Harnessing User-Generated Content: The Key to Authentic Engagement and Increased Brand Loyalty

User-generated content has come to the forefront of marketing strategies — and with good reason. A whopping 93% of customers consider UGC very helpful when making a purchasing decision,¹ and an equal percentage of marketers recognize it as more trusted than brand-created content.²

UCG has become a go-to gambit for expanding brand reach to encompass people unfamiliar with your brand — and for building loyalty among those who are already engaged with it.

UGC showcases the power of peer-to-peer marketing on social media and on company websites for ratings and reviews. Consumers trust real people for unbiased product insights. Content generated by customers, brand fans or employees appeals to their preference for authenticity and personal recommendations.

The Bottom Line: Authenticity and Cost-Efficiency

UGC can be highly cost-efficient compared with traditional forms of paid advertising while maximizing ROI. Eighty-four percent of buyers trust recommendations from their peers over all types of advertising,¹ and 56% ofcustomers learn about products through friends or acquaintances.¹

“The huge appetite for UGC on social media underscores the importance of authenticity in marketing,” explained Hays Formella, social media director at The Food Group. “UGC connects with your target consumers on a more relatable and personal level. It also fosters a community of co-creators who become trusted peer-to-peer brand ambassadors and blur the line between your brand and your audience.”

UGC holds particular appeal for younger demos. Sixty-one percent of Gen Z favors it over other content formats.³ “UGC aligns perfectly with the strong Gen Z and millennial preference for peer recommendations,” Hays pointed out.

A Taste for TikTok, an Appetite for Amplification

Given the social channel’s video-driven format, it may come as no surprise that TikTok is the leading platform for UGC.⁴ But the impact of UGC is multiplatform and multipurpose, with a reach that extends out from the intersection of public relations and marketing. “UGC is a powerful PR tool,” said Meghan Flynn, director of public relations at The Food Group. “It’s word-of-mouth amplified exponentially by social media, with content that not only builds trust but generates buzz and prompts engagement. And you can leverage UGC in places other than social media, like your website and email outreach.”

5 Tips for Tapping Into UGC’s Vast Potential

To make the most of UGC, operators and manufacturers should keep the five following marketing pillars in mind:

1. Zest is best: Choose content creators with a real passion for your brand and an infectious enthusiasm that expands your reach.
2. Serve a feast for the eyes: Showcase the visual appeal of your brand or offerings with taste-tempting imagery and videos that whet consumers’ appetite for the real thing.
3. Offer a place at the table: Build a community by encouraging viewers to create and share content related to your brand, including testimonials, reviews and culinary creations.
4. Dish on dishes: Feed your audience storytelling that takes them from kitchen to plate, with behind-the-scenes glimpses of recipes being realized.
5. Stand out rather than blend in: UGC’s popularity makes it pervasive across marketing channels. To stand out in the blur of options, strive to take a unique and memorable approach that grabs attention.

Big Brands Dig Into Big Results

Major brands are savoring success with UGC campaigns that trigger engagement with creative content, including:

• Doritos’ wildly popular “Crash the Super Bowl” campaign enables content creators to compete for the chance to have their UGC Super Bowl commercials air on the big game. Ads created through the campaign have often placed in top spots on the USA Today Ad Meter.⁵
• Starbucks’ #WhiteCupContest campaign challenged customers to decorate a reusable Starbucks cup with their art and submit photos of it for a chance to win a gift card or have their design used for a limited-edition cup. Fans poured on nearly 4,000 entries.⁶
• Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign encouraged people to search for their own names or those of friends and family on Coke bottles.⁷ At the peak of the campaign, over 500,000 photos flooded social media with the #ShareACoke hashtag.⁸
• KFC’s chicken sandwich campaign enlisted TikTok influencers to create content that helped the brand’s new chicken sandwich sell twice as fast as the brand’s other sandwiches at launch.⁹

The proliferation of UGC across social media and other marketing channels has led to the projection that approximately 78% of online content will be user-generated by 2033.¹ Use the above tips and data to help craft your recipe for UGC success.

For more UGC insights, be sure to refer to our post “How to Maximize Influencers for Food and Beverage Brands.” Crave custom solutions to feed your business? Reach out to The Food Group now.

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