How are you creatively marketing your brand online? Did you know that over 50% of consumers seek advice about a product or service before they convert? Influencers and User-Generated Content (UGC) consume modern social media, and they represent enormous potential for you if you cleverly exploit them for your business. By understanding some basics about influencer marketing and the role UCG now plays in digital marketing across a plethora of social platforms, you’ll be well-placed to avail this opportunity to increase awareness of your brand.
UGC Explained
User-generated content or UGC is exactly what it sounds like: customers share or even create content that showcases, mentions, or otherwise highlights your brand. This could be through a social media post, a blog article, a YouTube video, an online review, and anything in between. This helps drive sales for the brand.
The value of UGC for brands lies in its reach and authenticity.
In terms of reach, when a user generates content that mentions your brand or business, you benefit from what is, for you, passive lead generation. Your brand is presented to a new audience of prospects, while it is consolidated in the minds of your existing audience and customers.
It also lends your brand a new level of authenticity. Most UGC online is positive, and the effort required for a person to capture and share their experience with your brand or product signifies that it has added value to their life.
Word of mouth is a very powerful instigator – even more so when it does not come directly from the brand itself. After all, what’s in it for a consumer to share a positive brand experience unless it’s amazing?
Furthermore, most people tend to have a “follow the crowd” mentality, lest they miss out on the latest trend or advantage. User-generated content taps into this aspect of human nature.
Influencer Marketing – Some Basics
Influencer marketing is one of the most effective ways to increase brand awareness and positivity towards your business.
What is an Influencer?
An influencer is an individual who, through their public profile, expertise, position, knowledge, or personal brand, has a unique ability to influence the purchase decisions of a specific pool of potential buyers of a product or service. They recommend or otherwise promote said product or service via their own social media profile. This is particularly prevalent on Instagram.
Influencer marketing originally rose from celebrity endorsement. It requires that the chosen influencer have a following in a distinct niche and they must actively engage their audience by exploiting their social relationship assets on behalf of the brand to help it achieve its marketing objective. They create new trends and successfully compel their audiences to purchase the products (or otherwise meet a call to action) they promote.
84%[1] of marketers find influencer marketing effective, and 65%[2] of them measure the success of an influencer marketing campaign based on its direct brand awareness generation.
Influencers can include celebrities, thought leaders (e.g., academics, journalists), industry experts, bloggers, and many others.
How to Identify & Select the Right Influencer for Your Brand
There are different types of influencers:
- Mega-Influencers: with more than 1 million followers on at least one platform – these are often celebrities such as movie stars, musicians, sportspersons, and reality TV personalities. Their influence suits major brands, costing up to $1 million per post (!).
- Macro-influencers: usually have between 500,000 and 1 million followers on a social platform. They may be B-grade celebrities, up-and-comers, and successful digital experts with a high profile.
- Micro-Influencers: normal people who are known for their expertise in a specific niche. Their social following is usually active and devoted and usually will number between at least 10,000 and 50,000 on a single social network. The vast majority of influencers used today are micro-influencers.
- Nano-Influencers: with only a small number of followers (fewer than 1000), they are experts in a highly specialised or even obscure niche. Their followers, however, are interested and receptive to the influencer’s knowledge, opinions, and advice.
The best influencer for your brand will usually not be the biggest celebrity with the highest number of followers. While this works for some brands, there can be a lot of benefits in working with more affordable nano- and micro-influencers who have high rates of engagement from loyal followings.
How do you know who is right for your brand?
- Consider your prospective influencer’s demographic, niche, knowledge, values, and expertise and how they comply with your brand identity, product, or service.
- Ensure your chosen influencer’s following is legitimate and that they are not paid followers.
- Scrupulously analyse an influencer’s audience to determine whether they align with your target audience.
- Consider your budget – macro-influencers can charge prohibitive fees for collaboration and, unless you are a huge brand with a lot of marketing revenue to spend, they may not suit your budget.
- Your chosen influencer may not have heard of your business or brand before you make contact – but they will appreciate its worth. They will also agree that your brand aligns with their image and following.
- What type of content do you seek from your influencer? This will inform whether you elect to work with a Blogger, Podcaster, YouTuber, or one publishing Social Posts alone.
UGC Strategies
UGC is ripe with opportunities to convey your brand and its message to captivate and trigger a specific action in a new audience. Some strategies for this include:
- Blogging – bloggers tend to have genuine relationships with active, interested followers who respect and enjoy what they have to say. If a popular blogger mentions your brand or showcases your product, their audience may be compelled to explore your offering as well. By partnering with the right blogger whose content is relevant to your niche (e.g., fashion, wellness, childcare, DIY, education, finance, real estate, horticulture, etc), you can introduce your brand to a whole new and receptive audience.
- Guest Posting – purchase a sponsored blog post on a blogger’s site – write it yourself or pay a ghost blogger to do so. This is effective and most blogging sites allow for a link embedded in your content to direct readers to your website.
- Podcasting/YouTube Videos – have a podcaster or influencer positively mention your brand or product. For example, if you are a beauty brand, send samples of your skincare or makeup to a YouTuber who creates How-To Makeup videos to use and showcase or review in their content.
- Social Posts – the vast majority of influencers today owe their “fame” to social media. Using Posts, Stories, and Reels, the vast majority of influencers use social media. As well as sharing high-quality images and other content showcasing or mentioning your product or brand, this is a fantastic channel to promote aforementioned blogs, podcasts, videos, etc.
How Can Influencers Amplify UGC?
Where is the synergy between influencers and UGC?
We are living in an era of UGC – and influencers are driving this trend. While organic UGC is valuable and has a definite role to play, working with influencers further amplifies a brand’s reach.
Collaboration between brands and influencers drives the creation of meaningful relationships with consumers based on the products and services they use. Thanks to the public profile of an influencer within their unique niche and specific audience, the integrated community trust this can deliver for your brand is invaluable.
Speak with a Digital Consultant
Brand awareness is critical for everything from your social following to sales to customer retention and loyalty. Being savvy about UGC and influencer marketing, knowing what (and who) is right for your product and brand, and strategizing accordingly, are essential pieces of the overall digital marketing puzzle that will bring you success.
UGC and Influencer Marketing enable brands to be introduced to consumers where they are online.
Does it all seem a bit overwhelming? We can help!
Dot-to-Dot Digital is a welcoming team of professional digital strategists with experience and expertise across many marketing avenues. We work with clients of all sizes throughout Australia and over a diverse range of industries and niches.
Click here to speak with a digital consultant – and get started on a UGC and influencer marketing strategy to build awareness of your brand for more queries, clicks, and conversions!
[1] https://socialpubli.com/blog/2019-influencer-marketing-report-a-marketers-perspective/
[2] http://linqia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Linqia-State-of-Influencer-Marketing-2019-Report.pdf
