As a young professional from Boston, the biggest product I had to invest in was an overpriced apartment.
And this year, since the apartment tours are completely virtual, it’s even harder for me to do the extreme research that is required before I write off a rental agreement. Now that I am researching apartment by apartment online, my new process feels like an intensive one Buyer trip.
In my Research phaseI spend hours scouting entries, looking up addresses on Google Maps, researching neighborhoods, searching Yelp reviews of potential property managers, and analyzing photos or video tours for potential problems that an invisible apartment could have.
Ultimately, I found that the housing deals that interest me the most include links to video tours shot by current tenants.
When I see tours filmed by tenants, they explain what they like about their apartment, note important advantages and disadvantages, and give tiny – but authentic – details that an average seller might not offer. For example, in a video, a tenant honestly revealed a bathroom’s pros and cons by saying, “The tub has a great whirlpool that balances out the lower water pressure.”
After looking at a pleasant and seemingly trustworthy virtual tour, I feel like I’ve got an in-depth and authentic look at the product, as well as thoughts from a previous customer who is an expert on the product. Since the tenant often volunteers his time to create the video or the virtual tour, I also have the feeling that he is willing to help a trustworthy landlord find a new tenant.
Ultimately, I respond to a list of apartments with a great virtual tour of tenants rather than a list of over-produced pictures or videos edited by an outsider.
When it comes to smaller purchases, I see advertising content created by customers as well. This content shows me what the product looks like in real life and shows that customers are delighted with their experience enough to promote a trustworthy brand.
And I’m not the only consumer (or marketer) who thinks so. An estimated 90% of consumers say user generated content (UGC) has more impact on their buying decisions than promotional emails and even search engine results.
Below I will highlight other statistics, facts and figures that demonstrate the benefits of user-generated content.
23 user-generated content statistics you should know by 2020
Benefits of user-generated content
- Consumers find UGC 9.8x more effective than influencer content. (Stackla, 2020)
- 79% of the respondents state that UGC has a strong influence on their purchasing decisions.Stackla, 2020)
- 48% of marketers believe that customer-generated content can help humanize their marketing. (TINT, 2018)
- 34% of TINT users surveyed and 45% of marketing professionals agreed that UGC helps improve key social media KPIs. (TINT, 2018)
- 42% of marketers say that user-generated content is an integral part of their marketing strategy. (TINT, 2018)
- Ads with UGC received 73% more positive comments on social networks than traditional ads. (Jukin Media, 2018)
- 31% of consumers say that ads with UGC content are more memorable than traditional ads without UGC content. (Jukin Media, 2018)
- 28% of consumers say that ads with UGC content are also more unique than ads without this type of content. (Jukin Media, 2018)
UGC tactics
- 50% of marketers used user-generated content in email marketing. (TINT, 2018)
- 58% of marketers have now implemented UGC in advertising campaigns. (TINT, 2018)
- Almost half of marketers use UGC to support their entire marketing campaigns. (TINT, 2018)
- 41% of marketers rated content engagement as their primary KPI for tracking user-generated content. (TINT, 2018)
- The most common types of UGC are photos, videos, social media content, customer reviews or forums, as well as content created with branded AR filters. (IAB, 2019)
Brand authenticity
- 60% of consumers believe that UGC is the most authentic marketing content. (Stackla, 2017)
- 75% of marketers believe that user-created content feels more authentic than other types of content. (TINT, 2018)
- Although 92% of marketers believe they create authentic content, 51% of consumers believe that their favorite brands offer authenticity. (Stackla, 2020)
- 57% of consumers consider less than half of the content brands to be authentic. (Stackla, 2017)
- Consumers say 2.4 times more often that user-generated content is authentic than branded content. (Stackla, 2020)
- 56% of Internet users state that they find out about products from friends or acquaintances, while 32% rely on customer reviews. (Statista, 2020)
- On average, 20% of consumers have stopped following a brand on social media because they felt that their content was not authentic. (Stackla, 2017)
- In 70% of cases, consumers can differentiate between consumer-created content and branded content. (Stackla, 2017)
UGC audience
- Demographically, more Generation Z YouTube viewers prefer UGC to professional videos than older generations. (YouTube, 2020)
- Globally, Gen Z and millennial generations see more user-generated content than Gen X and Boomer generations. (YouTube, 2020)
- More than 30% of millennials have stopped tracking a brand due to fake content. (Stackla, 2017)
Define a user-generated content strategy
As you can see from the statistics above, user-generated content not only saves production time, it can also make your brand more authentic and trustworthy.
If the data above convinced you to implement UGC in your marketing strategy, you can consider the following steps:
- Get inspiration from other brands: When you see successful examples of UGC from brands in a similar industry, you get an idea of which customers you are reaching and how you can reinforce your positive thoughts about your product. For some great UGC examples: Check out this blog post.
- Determine how to get the content: Will you encourage fans to send you videos on social media, host a content contest, or ask your customers directly to promote a product via email? For tips on this step, go to Read this post,
- Be authentic: Remember that the greatest strength of user-generated content is that the audience can see an authentic view of your product. Don’t be afraid to promote UGC, which may be of lower quality but highlights the best features of your brand or product.
To learn more about how you can use user-generated content in your marketing, Click here.