Terms

User-generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is any original, brand-specific content created by people, such as customers or fans, rather than by the brand itself. This content can take many forms, including images, videos, reviews, and social media posts, and is valued for its authenticity because it reflects real user experiences.

Benefits of User-generated Content

User-generated content offers numerous advantages for brands. It provides authentic social proof, building trust with potential customers who value peer recommendations over traditional ads. This approach also fosters a strong sense of community, boosting brand loyalty while being a highly cost-effective way to generate marketing materials.

Best Practices for Encouraging User-generated Content

Encouraging users to create content requires a proactive and strategic approach. By making participation easy and rewarding, brands can foster a continuous stream of authentic material that resonates with their audience.

  • Guidance: Clearly define the type of content you want and provide simple instructions for submission.
  • Incentives: Offer rewards like discounts, prizes, or exclusive access to motivate participation.
  • Recognition: Feature the best submissions on your official channels and always credit the original creator.
  • Engagement: Always request permission before re-sharing content and engage with contributors to build community.

User-generated Content vs. Crowdsourced Content

While both leverage external contributors, user-generated and crowdsourced content serve different strategic purposes.

  • Spontaneous: User-generated content is organically created by customers sharing authentic experiences, often without direct prompting. Enterprises use it to build trust and social proof through genuine testimonials and social media posts. While highly authentic and cost-effective, it offers less control over quality and messaging.
  • Solicited: Crowdsourced content is actively requested by a company to solve a problem or generate ideas, often with an incentive. Mid-market companies might prefer this for innovation, like design contests. This approach provides more directed outcomes but can feel less organic and be more complex to manage.

Challenges and Risks of User-generated Content

While powerful, user-generated content presents significant operational and reputational hurdles. Brands must carefully manage content quality, legal permissions, and the potential for negative submissions to avoid damaging their image.

  • Challenges: UGC requires constant moderation to filter inappropriate or low-quality submissions, a resource-intensive process. Encouraging a steady stream of high-quality content from users also demands ongoing strategic effort.
  • Risks: Using content without explicit permission creates legal risks like copyright infringement. Brands also face reputational damage if harmful, false, or negative content is shared or not managed properly.

Examples of Successful User-generated Content Campaigns

Many top brands have masterfully leveraged UGC to create viral marketing moments and deepen customer relationships. These campaigns often succeed by tapping into core human desires for connection, recognition, and self-expression.

  • Coca-Cola: Personalized bottles in its "Share a Coke" campaign, encouraging social media sharing.
  • GoPro: Built its YouTube channel on thrilling customer-filmed videos, showcasing product capabilities.
  • Lululemon: Fostered a community with its #thesweatlife hashtag, featuring users in its athletic wear.
  • Dove: Shared authentic customer "hair stories" to reinforce its brand message of real beauty.
  • T-Mobile: Invited users to write "breakup letters" to old carriers, generating massive social buzz.

Frequently Asked Questions about User-generated Content

How do I legally use user-generated content?

Always get explicit permission from the original creator before using their content. A clear usage rights agreement is crucial to avoid copyright issues and maintain a positive relationship with your community.

How can I measure the ROI of a UGC campaign?

Track key metrics like engagement rates, conversion rates from UGC-driven posts, and changes in brand sentiment. Compare the value generated from these metrics against the resources invested in the campaign to calculate your return.

What if my brand receives negative UGC?

Address negative feedback transparently and professionally. Use it as an opportunity to demonstrate excellent customer service and gather valuable insights for product or service improvement. Do not simply delete it unless it violates community guidelines.

Other terms

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B2B Sales

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B2B Sales

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Sales Dashboard

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Sales Dashboard

Marketing Qualified Opportunity

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Marketing Qualified Opportunity

Business Development Representative

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Business Development Representative

Key Accounts

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Key Accounts

Channel Partner

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API

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API

Sales Funnel

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Sales Operations Analytics

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Sales Operations Analytics

Email Cadence

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Email Cadence

Customer Centricity

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Customer Centricity

Customer Buying Signals

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Customer Buying Signals

Customer Acquisition Cost

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Customer Acquisition Cost

Product Champion

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Shipping Solutions

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Predictive Lead Generation

Regression Testing

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Regression Testing

Expansion Revenue

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Expansion Revenue

Account Management

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Account Management

Customer Relationship Management Systems

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Customer Relationship Management Systems

Sales Lead

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Sales Lead

SFDC

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SFDC

No Spam

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No Spam

Elevator Pitch

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Elevator Pitch

Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

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Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

User Interface

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User Interface

B2B Data

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B2B Data

Gamification

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Gamification

Objection Handling in Sales

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Objection Handling in Sales

Retargeting Marketing

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Retargeting Marketing

Competitive Analysis

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Competitive Analysis

Logo Retention

Logo retention is a key B2B metric that measures a company's ability to retain its customers, or 'logos,' over a specific period.

Logo Retention

Cross-Site Scripting

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Cross-Site Scripting

B2B Intent Data Providers

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Trigger Marketing

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Trigger Marketing

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

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Audience Targeting

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Objection Handling

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Rollback Procedures

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Commission

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Lead Generation Software

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Lead Generation Software

Social Proof

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Qualified Lead

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LinkedIn Sales Navigator

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LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Awareness Buying Stage

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Awareness Buying Stage

SEO

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SEO

Messaging Strategy

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Cold Calling

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Closed Opportunities

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Closed Opportunities

Data Security

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Data Security

Site Retargeting

Site retargeting is a marketing strategy that shows ads to people who have previously visited your website but left without converting.

Site Retargeting

Scrum

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B2B Marketing Attribution

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B2B Marketing Attribution

Buyer

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Buyer

Cross-Selling

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Account

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Account

Revenue Forecasting

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Revenue Forecasting

GTM

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GTM

Content Rights Management

Content Rights Management involves controlling the use and distribution of copyrighted digital media to protect intellectual property.

Content Rights Management

Email Verification

Email verification is the process of confirming that an email address is valid and deliverable, which helps improve campaign performance.

Email Verification

Ramp Up Time

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End of Day

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End of Day

RESTful API

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RESTful API

Contact Data

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Contact Data

Big Data

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Big Data

Dark Funnel

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Dark Funnel

Employee Engagement

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Employee Engagement

Triggers

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Triggers

Operational CRM

An Operational CRM is a system that automates and improves customer-facing business processes like sales, marketing, and customer service.

Operational CRM

Lead Routing

Lead routing is the automated process of distributing incoming leads to the right sales reps based on predefined criteria.

Lead Routing

Sales Prospecting Software

Sales prospecting software automates the process of finding, contacting, and tracking potential customers to help sales teams build their pipeline.

Sales Prospecting Software

Lead Qualification

Lead qualification is the process of determining which prospects are most likely to become paying customers based on predefined criteria.

Lead Qualification

AI Data Enrichment

AI data enrichment uses artificial intelligence to automatically enhance and update raw data, making it more complete, accurate, and valuable.

AI Data Enrichment

CRM Integration

CRM integration connects your CRM software with other tools, creating a unified system for all your customer data and business processes.

CRM Integration

Event Tracking

Event tracking is the method of collecting data on specific user actions, or 'events,' on a website or app, such as clicks or downloads.

Event Tracking

White Label

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White Label

De-dupe

De-duping, or data deduplication, is the process of eliminating duplicate copies of data within a dataset to improve accuracy and save space.

De-dupe

Outbound Lead Generation

Outbound lead generation means proactively reaching out to potential customers who haven't yet expressed interest to introduce them to your brand.

Outbound Lead Generation

Lead Nurturing

Lead nurturing is the process of developing and reinforcing relationships with buyers at every stage of the sales funnel.

Lead Nurturing

Performance Plan

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Performance Plan

Canary Releases

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Canary Releases

No Cold Calls

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No Cold Calls

Sales Methodology

A sales methodology is the framework that guides how your sales team approaches the entire sales process, from prospecting to closing deals.

Sales Methodology

Voice Broadcasting

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Voice Broadcasting

Data Enrichment

Data enrichment is the process of enhancing raw data by adding missing information from other sources, making it more complete and actionable.

Data Enrichment

NoSQL

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NoSQL

Customer Retention

Customer retention refers to the strategies and activities a company uses to prevent customer churn and encourage them to continue buying.

Customer Retention

Lead Generation

Lead generation is the process of identifying and cultivating potential customers for a business's products or services.

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Average Revenue per User

Average Revenue per User (ARPU) is a key performance indicator that calculates the average revenue generated from each user or subscriber.

Average Revenue per User

Channel Partners

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Channel Partners

Cold Emailing

Cold emailing is sending unsolicited emails to potential customers you haven't contacted before, aiming to start a business conversation.

Cold Emailing

Sales Pipeline

A sales pipeline is a visual representation of where prospects are in the sales process, from the first contact to the final sale.

Sales Pipeline

Persona-Based Marketing

Persona-based marketing uses fictional customer profiles, or personas, to create targeted messaging for specific audience segments.

Persona-Based Marketing

Bottom of the Funnel

Learn about bottom of the funnel, including maximizing conversions at the funnel's end, & strategies for nurturing bottom-funnel leads.

Bottom of the Funnel

Pipeline Coverage

Pipeline coverage is a key sales metric. It's the ratio of your total open pipeline value to your sales quota for a specific period.

Pipeline Coverage

Sales Intelligence Platform

A sales intelligence platform is software that provides sales teams with data and insights about prospects to help them sell more effectively.

Sales Intelligence Platform

Account-Based Marketing Software

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) software helps teams coordinate personalized marketing and sales efforts to land high-value customer accounts.

Account-Based Marketing Software

Lead Scoring

Lead scoring is the process of assigning points to leads based on their attributes and actions to determine their sales-readiness.

Lead Scoring

Feature Flags

Feature flags let you remotely control features in your app without new code. This enables safe testing, gradual rollouts, and quick rollbacks.

Feature Flags