The Impact of User-Generated Content on Brand Trust and Authenticity

A PR agency encourages the company’s user-generated content to elevate the brand’s trust and authenticity. The content takes the game to the next level and that is what the company’s initial goal is. Therefore, the following blog will inform you about the possible impacts of user-generated content.

User Generated Content or UGC

User-generated or consumer-generated content is where customers create brand-specific content and post it on various channels. It is not from the official sources of the brand and is posted usually on social media platforms. It comes in the form of images, videos, reviews, podcasts, and even testimonials that qualify for this purpose.

Who Contributes To Publishing User-Generated Content?

User-generated content comes from multiple resources like brand loyalists, customers, employees, and UGC creators.

Brand Loyalists

The name itself indicates that the consumers who religiously use a brand and its related products will advocate for it through their reviews. They belong to the group of enthusiasts who are ardent fans of the brand. These fans will have no issues vouching for the business in the market.

Customers

You must have seen how people post videos of unboxing the packaging on either Instagram or TikTok. This type of content also attracts other users who have yet to try out the product. The consumers now automatically share your product in their stories. Sometimes, they publish when the brand asks them to do so. This eminent slot will not disappoint the brand in this situation.

Employees

Employees are the face of any corporate entity. Keeping them happy is essential now as they also play a vital role in bringing aspiring candidates to the company. In the context of UGC, employee testimonials are a helpful source to build brand trust and authenticity. When your employees tell the public why they love working for your brand, your potential hiring will skyrocket. On job search portals, we often see company reviews from current and former employees. These reviews are UGC which serves as the advocate that shows how employee-centric the company is.

UGC Creators

If you are wondering who UGC creators are, then these people are asked by businesses to make them look like authentic pieces of content. The creators are so apt at their game that their content quickly passes off as traditional, unlike a sponsored share. This may sound not-so-authentic but it is done in most business sectors. There are paid and non-paid UGC creators. For example, the Instagram influencers who unbox your packages and review them in videos.

What Is The Impact Of User-Generated Content On Brand Trust And Authenticity?

User-generated content is used throughout a customer's purchasing cycle, helping drive conversions and influence engagement. The user-generated content may be used on multiple social media outlets like landing pages, emails, and checkout pages and has a prominent impact on brand trust and authenticity.

Boosts Authenticity

Nowadays, brands literally fight online to maximize their presence. The competition is undoubtedly fierce and all this is done to gain customers' attention. The cutthroat battle has made consumers more choosy and selective regarding their purchasing decisions. The recent Generation Z is a rigid segment to impress and satisfy through their products and services.

Authentic content is not just what consumers want. Still, most marketers also agree that content quality and authenticity carry a prominent weight in making the content successful. UGC from customers is more authentic than other types of content.

You will be invited to generate fake content for your campaign. You must avoid it at all costs. Why? Because the audiences have become witty enough to recognize what content is authentic and which is fake. Fake reviews can cause fatal damage to your brand’s image in the market and amongst customers.

Your content should be contributed by these three categories: brand loyalists, customers, and employees, which will serve the needful in the most original ways.

Brand Loyalty is Built That Grows Community Too

One of the best things about UGC is that it believes in making its customers a part of the community. The belief influences brand loyalty and rapport as people are fond of being considered something more significant. UGC provides them with that platform to assume themselves as one. It increases interaction between a consumer and brand, deepening the business relationship and enhancing brand loyalty.

User-Generated Content Acts as a Trust Indicator

Brands have kept working hard to earn the trust of their consumers. But with time, they have to put in more effort to show themselves as a trustworthy business in the market. Many marketers agree that customers trust the content shared by consumers, not the content published by brands. This emerges as a green flag or a trust indicator for any business to mount its score.

Like you approach your family members, social network, or friends to consult for an opinion, similarly audience turns to UGC for better suggestions. Studies show that 50% of the millennials buy a product after taking suggestions from trust sources. This is where UGC gets to set itself apart from the crowd as it is also a direct personal recommendation.

Drives Conversions

User-generated content takes pride in being authentic social evidence. It tells potential consumers that your product is worth the investment and deserves a little space in your home. When the customers post a picture of the product tagging your brand, the interested ones ask about the quality. In a way, their purchasing decision was just influenced by one customer in bringing them more.

Hence, user-generated content has a heavy impact on a brand’s trust and authenticity.