Using and sharing images that the company’s customers have taken increases the authenticity and can lead to higher conversion, a new study shows.
There is much to be gained from encouraging customers to share photos about the company and then lifting them in their own marketing.
In a new study from Olapic, a digital platform for user-generated content, 80 percent of respondents state that they have uploaded an image and tagged a brand at least once. Raising more “earned” user-generated content proves to be a successful content strategy for businesses.
– The rules of the game have changed. Now we are looking for more authentic images in social media. High quality advertising images do not feel genuine. The fact that another person has taken the time to photograph something and upload it online validates that it is of good quality.
Several companies have begun to encourage customers to share their brand in social media. This can be done by asking customers to tag images with a specific hashtag or by doing an on-site activity in the physical store, for example, and asking visitors to upload images.
One way to get started is to ask influencers to upload pictures on your hashtag. For example, you can send them clothes and ask them to upload on social media. Then the rest of the target group sees this behavior and starts imitating it.
Then you need a routine to monitor the images that customers take and upload. You can search directly on Instagram for your brand name, or for specific hashtags you have chosen. Then you curate the content to lift the best images.
It is important to be transparent with your target group. Write to them that you like the image and ask if you can use it in your marketing. Then you can use the image in social media, in newsletters and on the website. That way, other people see what your products look like in real life.
42 percent of respondents say they rely more on user-generated content than on other kinds of content in social media, such as what the brands produce themselves.
The study also shows the importance of the people in the pictures looking like ordinary people. Half of those surveyed state that they would be more likely to buy an item after seeing a positive or user-generated image online that they can relate to.
You can ask your customers to upload pictures of the product on social media using your own hashtag. And you can then take advantage of this contentby highlighting it on social media and on your website.
We have made measurements of how customer behavior is affected if user-generated images are used in e-commerce, and seen that the conversion rate increases. The customer gets more information and a better picture of a product when they see it being used by another person.
When asked why they share brand pictures on social media, 36 percent say they simply want to share their latest purchases with friends. The same percentage states that they want the brand to know that they like the product. Another 18 percent hope for fame, and that the brand will post their pictures on its page.
Raising user-generated images in the company’s social media also helps build a community. Those who follow the accounts will see that it is not only the company that talks, but also the customers.
For the individual whose image you share, you also build a deeper relationship by letting them act as brand ambassador.
