Quick question: If you wanted to buy something, would you take the seller’s word on the product’s quality, or would you be more apt to trust word-of-mouth reviews?

That, in essence, is what user-generated content (UGC) can provide for your product or service: legitimacy. A survey by Nielsen Global Trust surveyed participants across 60 countries. It showed 83 percent of online respondents reported that recommendations from friends and family remains the most credible form of advertising among consumers. Another study found that UGC results in up to seven times more engagement on Instagram.

In addition, UGC can help with your own workload, offering ideas and content that can free you from having to create original content yourself.

Best of all, it’s a terrific way to engage fans. What’s more flattering than having someone repost something you’ve written? More engagement results in higher priority on the Instagram feed, which in turn leads to more new followers on the Explore tab.

At the same time, however, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it, which is what we want to show you here.

 

What exactly is UGC? 

User-generated content is anything created by your customers or fans that relates to your product, service, or brand. That includes comments, blogs, videos, social media posts, stories, testimonials . . . anything created by other people that relates to what you sell.

Of course, you want to showcase any UGC that presents your product or service in a positive light. But you can also highlight any mention of your company that shares your brand’s Instagram aesthetic, whether in style, tone, or colors (or, preferably, all three). You can also add filters or edit colors to help it better conform to your aesthetic.

It’s up to you whether to use UGC exclusively in your feed or to just sprinkle your regular posts with it. And don’t feel that just because someone mentions you, you must use their content if it doesn’t fit well with your brand’s aesthetic. Do at least acknowledge the mention, though, and thank them for it.

 

Don’t forget a branded hashtag

Because hashtags are individually searchable, they make it easy for your fans to find and follow you, and thereby increase engagement. But for this to happen, you need to use a branded hashtag. That is, one that is easily recognizable as representing your product or service. They can help your posts stand out from the 100 million photos and videos that are uploaded on Instagram every day.

The best branded hashtags are short, memorable, and easily searchable. Be sure to include it on all your Instagram content, including feed posts, stories, and IGTV. This makes it easier for fans to find you and for you to find any of their mentions of your brand.

 

Encouraging users to create content

If your Instagram feed depends entirely on UGC, you’ll need to find ways to get fans to generate it for you.

Of course, the typical method for getting users to create content is to add the “tag us” or “mention us” call to action (CTA) on your posts. You can also include your branded hashtag on your bio as well as all receipts for products with a suggestion they tag you on Instagram.

Or you could use a contest or a giveaway to encourage them to create UGC for you: Offer a prize for the most original comment, post, or story, or photo that shows them using your product in a unique way. And remember to monitor comments under your posts, which you can also use as reviews.

 

Get written permission

To avoid running afoul of Instagram’s Terms of Use, obtain written permission from the original owner before reposting content on your feed. This is true even if they tagged or mentioned your brand in their content.

Because the creator is automatically the owner of the copyright to the material, it is also possible you could be sued if they can prove their content produced revenue for you.

So send either a comment or a direct message (DM) and specifically ask: “Hey, loved your post! Do I have your permission to repost this?”

Then be sure to credit the original creator with an @mention or tag.

If you’re finding all this a bit confusing, or you’d like more details about any aspect of marketing through Instagram, be sure to let our social media management experts know! We can help you make better use of your marketing campaigns across all social media and leverage user-generated content.