{"id":372,"date":"2017-02-22T18:43:25","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T15:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rees46.com\/blog-en\/?p=372"},"modified":"2017-02-22T18:43:25","modified_gmt":"2017-02-22T15:43:25","slug":"how-can-ugc-help-online-retailers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rees46.com\/blog-en\/2017\/02\/22\/how-can-ugc-help-online-retailers\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can UGC Help Online Retailers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

UGC stands for user-generated content i.e. the content created by the user. You cannot underestimate its value in modern eCommerce \u2013 today each type of UGC is itself a useful conversion tool. \u00a0You can convert via product reviews, seller ratings, even via hashtagged photos, video reviews and contest materials from your audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s focus on the main three types of UGC: photos, video and written reviews.
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Instagram Photos<\/b><\/h2>\n

Every day Instagram users generate more than 50 million photos. This social network is booming right now thanks to the simplicity of the publishing process: take a photo, add #hashtags, gain likes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reasons to Use<\/b><\/p>\n

Instagram account promotion is not the only way to profit from this channel. You can also build loyalty and trust encouraging your customers to publish hashtagged happy photos where they are enjoying their purchases. \u00a0You can launch campaigns yourself reaching out to some loyal customers for these photos in return for a discount coupon and publishing them in your channel. This is a wonderfully easy way to build a strong brand image and solve the trust issue for the newcomers.<\/span>
\nIs this an effective strategy? According to the <\/span>Wayin research<\/span><\/a>, conversion growth shows an additional <\/span>+25%<\/b> for user pictures over professional, brushed-up product photosets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Case #1<\/b><\/p>\n

Frank Body<\/span><\/a> beauty store encourages its buyers to post photos prior to and after an application period. Then it reposts them to its public Instagram. Would you disagree they make you trust the product more than professional, brushed-up photosets?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Case #2<\/b><\/p>\n

Thermomix<\/span><\/a> Kitchen Appliances manufacturer uses Instagram photos to illustrate the success of its new recipes published on its forum This kind of content directly tells the reader \u201cYes, you really CAN cook this using our kitchen appliances\u201d. No glossy magazine pictures, just real stories:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Case #3<\/b><\/p>\n

Kira Frace<\/span><\/a> yoga clothes adds a photo of a customer wearing the items to each product detail page.Future buyers are empowered to see how it will fit and look in reality. The store builds trust and gains new buyers with no additional expenses. A win-win!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Case #4<\/b><\/p>\n

ASOS<\/span><\/a> fashion retailer allocated a whole \u201c#AsSeenOnMe\u201d page where it shows people wearing the sold items in different settings. The customers can upload more pictures from the site to both show their purchases and help others to choose. The store equally gains from it \u2013 visitors can immediately see if they like the item and purchase it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Instagram photos are a must in modern eCommerce marketing, but what else can you profit from?<\/span><\/p>\n

Video Reviews<\/b><\/h2>\n

Today, there are so many video-sharing websites: Youtube, Vimeo, Vine, Instagram, Facebook \u2013 the list goes on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reasons to Use<\/b><\/p>\n

Photos are helpful, but sometimes you need a better view, from different angles. \u00a0For example, if you are selling a gadget or appliance it is incredibly helpful for potential buyers to see how the product works and how easy it is to use. Video reviews on your site solve a multitude of issues. For example, you can enrich your product pages with genuine video reviews to build trust for the product. You can also tell your future customer about your company. You can reassure your future customers about the quality of your services such as delivery, order processing and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video is becoming increasingly important in the social media marketplace. In 2016 Facebook updated its news feed algorithms to give priority to live video. \u00a0More recently Facebook announced that longer videos which are watched all the way through will be given a higher priority in newsfeeds. <\/span><\/p>\n

Case #1<\/b><\/p>\n

Amazon<\/span><\/a> worldwide retailer uses customer video reviews to stimulate purchases. Every customer can upload a new video review from their site. Their biggest video trend now is the <\/span>unboxing<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Case #2<\/b><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re still growing your audience and unable to get enough video reviews, it\u2019s safe to assign one of the employees to this task. This was what <\/span>Right Channel Radios<\/span><\/a> store did. Sure, these reviews are only partially UGC, but with the videos, you can\u2019t go wrong \u2013 they are meant to be informative and detailed, and it doesn\u2019t matter who makes them as long as they are helpful:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Case #3<\/b><\/p>\n

Another example of the power of UGC videos is the reviews from famous video bloggers. <\/span>Wunder2<\/span><\/a> beauty store has an ongoing partnership with such famous video bloggers such as<\/span> Judy Travis<\/span><\/a>. Each review from Judy gets hundreds of thousands of views and provides the store with a steady flow of new customers:<\/span><\/p>\n