User Generated Content (UGC) – How to Embrace and Manage Your Brand’s Image
The Internet is characterized by the vast amount of information created and shared between users and untouched by brands. UGC has taken over blog articles, photo sharing on Flickr, video sharing on YouTube, podcasts, and forum comments. UGC is extremely valuable in the online community because creative Internet users dedicate their time and passion to them. Some of these creations are seen by millions of Internet users in the blink of an eye and are able to affect the opinion of other users about a topic or a brand.
How many Internet users participate?
Each year, the number of Internet users that create UGC increases, according to a US study on Internet behavior carried out by Forrester Research. The most dynamic age group is the 18-21 year-olds, followed by the 22-26 year-olds and the 12-17 year-olds. Young Internet users that participate in online social activities devote most of their time creating and exchanging UGC. UGC participants should be divided into several groups. First of all, there are the “creators” (a very small portion of Internet users) that generate original content and distribute it on the appropriate platforms. For example, a video can be uploaded to YouTube and to the creator’s own blog. During that time the video can also be distributed and promoted on several of the creator’s social networks. The “critics” are other Internet users who comment on videos. “Joiners” passively share content. The last category is “spectators,” which is made up of the large majority of Internet users. Spectators watch videos without ever leaving a comment, but have the chance, nonetheless, to distribute videos. Brands searching to target 12-25 year olds cannot ignore this phenomenon or these contents.
Monitoring, encouraging, and supporting UGC!
All this content is by definition outside of a brand’s reach. This does not mean that brands should ignore it, however. Brands need to encourage Internet users to promote their brand through their UGC. The process for achieving this can be done in three main stages.
The first step is monitoring in order to have an overall picture of the situation and to pinpoint the outlets where your brand and your competition have been mentioned. Buzz Monitoring also allows you to understand the behavior of your consumers or the segment you are targeting. It will also give you a better overall vision that will help to better launch your UGC campaign.
The second stage of the campaign is to establish a precise framework for checking how your brand is spoken about thanks to the UGC. One possibility is to create a dedicated website for an event, as Dove did for its Cream Oil campaign. Another option is to open an account and a YouTube dedicated page, as the South African Tourist Office has done.
The last stage is to highlight the best creations by offering a prize (that cen be anything from official recognition to a trip to an exotic country, for example) representative of your brand’s values. This will give the winner(s) all the more reason to be ambassadors for your brand! An effective UGC campaign can inspire Internet users to continue to create content, as is the case of an Adidas and President-elect Barack Obama fan. To wrap things up, the ideal UGC campaign knows no limits and continuously encourages Internet users to highlight your brand.
More info:
businessweek.com
karinemiron.com
adweek.com
adrants.com
Adapted by Jessica Hartstein
Tags: brand, Buzz monitoring, UGC
