March 14, 2024
User-generated content (UGC) is an incredibly valuable asset in paid ad campaigns for one important reason: content, created by users, rather than brands, appears more authentic, honest, and trustworthy.
UGC videos, photos, and testimonials help build credibility and create a stronger connection between brands and their target audiences.
Let’s have a look at how to get quality UGC content for your next paid ad campaigns and a quick guide on how to do it.
There are two ways for you to get UGC content.
Most websites will recommend you to get it from your customers. When they buy your products (or receive them in contests and giveaways), they share their experience with your brand on their social media. You can then use their content in your paid advertising.
But this isn’t the best option, because of legal issues, content quality problems, messages, and product information accuracy.
The best way to get quality UGC content that converts is from experienced UGC creators. Here’s how:
Sourcing content from skilled and professional UGC creators can make all the difference in your marketing campaigns since you’re combining the authenticity of user contributions with high-quality videos.
Here's how to do it:
As mentioned before, you can also use content that your users make, and repost it on your channels and platforms.
This is best when you already have an established base of customers who regularly use your product and services. Then their content can be a great addition to your strategy, as you can run contests, giveaways, and other ways to encourage user participation.
However, it’s still best to use their content as a small part and rely on a steady flow of content from UGC creators for a few reasons:
Unlike the content from your users, the content you receive from UGC creators belongs to you, not the creators. That means you can do with the content whatever you like; there are no copyright issues involved, and no potential legal complications.
Not all content you receive from your customers is good and relevant. Perhaps the videos and Stories miss the key benefits of your product or even include incorrect details. On top of that, it’s highly unlikely that the photos and videos of your users are on point with your branding.
By working with UGC creators, you give them detailed information about what to include, and very importantly not to include in the videos.
That’s how you receive quality content every time, just when you need it. Even if your users produce great content and you can use it in your campaigns, you can never be sure when you’ll receive the next winning video. Creators, on the other hand, deliver the content when needed and as often as needed.
Once you receive diverse quality UGC photos and videos, it’s time to run paid ad campaigns.
When your ad copies are ready, run A/B tests to see which one performs better. If you’ve done target audience segmentation properly, you’ll be able to run different campaigns based on the type of audience you want to target.
This is why getting more diverse content is key: to be able to appeal to different audiences and to see what works best for them. So make sure that the creators you work with, give you plenty of different content types:
Check analytics regularly to measure the performance of your campaigns - see what works and what doesn’t, and adjust ad copies accordingly. Refine your approach based on the insights and create a UGC content machine that works perfectly for your marketing strategy.
