seeing stratospheric growth amp160The number of daily and monthly active users on Facebook increased by 14 percent from 2016 to 2017 and total advertising on the site surged from 268 billion in 2016 to almost 40 billion last year amp160Twitter has 336 million monthly active users and its advertising revenue increased by 7 percent from 2017 to 2018 amp160Meanwhile Snapchatamp8217s 191 million daily users devote considerably more attention to the ads they see on the app than Facebook or YouTube usersAccording to Hootsuite there are almost 32 billion total social media users and a million more are added every day amp160So itamp8217s no surprise that the 2017 CMO Survey predicts that social media advertising budgets will increase almost twofold by 2023 amp160By now most brands recognize that social media is one of the most direct ways to reach a huge number of consumers but they should remember to approach usergenerated content as a medium inherent to these platformsBuilding and maintaining brand trust isnamp8217t easy it often takes a long time to establish and it can disappear in an instant amp160Thatamp8217s why brands should take advantage of any tools they have to provide customers with engaging authentic experiences one of the best ways to cultivate trust amp160UGC is one of those tools and social media is its natural homeClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160amp160

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Amplifying User-Generated Content Through Social Media

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Analisa Goodin

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Amplifying User-Generated Content Through Social Media

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