People prioritize other people’s opinions before making a purchase.

And these people don’t have to be friends or family members. People trust ratings and reviews from strangers and base their buying decisions and brand sentiment around them.

In 2023, the trust consumers have for ratings and reviews is only increasing. Our 2023 State of User-Generated Content Report found that buyers want to see authentic reviews.

What’s an authentic rating and review? Let’s dig in.

The Statistics Behind Consumers Wanting More Ratings and Reviews

People read ratings and reviews before they buy products. Those reviews can live on the website’s product page, in the comments section of their social media platforms, or on their Google business page. 

Our 2023 State of User-Generated Content Report found that 79.69% of consumers check ratings and reviews before making a purchase.

But here’s the thing– 75% of people surveyed said they were aware when they were being advertised to. When marketers use too-good-to-be-true reviews or show only 5-star reviews on their products, buyers don’t budge. There is a science to picking the best reviews to showcase. 

The key is in authentic ratings and reviews that come directly from customers and are as personalized as possible to the buyer.

Marketers recognize the importance of ratings and reviews in driving conversions, with 69.08% stating that they are crucial to their strategies. Yet, they’re struggling to find the correct reviews. Marketers are hunting down reviews from their buyers instead of looking for organically posted reviews.

Only 35.75% of marketers regularly incorporate user-generated content (UGC) into their campaigns. Marketers must help buyers feel confident in their purchasing decision by leveraging ratings and reviews that speak to buyers’ objections and hesitations. 

Examples of Ratings and Reviews

In the 2023 State of User-Generated Content Report, we explain, “highlighting happy customers across marketing channels saves marketers time required to create trustworthy content; it’s genuine feedback brands can not only re-share to strengthen the connection with their audience but also allows brands to understand market sentiment and iterate faster.”

What do great ratings and reviews look like? They are authentic user-generated content from your fans, audience, and customers. User-generated content is a photo, video, testimonial, comment, rating, or review. Brands leverage UGC to create ratings and reviews for their brand and specific products. 

Use Your Community to Create Personalized Recommendations

Sephora’s Beauty Insider Community has over 5 million members. Inside the community, they featured user-generated content from happy customers using products they purchased from Sephora. They break down UGC by category (e.g., nails, gift ideas, fragrance) to make it easy for their buyers to find exactly what they’re looking for from precisely who they’re looking for.

Sephora’s buyers can see how an eye shadow works on someone with similar color eyes or how a skincare product works on somebody’s similarly dry skin. They can see if a highlighter is a color they like or if the latest curling iron gives the right size curl.

These UGC reviews are precious to Sephora because it does something their campaigns can’t. It personalizes the buying experience. UGC reviews bring a level of personalization that’s almost impossible to create in marketing campaigns with a big budget. With UGC, brands like Sephora can show their customers people with the same skin tone, eye color, skin type, and hair type using specific products. 

Share Your Data with Buyers

Abercrombie and Fitch is leaning heavily into ratings and reviews as well. Instead of making their prospective buyers scroll through hundreds of reviews to see if a product is a good fit – they generate a data-driven report from their reviews and show a specialized summary of that information.

They show:

• How many total reviews
• Overall rating
• Percentage of buyers recommending the product
• Average customer ratings based on fit, appearance, comfort, and product quality.
• User-Generated photos

And below this summary, they have the entire list of reviews with personalized questions to help buyers find their size and style.

Use Your Ratings and Reviews as Content

If buyers like to see user-generated content more than brand-created content, does it make sense to fill your marketing channels with only brand content?

Based on the consumer trends we’ve watched for the last 4 years, our 2023 State of User-Generated Content Report points to the importance of highlighting UGC across marketing channels.

Brands should post UGC to their in-person and online channels as a form of content.

• Brands like Nike use digital signage in their stores to feature UGC.
• Conferences and events share a digital wall of incoming UGC content to promote more UGC (and promotion of their event!).
• Airlines like Delta share UGC on their in-flight pamphlets.
• Hotels like Marriot repost UGC from happy customers on their Instagram accounts.
• Restaurants like Chipotle dedicate their entire TikTok feed to UGC.

UGC fills in-person and online marketing channels at a lower cost than average campaign production. And it does all of this while getting more engagement and conversions than brand-created content.

6 Other Trends Shaping Marketing in 2023

Ratings and reviews are coming into maturity in 2023. We’re seeing more brands lean into giving buyers what they want and, in turn, hosting communities, sharing their review data, and prioritizing sharing UGC.

The maturation (and continued rise) of ratings and reviews is only 1 out of 6 marketing themes we discovered in our research.

Download a free copy of the State of Social & User-Generated Content Report to see the seven themes that will define marketing in 2023.

The post Consumers Want Authentic Ratings and Reviews appeared first on TINT.

Consumers love seeing brand communities and customers share their experiences. They’re asking brands to post UGC – and scrolling past brand-created content at a, seemingly, faster rate than ever.

Each year, we compile a list of user-generated content statistics (and a few supporting stats!) that help marketers plan their campaigns and overall strategies. These statistics come from our State of Social & User-Generated Content report, as well as past reports, and statistics from other sources.

Check out the need-to-know UGC statistics leading marketing trends, and make sure to read the last section to get advice on how to take action.

Key User-Generated Content Marketing Stats to Remember

1. Consumers rank authentic UGC as the most trustworthy content. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
2. 69.08% of marketers feel ratings and reviews are important to their conversion rates. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
3. Only 23.03% of marketers always request rights to other people’s content – which means the remaining 76.97% could do a better job at doing this. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
4. 78.51% of marketers are investing in video content in 2023 which isn’t surprising considering the 3 platforms marketers plan to increase activity on are TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
5. 54.17% of marketers feel their team has the methodology to know what visual content will convert across marketing channels. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
6. Only 19.52% of marketers feel like they have the resources and team to create visual content. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)

UGC and Social Media Marketing Stats

1. 75.78% of consumers have used social media to search for or discover products, brands, and experiences. Get ready, social media is turning into a search engine! (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
2. 68.75% of consumers have purchased something they saw on social media. (State of Social &  User-Generated Content 2023)
3. Overall, consumers mostly use Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube (in that order) to search for new products, brands, and experiences. However, Gen Z and younger millennials (18-34) prefer Instagram for search. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
4. 68.2% of marketers agree social contests and campaigns boost engagement and conversions. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
5. Marketers are most active on Facebook, Instagram, and Linked In with Pinterest beating out TikTok for the fourth spot (TikTok is #5 most active platform). Marketers are the least active on YouTube. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
6. Marketers plan to increase activity on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube in 2023. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
7. The top 3 challenges marketers are facing when producing social and visual content are budget, time, and engagement (in that order). Compared to 2022, time has replaced content quality as the second biggest challenge for marketers.(State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)

User-Generated Content for Email Marketing Stats

1. Email click-through rates can increase by about 73% and produce more conversions when they include user-generated content.
2. Email is the preference for buyers over 45 years old in comparison to social media and other marketing channels. (State of User-Generated Content)
3. Email or social media? 4 out of 5 marketers said they’d rather give up social media than email marketing.
4.  A 760% increase in revenue has been seen when marketers use segmented email campaigns.
5. Marketers are mainly publishing UGC to social media, advertising, and email marketing channels right now. (State of User-Generated Content)

Digital Advertising Meets User-Generated Content

1. 62% of consumers report that they are more likely to click on content like ads, websites, social posts, or emails, that feature customer photos rather than an image created by the brand. (State of User-Generated Content)
2. Buyers admit to being 4-6X more likely to buy from “purpose-driven” companies and advocate for them (through UGC and word-of-mouth referrals).
3. Cost-per-click has been seen to decrease by 50% with the addition of user-generated content in social media ads.
4. 65.6% of consumers believe there is a difference between influencers and creators and 72.59% of marketers agree there is a difference between influencers and creators (here’s the difference).
5. 53.73% of marketers agree influencer content converts higher than brand content. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
6. 6 in 10 marketers report that their audience engages more with UGC in marketing and communications channels than branded content. (State of User-Generated Content)
7. Only 18.2% of marketers always measure the performance of their content across marketing channels – which means the remaining 81.8% could do a better job at doing this.  (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
8. 59.87% of marketers rely on stock video and photography for visual content even though 80.47% of consumers prefer seeing photos of real customers. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)

User-Generated Content and Web Content Stats

1. The #1 marketing channel used is social media with a brand’s website as the #2 most used marketing channel.
2. In 2021, marketers took SEO more seriously with 69% of marketers investing in their strategy.
3. When websites feature UGC, they can see an increase of 29% in web conversions, a 20% increase in return visitors, and a 90% increase in time spent on-site.
4. 79.69% of consumers look at ratings and reviews before making a purchase. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
5. 69.08% of marketers feel ratings and reviews are important to their conversion rates, but only 35.75% of marketers often or always use UGC in their strategies. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
6. 57.03% of consumers feel stock photography should be replaced with the diversity of real customers and teams. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
7. Only 18.2% of marketers always measure the performance of their content across marketing channels – which means the remaining 81.8% could do a better job at doing this. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)

Brand Marketing Stats

1. 66.41% of consumers believe that brands that use video and audio stand out more than those that don’t. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
2. Inconsistent brand messaging is a frustrating experience for buyers.
3. Only 35.75% of marketers often or always use UGC in their marketing strategies. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
4. 44.3% of marketers are investing in audio in 2023. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
5. The top 3 reasons marketers use social listening are to understand their audience, analyze trends, and conceive new ideas. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
6. In 2022, the number one challenge marketing teams faced when creating social and visual content was budget related. Yet in 2023, it looks like that challenge continues with 35% of marketers saying their budget stayed the same over the past year. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
7. 60.97% of marketers feel they don’t have enough resources for the amount of content they need. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)

eCommerce and Social Commerce Stats

1. In 2023, online purchases are predicted to reach 20.8% of sales. This could be due to the 5-year acceleration in online shopping that experts predict the pandemic caused. 
2. Currently, eCommerce websites contribute 22.3% of total retail sales.
3. Purchases made on smartphones were predicted to take up 6% of the total retail sales in 2022.
4. It’s predicted that online retail sales will reach $6.51 trillion by 2023.
5. In the US, 20% of online shoppers said they took part in live commerce. 
6. Buyers have said that they’re about 4x more loyal to eco-friendly businesses in comparison to non-eco-friendly brands.
7. 75% of consumers claim they know when they are being advertised to. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
8. 77% of shoppers are more likely to buy from brands that personalize their shopping experience. (State of User-Generated Content)
9. The majority of buyers surveyed by PayPal, 57%, said that they shop from international brands (almost 2 in 5 survey respondents had made an international purchase in the last quarter).

Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality Stats

1. The majority of millennials, 66%, book their travel trips using their smartphone. A higher majority, 74%, said that they use their smartphone for research related to their travels.
2. With an $8.9 billion value, Booking.com is the #1 most valuable travel and tourism brand in the world.
3. In 2023, it’s predicted that 2,934 hotels will open in 2023.
4. 2023 sees a rise in the return of meetings and events with 86.9% of meetings and events predicted to start back up this year.
5. 89% of global business travelers have said they want to add personal holiday travel to their business trips in the next year.
6. 42.98% of marketers experienced the most success with in-person events. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)
7. 42.98% of marketers plan to host or sponsor more in-person events in 2023 and  20.61% plan to host virtual or sponsor events. (State of Social & User-Generated Content 2023)

What Do These UGC Marketing Stats Mean For Your  Strategy?

Statistics tell you which direction to look – but they don’t give you the map to find your destination. Looking at the macro landscape tells us that there are some major trends to tap into that will increase your engagement and conversions. Better yet, it can build a stronger bond between your brand and community.

Here are some actionable tips for adding these statistics to the micro parts of your marketing strategy.

Social Media Content

As social media grows into a better search engine, it’s up to marketers to create searchable content. Add in buyers requesting user-generated content along their buying journey and all signs post to creating UGC with clear value propositions (that can get picked up by the social media algorithms!).

Email Content

Personalization in email is winning. Subscribers want less of everything you do and more of what they care about. Use lead magnets, contests, and specific ad campaigns to segment subscribers as they come into your list to ensure you’re only talking to them about what they care about. For people already subscribed, send out a quick “What do you want to see from us?” email with links that automatically segment the subscriber when clicked.

Digital Advertising

The shift to video is here. It’s no longer on the horizon – something to worry about later. Marketers need to create video and audio content that meets the latest in consumer trends to meet their community where THEY are. To get a boost on video content, use TINT to find and get the legal rights to the videos your community has already posted.

Web Content

Your buyers want to read and see reviews from other customers just like them. By adding visual reviews to your website and product pages (alongside user-generated content), you’ll create the feedback loop that your audience is looking for. You’ll also warm up buyers to leaving their own reviews after purchase. 

Brand Content

Consumers are asking for video and audio content, but that doesn’t magically make time appear for it on your to-do list. Avoid putting off this necessary shift in content and add UGC to your marketing channels to publish high-quality, highly converting content that your buyers are already asking for.

Let these statistics serve as a compass that can show you the way to create a high-performing marketing strategy. Start to build out your brand’s UGC strategy with TINT’s User generated content platform. We help brands like Canon, Nestle, and more connect with their audiences through the power of social media and UGC.

Schedule a demo to see what TINT’s all-in-one social content platform and UGC strategists can do for you.

The post Top User-Generated Content Statistics to Watch appeared first on TINT.

It’s simple: stop looking at what everybody in your industry is doing and instead look outside of it.

The whole point of marketing is to stand out from the competition and attract the right buyers. But, it’s dangerously easy to get caught up in the same tactics and strategies your competition is deploying. We get wrapped up in what we “should” be doing and forget to innovate. Ads start to sound and look the same and consumers’ eyes begin to glaze over after reading their hundredth rendition of the same copy.

Let’s follow Jay’s advice and think outside of the box.

What are marketers in other industries doing that you can get inspiration from?

Change your perspective by seeking POVs outside of your industry with these examples.

How Brands Across Different Industries Use UGC 

There are certain marketing tactics that work universally across industries. One of those is user-generated content. Buyers always want to know what customers have to say about your products regardless of your niche. Sixty-two percent of consumers report that they are more likely to click on content like ads, websites, social posts, or emails, that feature customer photos rather than an image created by the brand.

• Selling wood to contractors? They’d love to see ratings and reviews from happy customers.
• Selling baby accessories to new moms? They’re looking for UGC to make sure it’s worth the money.
• Selling office equipment to Fortune 500 companies? They want customers to prove that you’re delivering high-quality products.

The foundation of user-generated content traverses industries but the execution is where things get interesting. From travel and hospitality to beauty and fashion — brands are using the voice of their biggest fans to stand out from the noise.

Here’s how they’re doing it.

#1: UGC Inspiration for the Travel Industry

Delta’s goal is to get flights booked. Luckily for them — travel influencers have infiltrated Instagram. The airline can repurpose user-generated content to share special experiences on its social media channels. UGC shows real people traveling around the world and taking frame-worthy photos.

Delta uses user-generated content from influencers to show the after state they’ll experience from buying a Delta flight to Iceland. 

#2: UGC Inspiration for the Tourism Industry

Travelocity’s #IWannaGo contest turned into a user-generated content magnet. They offered a dream vacation to their lucky winner. In return, they asked for UGC on Twitter, Instagram, or Vine from participants explaining where they wanted to go and why. 25,000 entries later and Travelocity had their winner…and an endless library of user-generated content.

Travelocity strategically asked for UGC across multiple social media platforms creating native content to repurpose in the future.

#3: UGC Inspiration for the Hospitality Industry

Sometimes hospitality brands can’t go all in on user-generated content. There’s specific brand-created content that needs to be displayed on social media channels (like a fancy drone shot of their hotel). For hospitality brands that want to feature high-production images and videos yet still garner the benefits of user-generated content — a mix of UGC and brand-created content is ideal.

The Marriott shares user-generated content with just a few brand-created images across their social media channels to maintain that high-production feel while still connecting happy customers with potential customers.

#4: UGC Inspiration for the CPG/FMCG Industry

MUD/WTR entered a competitive market when they decided to open their beverage company. They knew they’d need to stand out amongst a crowd of legacy competitors. Their strategy? A brash brand voice that inspired customers to share their brand experience online. From emails to packaging — MUD/WTR creates a sharable experience through the entire customer journey (including post-purchase!).

CPG/FMCG products used daily have an opportunity to collect massive amounts of user-generated content when your customers feel connected enough to your brand to continue to share their daily habits online.

#5: UGC Inspiration for the Food and Beverage Industry

Dunkin’ realized quickly that user-generated content drove growth, engagement, and conversions. In their strategy to win over Generation Z the legacy coffee and donut house started featuring their customers’ voices across their social media channels. Their TikTok is dedicated to user-generated content. More interestingly, they’ve started to turn their employees into nano-influencers for the brand.

They’re actively pursuing employees who are interested in sharing Dunkin’s products throughout their work shift. The mix of user-generated content and employee-generated content gives Dunkin’s TikTok an authentic and genuine feel that platforms the customer’s voice instead of the brand’s.

#6: UGC Inspiration for the Fashion Industry

Don’t wait for user-generated content to come organically. Add requests for UGC within your customer journey, as Quince has. Quince sends an email requesting reviews and testimonials a few days after a buyer receives their order. The email strategically only has one call-to-action — leave feedback. 

The fashion industry thrives off of user-generated content but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to get. Inspire your customers to leave UGC through strategically timed emails, discounts, and giveaways.

#7: UGC Inspiration for the Health and Beauty Industry

Health and beauty brands, like NYX Cosmetics, are prioritizing user-generated content on their product pages. Every product has a huge below-the-fold section dedicated to reviews and star ratings. Website visitors can navigate through reviews by choosing the star level they want to read (ex. 3 star reviews) and seeing the average customer ratings. The reviews are almost more detailed than the product descriptions!

The more reviews and testimonials you can feature — the better. Customers want to know if a product is a great fit for them and these reviews create personalization that brand-created content just can’t.

#8: UGC Inspiration for the Retail Industry

If you’re going to trust a marketing strategy in the retail space…it probably should be Amazon’s. As the online retailer moved into brick-and-mortar stores, they brought user-generated content with them. Ratings and reviews of books were strategically placed on shelves to give people the online shopping experience in-person. Notice how they showcase highly rated books and personalized reviews per book below?

Retailers can take a page out of Amazon’s strategy and move user-generated content across in-person and online platforms for the ultimate impact.

How To Get Customers To Create UGC (Actionable Steps) 

Even if you don’t realize it — your customers are creating UGC for your brand and products. It’s slipping through the cracks as your marketing team focuses on brand-created content. How often do people take a photo or quick video as they walk into the beautiful lobby of their vacation hotel? How much do we love to post our dinners (even if it’s McDonald’s!) to social media? Sixty percent of consumers wish that more brands would tell their fans and customers what type of content they want them to create!

To snag the UGC promoting your brand that already exists use our machine learning technology inside of TINT’s UGC Studio. 

If you need to generate more UGC or UGC for a specific product or campaign — here’s how to motivate your customers to post that review.

#1: Host a Contest or Giveaway

Don’t wait for your audience, fans, and customers to create user-generated content. Ask them for it! Contests and giveaways are a great way to inspire your fans to create user-generated content. Just make sure you’re extra clear about what you’re looking for.

• Do you want them to talk about a specific product?
• Do you want them to leave a review on Google or Instagram Stories?
• What does your ideal piece of user-generated content look like?

The more clear you are about the user-generated content you’re looking for the better the results will be.

#2: Ask for UGC Throughout the Customer Journey

Your buyers are moving through your customer journey. They see your social media content, read your emails, and browse your product pages. These are all ideal places to put user-generated content and ask for it. Ideally, you have UGC that promotes specific products by strategically moving buyers through the customer journey. Your UGC can target cold leads, warm leads, and hot leads.

The best place to collect this UGC is during the buying journey. Add guidance to your emails, social media posts, packaging, and websites asking your customers to create UGC while they’re in that stage of the buying journey. Ask them to share their package on Instagram Stories with a cute note inside their delivery. Or ask your social media followers to share their favorite products through your Instagram Stories and repost their responses.

#3: Keep Your UGC Organized and Easily Accessible

The best marketers are prepared. When your team decides to launch a new campaign — you can plug right into your UGC Studio to grab the necessary assets. Let’s say your team asks you to create more UGC around a specific product. You’ll hop into your UGC Studio and find existing UGC of that product and share it across your socials as you run a contest or giveaway to request more UGC from your audience.

The goal is to build out a library of content spanning from someone sharing their excitement when they booked a trip to your hotel to the moment they leave and sharing what a great experience it was. Your UGC Studio keeps all of that content organized and ready to share.

Which Industry Inspired You The Most?

Seeking inspiration outside of your industry is the name of the game if you ask Jay Abraham. He’s always on the lookout for how different sectors are using strategies and tools to garner results. To become an A-player marketer like him — you just need to follow his lead.

Which examples of UGC felt like they could be tweaked for your brand?

Send them to your team (in this moment of inspiration) to see how they can creatively play on those ideas. Who knows…this could lead to your best-performing campaign ever.

And don’t forget to stay organized. A Google Drive folder won’t cut it when it comes to quickly accessing UGC as needed. 

Easily collect, curate, request rights, and distribute reviews and testimonials with TINT.

Schedule a TINT Demo to see the magic you can create with UGC.

The post How Different Industries Use UGC appeared first on TINT.

Thankfully, we’ve got you covered. Every year, we conduct our own research to discover the must-know consumer trends and marketing themes, both as related to UGC and not. Then, we report our findings, predictions, and tips in the State of User-Generated Content report and throughout our blog.

From marketer’s number one KPI (is it engagement or is it ROI?), to employee-generated content, and what people think about the metaverse—these themes will help you figure out where to put your focus in the upcoming year.

Here are the 7 marketing themes that we’re seeing everywhere and 7 marketing predictions for 2022. 

7 Marketing Themes of 2022

1. Engagement vs. ROI
2. Team Growing Pains
3. The Untapped Potential of User-Generated Content
4. Employee-Generated Content Strengthens Recruiting and Employee Engagement
5. Effectively Embracing DEI
6. The Power of Visual Content
7. The Rise of Web 3.0 and the Metaverse(s)

Theme #1: Engagement vs ROI

The top marketing KPI in 2021 was either engagement or ROI. When content trends are moving quickly and platforms are shifting, we’re seeing marketers mega-focused on continuing to reach their audience and see proof their efforts are worth their time and resources. Thirty-two percent of marketers have engagement as their number one KPI and 31% have ROI (the other marketers we asked were focused on followers/subscribers, leads, or other).

Theme #2: Team Growing Pains

In 2020, one of the main challenges marketers faced was having too small of a team for their needed, or desired, output. Even though 48.20% of marketers increased their teams in 2021, there’s still 51.80% trying to maintain their omnichannel presence. This has led to 47% of marketers agreeing it takes their team too long to create content and 60% of marketers feel pressured to continually produce greater amounts of content at a high frequency.

Theme #3: The Untapped Potential of User-Generated Content

The majority of marketers are no longer thinking about adding user-generated content to their marketing channels—they’re planning on it (if not already using it). Seventy percent of marketers report ratings and reviews important to their company and 61% plan to incorporate more user-generated content into their marketing in 2022. UGC is a saving grace for marketers tight on budget, time, and a team large enough to create all the content.

Theme #4: Employee-Generated Content is Key for Recruiting and Employee Engagement

1 in 4 people quit their jobs in 2020 and it’s reported that a majority of those resignations came from mid-career employees. The talent pool is larger than it’s ever been before, giving employees more opportunity to be picky with their employment options. New job applicants consider current employees to be the most trustworthy when considering a potential employer. And these programs are beneficial for employers too—Influencer Marketing Hub reports employee advocacy programs with at least 1,000 active participants can generate $1.9 million in advertising value.

This is what #WorkingFromHome looks like for a lot of Cisconians. Bruna is an account manager in Brazil. Thanks to our tech, #CiscoKids get to meet our colleagues on @Webex meetings …. in between snacking and playing of course!

Be you, with us: https://t.co/x2DhKvOc1n pic.twitter.com/cvXP8cYhVn

— We Are Cisco (@WeAreCisco) June 25, 2020

Theme #5: Effectively Embracing DEI

Almost ¾ (71%) of marketers plan on showing more diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility in their content in the future. But, they have to do it the right way. Younger generations are digital natives, spotting fake or poorly made DEI content from scrolls away. Brands creating genuine content plan to blend more community voice with their brand voice in 2022 and do a better job at highlighting participation in social issues.

Theme #6: The Power of Visual Content

Consumer data points to video content. Instagram’s recent shift from a photo platform to a video platform also shows us the future of content. Sixty-three percent of consumers believe visual testimonials are more credible than written testimonials, which aligns well with 71% of marketers planning to increase their video content in 2022.

Learn More: The visual content marketing guide to driving conversions

Theme #7: The Rise of Web 3.0 and the Metaverse(s)

eMarketer reports that 22% of the U.S. and 15% of the U.K. Internet users think brands should advertise in the metaverse. They also found 19% of the U.S. and 13% of the U.K. Internet users think brands should build more branded experiences in the metaverse. Nike and Gucci are big-name brands already hopping on the metaverse, virtual, bandwagon. We highly encourage leadership and marketing to sit down and ideate what their brand and products look like in the metaverse. 

To go more in-depth on each theme, and to learn tips on how to implement it, download the State of User-Generated Content Report for 2022.

7 Marketing Predictions for 2022

So, now you know the marketing themes that we’re currently seeing in early 2022. But what will you see later this year and beyond? The consumer trends shaping 2022 and the above marketing themes led us to make a few surprising, and a few obvious, predictions. 

Here are our predictions for the future of marketing:

#1: We’ll see more strategic and thoughtful campaigns focused directly on engagement and ROI.

#2: To maximize budget, marketers will double-down on user-generated content in their omnichannel distribution, community building strategy, and referral programs.

#3: More brands will incorporate product images and videos from customers across their marketing channels in place of stock photos and brand-created content.

#4: More companies will encourage employees to build personal brands, so they can position themselves and the company as thought leaders and recruit top talent.

#5: Diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) will continue to rise as an important topic and will extend beyond race, gender, and skin color. It will require brands to offer more accessible solutions like closed captions, alt text, and more.

#6: There will be more high-quality video content from brands and creators! Photos are great, but video evokes more personality and makes it easier to connect with audiences. 

#7: Soon, content will be much more than just photos and video. Creating games, digital art, and interactive experiences could be as easy as creating an Instagram Reel or a TikTok video. All of these new content types represent opportunities for brands to engage with their audiences — and we’re already seeing brands introduce their own NFT collections and phygital product offers to generate revenue and build community.

For now, one thing is certain and that is that the long-term viability of the metaverse(s) will require marketers to embrace this brave new world where engagement blends the digital and the physical.

The One Thing Your 2022 Marketing Strategy Needs Most

To implement each of these 7 themes and predictions throughout the entire year will be no easy feat. But it’s easier than you might think. If you’re at a B2C company, there’s one thing your 2022 marketing strategy needs most. It addresses each one of the 7 themes, 7 predictions, and 5 consumer trends, and that’s user-generated content. With a strong UGC strategy, you can:

1. Boost engagement (which leads to ROI)
2. Open up marketing team members’ bandwidth by having them source UGC instead of optimizing branded content for every single platform.
3. Give consumers what they want.
4. Extend the reach of your brand through employees positioned as thought leaders on social.
5. Inherently, naturally, and organically increase DEI content, as sharing more UGC will showcase your diverse audience and make consumers feel more included.
6. Use the visual content, especially video, about your brand that already exists or inspire users to start creating it.
7. Connect with your audience in brand new ways within the metaverse and Web 3.0, and inspire user-generated content in ways that have never been done before.

With TINT, you won’t have to do it alone. Our all-in-one UGC platform lets you execute and track winning UGC campaigns. You can even get help from our UGC experts on brainstorming, strategizing, and optimizing how you use UGC with our Professional Managed services. Build trust, grow engagement, & increase sales with user-generated content through TINT, just like the world’s leading brands. See what TINT can do for you.

The post 7 Marketing Themes and 7 Marketing Predictions for 2022 appeared first on TINT.

All marketing channels benefit from UGC, and that’s what makes it so appealing to brands. UGC is everywhere these days, all over organic social media, email content, digital advertising, websites, brand marketing, and in-person activations.

Every year, we compile a big list of the most important user-generated content marketing stats that you need to know. This year, many of them come directly from original research reported in our State of User-Generated Content report. Will UGC reign supreme again this year? And what do the numbers mean for your marketing strategy?

Here are the key stats on UGC this year and what they mean for your marketing strategy.

Key User-Generated Content Marketing Stats to Remember

1. 64% of consumers agree that when a brand they like and use re-shares content by customers, they are more likely to share content about the brand or its products. (State of User-Generated Content)
2. 76% of consumers have purchased a product because of someone else’s recommendation before. (State of User-Generated Content)
3. 72% of consumers believe that reviews and testimonials submitted by customers are more credible than the brand talking about their products. (State of User-Generated Content)
4. 62% of consumers report that they are more likely to click on content like ads, websites, social posts, or emails, that feature customer photos rather than an image created by the brand. (State of User-Generated Content)
5. 60% of consumers wish that more brands would tell their fans and customers what type of content they want them to create. (State of User-Generated Content)
6. 72% of users will accept a brand’s request to use their content, meaning people are excited to participate when brands ask them for rights to repurpose their content. (TINT)
   

Social Media Marketing Stats

1. 71% of marketers plan on increasing efforts in video content in 2022. (State of User-Generated Content)
2. 64% of consumers have tagged a brand or used a hashtag on social media before. (State of User-Generated Content)
3. 63% of consumers believe that visual testimonials are more credible than written testimonials. (State of User-Generated Content)
4. 62% of consumers report that they are more likely to click on content like ads, websites, social posts, or emails, that feature customer photos rather than an image created by the brand. (State of User-Generated Content)
5. Social media users increased by more than 13% from 2020 to 2021, with nearly a half billion new users joining. This brings the global total of social media users to 4.2 billion in early 2021.
6. Consumers are nearly 3x more likely to engage with a brand’s social media content than any other type of media they create. (State of User-Generated Content)

Email Content Marketing Stats

1. When emails contain user-generated content, click-through rates increase by about 73% and produce more conversions.
2. Consumers over the age of 45 prefer email over social media and other channels. (State of User-Generated Content)
3. 4 out of 5 marketers said they’d rather give up social media than email marketing.
4. 20% of retail, e-commerce, and consumer goods and services companies are personalizing emails based on gender, race, ethnicity.
5. Marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue.
6. Social media, advertising, and email marketing are the top 4 channels marketers are using UGC today. (State of User-Generated Content)
   

Digital Advertising

1. 62% of consumers report that they are more likely to click on content like ads, websites, social posts, or emails, that feature customer photos rather than an image created by the brand. (State of User-Generated Content)
2. Consumers are 4-6X more likely to buy from and advocate for “purpose-driven” companies.
3. Using user-generated content in social media ads can reduce cost-per-click (CPC) by 50%.
4. 6 in 10 marketers report that their audience engages more with UGC in marketing and communications channels than branded content. (State of User-Generated Content)

Web Content Stats

1. There has been an increase of 29% in web conversions when websites featured user-generated content.
2. Websites with featured user content saw a 20% increase in return visitors. Additionally, these websites recorded a 90% increase in time spent on-site.
3. The number of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) users in the United States is forecasted to reach 110 million users by 2023
4. 22% of the U.S. and 15% of the U.K. Internet users think brands should advertise in the metaverse.
5. 49% of marketers agree that the metaverse will impact their brand and marketing strategies in 2022. (State of User-Generated Content)
   

Brand Marketing Stats

1. 65% of consumers agree that it’s important to them to see brands channeling diversity in their brand. (State of User-Generated Content)
2. 45% of consumers agree that they would unfollow a brand due to too much self-promotion. (State of User-Generated Content)
3. 78% of consumers feel that they can tell when a brand is advertising to them. (State of User-Generated Content)
4. 71% of marketers plan on showing more diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility in their content in the future. (State of User-Generated Content)
5. 6 in 10 marketers feel that their organization could do a better job at highlighting participation in social issues. (State of User-Generated Content)
6. 19% of the U.S. and 13% of the U.K. Internet users think brands should build more branded experiences in the metaverse
7. 63% of marketers plan to blend more community voice with their brand voice in 2022.(State of User-Generated Content)
   

eCommerce and Social Commerce Stats

1. 77% of shoppers are more likely to buy from brands that personalize their shopping experience. (State of User-Generated Content)
2. 72% of consumers believe that reviews and testimonials submitted by customers are more credible than the brand talking about their products. (State of User-Generated Content)
3. 76% of consumers have purchased a product because of someone else’s recommendation before. (State of User-Generated Content)
   
4. 75% of consumers report that they are likely to search for reviews and testimonials before making a purchase. (State of User-Generated Content)

Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality Stats

Source: Content Matters as Travel Recovers: Influencing and Activating Travelers

1. Three-quarters or more of travelers were active on at least one social media platform in 2019.
2. The social platforms most commonly used by travelers were Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (with the exception of Chinese users).
3. Younger travelers (under 34) used Facebook as frequently, if not more, than other travelers within their markets.
4. Pre-COVID, 46-85% of socially-engaged travelers used their smartphones for researching airfare, hotel rooms, vacation packages, or in-destination activities, and social content influenced their conversion rates.
5. 70 – 80% of travelers also want to book travel that has flexibility when it comes to canceling or rebooking. Refunds, cancellation, and rebooking options and policies should be clear and easy to find before they move to the booking process. Even better if reviews on social or directory listings tout how easy the process was.
6. About 3/4 of travelers want to be informed about safety precautions before booking, even if particular initiatives are not critical to them, such as cleaning/sanitation procedures and mask requirements.

What Do These Marketing Stats Mean For Your 2022 Strategy?

Based on these marketing stats, the consumer trends shaping the market, and the marketing themes and predictions laid out in our annual research report, the numbers all point towards UGC. Marketers, you’ve got to make sure you’re using your user generated content platform to its fullest this year on all channels.

1. Social Media

   With 4.2 billion people on social media, and it being the place where consumers are 3x more likely to engage with brands, it’s a channel you have to optimize with what consumers want. Right now, that’s video content they can trust from consumers like them.

2. Email

   When emails contain UGC, click-through rates increase by about 73%. Segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue. Use UGC on segmented campaigns to hyper-personalize your recipients’ experience. It may be tedious, but clearly, it has results.
   

3.  Digital Advertising

   Consumers are 62% more likely to click on customer content rather than branded content and are 4-6x more likely to purchase from purpose-driven companies. Make sure to use video UGC that tells your brand’s purpose-driven stories.

4. Web

   UGC increases time on site by 90% and conversions by 29%. Use it on your homepage, product galleries, and review sections. Make sure there’s a diverse set of people portrayed.

5. Brand

   Bring consumers into your brand voice, brand image, and brand experiences.

Hopefully, this serves as a helpful starting point for implementing UGC into your marketing strategy. To dive even deeper, learn how TINT can help you connect with your audience better than ever before through the power of UGC. Schedule a demo to see what TINT’s all-in-one platform and UGC experts can do for you.

The post The User-Generated Content Marketing Stats You Need to Know appeared first on TINT.

1. UGC was helpful for filling in gaps in content calendars. 
2. UGC showed promise in its engagement and conversion rates, in comparison to brand-created content.
3. And UGC helped brands keep tabs on how customers were feeling about their products.

But user-generated content (UGC) is much more than just a “good idea” these days.

It’s not a nice-to-have either.

It’s a must-have because the UGC trends and themes shaping the future of marketing rely on it.

In the State of UGC 2022 report, our research uncovers 5 consumer trends shaping the future of marketing and the marketing themes we’re seeing in 2022. From marketers vying for more engagement and ROI to not having enough team power to keep content published… user-generated content will continue as the MVP of marketing this year. 

More people are creating content online than ever before, even claiming they want brands to tell them what photos, videos, comments, testimonials, and feedback they need. UGC is where consumer trends are heading, and what brands can’t ignore. Here are the consumer UGC trends you need to know, straight from our State of User-Generated Content report. 

Download: The State of User-Generated Content

5 Consumer Trends To Shape Your User-Generated Content (UGC) Strategy

#1: Prioritize Personalized Shopping Experiences 

Personalized shopping became a trend in 2021, and an expectation from consumers. Companies realized all the data they had on social media users and their customers told them exactly what their customers were looking for. Even with iOS 14 changing how much data is available from third parties, companies were still using emails and cookies to get to know their subscribers and customers on an individual basis. 

• 77% of shoppers are more likely to buy from brands that personalize their shopping experience
• 76% of consumers have purchased a product because of someone else’s recommendation before, which personalizes their experience
• 72% of consumers believe that reviews and testimonials submitted by customers are more credible than the brand talking about their products

Despite opting out of personalized advertising across platforms thanks to the iOS 14 update, people are still interested in companies giving them a personalized shopping experience. This can be achieved by learning from the individual user, as well as showcasing UGC to similar consumers.

#2: Create Real Connections through User-Generated Content

Sixty percent of people in a consumer study wished brands would tell them what type of content to create and share. Followers, subscribers, and customers want connections with their favorite brands. Instagram Story shares, mentions, tags, and reposting their content is desired (as long as you have UGC rights management). It’s up to brands to recognize this opportunity and incorporate user-generated content into their marketing strategy and across channels. 

Here’s how to quickly launch a UGC strategy:

1. Specify to your audience and customers how to create UGC you’ll repost. (Tip: This can be done implicitly simply by re-sharing UGC.)
2. Collect, organize, moderate, and distribute content across your marketing channels using the TINT UGC platform.
3. Create social experiences and social walls to motivate your fans, audience, and customers to keep creating UGC after they’ve purchased products.

#3: Showcase Priority on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Marketers learned in 2020 how much their customers cared about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). People aren’t scared to ask their favorite brands to prove they’re doing their part to equal the playing field for people of all backgrounds. The brands that continuously showcase their aligned values with their fans, audience, and subscribers can create real, long-term relationships. 

• 65% of consumers agree that it’s important to them to see brands channeling diversity in their brand.
• 6 in 10 marketers feel that their organization could do a better job at highlighting participation in social issues

And let’s not forget that 72% of consumers believe that reviews and testimonials submitted by customers are more credible than the brand talking about their products. This could certainly be because they like getting input from users that look like them. So, by showcasing a diversity of UGC, you’re helping more people to find what they can trust and relate to.

#4: Use Social Media to Spark Relationships

Social media can build multi-million person audiences for startups, small businesses, and large, well-known companies. In the past two years, we’ve seen Dunkin’ and Chipotle use social media to cultivate a stronger relationship with their Gen Z customers. Through strategic partnerships with influencers like Charli D’Amelio, these brands have turned their social media platforms into user-generated content flywheels. The data says the best way to nurture audience relationships is on social media, particularly through video.

• Consumers are 3X more likely to engage with a brand’s social media content than any other type of content
• 63% of consumers believe that visual testimonials are more credible than written testimonials
• 62% of consumers report that they are more likely to click on content like ads, websites, social posts, or emails, that feature customer photos rather than an image created by the brand.

Related: Learn how Krispy Kreme increased their Instagram followers to 1.6M with TINT and UGC

Related: Learn how Chipotle increased engagement with TINT

#5: The Rise of the Informed Consumer

Influencer marketing is a household term. Gen Z to Boomers are tapped into the reality of their social media feeds, even when there isn’t #ad in the caption. Informed consumers demand marketing transparency and company transparency. People don’t want to be tricked into watching a sales pitch—and if they are, it could lead to lower brand sentiment (for both the brand and influencer). Consumers are more informed than ever, and they’re not easily trusting paid ads or influencers anymore.

Here’s how to market to informed consumers:

1. Use video user-generated content testimonials to showcase raving fans happy with their purchase and brand experience.
2. Add customer voices to your marketing, through written copy and audio.
3. Regularly showcase your sustainable and DEI efforts.

Overall, consumers expect more personalization, more authenticity, and more content they can relate to. And that’s where user-generated content becomes a key player for marketing in 2022. It’s a strategy that doesn’t involve a bigger content product budget or another 3 people on your team. It can integrate into what you’re already doing, and help you get more content published without having to schedule content shoots, videographers, editors, and more.

These consumer trends and stats come directly from TINT research conducted for our State of User-Generated Content report. Download the report to go more in depth, see the marketing themes we’re seeing, and learn winning strategies catered to consumer expectations.

The Future of Marketing is Community

All these user-generated content trends point to community as the future of marketing and the best way to connect with and meet consumer expectations. It can even save the day for marketers by:

• Allowing them to create personalized messaging around specific products and offers
• Not having to produce branded content that won’t perform as well
• Providing a platform for diverse voices that deserve the pedestal
• Navigating the dilemma of marketing to informed consumers who can spot an ad campaign in seconds

Is your brand making the most of social content? With TINT’s experts in your corner, we can help you ideate and execute engaging campaigns that boost your conversions and excite your audience. Organize, get rights to, and repurpose your UGC to your marketing channels—without bringing on an entire team to do it.

Schedule a demo with a TINT specialist to see how your brand can stay on top of consumer trends and the future of marketing.

The post Consumer Trends Shaping UGC appeared first on TINT.

New research stresses the importance of using authentic social media and marketing content for travel-related industries as they recover from the global impacts of COVID-19. Travel-centric brands face a “next normal” in a world where social media adoption and consumer expectations have increased exponentially.

The report, produced by travel research authority PhocusWire in partnership with TINT, finds that many brands are experiencing a temporary spike in participation due to pent-up demand after more than a year of travel restrictions and extended lockdowns. Brands should use this opportunity to lay the groundwork for future success by building relationships, and thus brand affinity, with travelers.

“Now is the time for travel brands, and those with a strong reliance on tourism, to embrace this new paradigm and understand how customer expectations have changed,” said Sameer Kamat, TINT CEO.  “It has never been more important to articulate authenticity, transparency, and trust across all marketing and communications channels.”

Key Takeaways from the Study

• Assuring Safe, Flexible Travel – Travelers and “staycationers” alike are seeking assurances of quality, safety, and flexibility. More than 70% of travelers expect information about rebooking, cancellations, and cleaning protocols to be readily available before they book.
• User-Generated Content over Brand Content – Content created by real consumers and trusted influencers alleviates travel concerns and aids in conversion. 97% of people who were influenced by social media had also discussed a recent leisure trip with a trusted source (via voice call, in-person conversation, or digital methods like email or social media).
• Shoppable Social Commerce – Travelers who were influenced by social content were more likely to book through mobile or social channels. More than 30% of social media users will make at least one purchase directly through their social platform of choice; meaning that brands with an emphasis on social media or digital marketing should also invest in social commerce and shoppable social technologies.
• Staffing Relies on Employee Advocacy – In the face of “The Great Resignation,” brand trust is not only about marketing to the public, but also communicating with current and future employees. Employee Advocacy is taking a step outside of Human Resources and moving closer to Marketing and Communications.
• Brand Trust and Affinity is the Future of Travel Marketing – Trendwatching indicates six social-driven trends that will affect tourism and hospitality organizations for the next three years: Social Commerce, physical and digital accessibility, hybrid experiences, sustainability, the new Business Travel, and Hyper-personalization.

The report also considers the impact of COVID-19 on traveler expectation and social media usage, along with “The Way Forward”, a framework for the creation and application of social content by travel brands.

The report is available at https://www.go.tintup.com/ugc-influencing-activating-travelers-report

The post New Report Emphasizes Importance of Authentic Content for Tourism and Hospitality Industries appeared first on TINT.

9 Visual Content Trends to Watch (And Try Out!)

Would be customers might not care about the bells and whistles of a product as much as they want to see how other happy customers are using the product in real-time. They want the story that lets them experience the result or solution a product offers.

In addition to persuasive copy, visuals are a huge part of storytelling. Even Twitter (a platform built primarily for text content) mined their data and found that tweets with photos get more engagement and responses than those without. 

#1: Optimism

Marketers use optimism to position companies in positive perspectives. They use visual storytelling to talk about how the brand is lifting others up through their products and why the viewer wants to be part of this community (by buying the product).

This is one of our visual content trends to watch because brands are using optimism to lift up their audience and relate to their desire for more positivity.

Delta engages with their audience on Twitter to ask them where their dream vacation spot is. While this tweet doesn’t rely on a visual image, it’s structured in the same way an ad spot on a subway advertisement would look (including the line where people can “fill in” the blank). Not only does this create great user-generated content for Delta to use in the future, but it also gives them a quick survey of where people are interested in vacationing. We’ll be keeping an eye out to see if Delta comes out with a campaign for the most requested spot in the future…

#2: Nostalgia

Disposable cameras, scrunchies, and bell bottoms are cool again, giving us a reminder that nostalgia should be used in marketing campaigns. One scroll through Netflix and you’ll see reboots of shows that went off air years ago.

This is a trend to watch because consumers are loving the idea of a flash from the past and we’re seeing that in graphic design, photography, and other visual creative assets.

 #3: Diversity

Authentic representation in marketing is crucial moving forward. Brands are put in the spotlight by unhappy consumers if they’re not diversifying their products and campaign photos.

“2021 will be the year to show how different people are and how rich our planet is exactly for that. The trend is to use images of real people with their own characteristics, flaws, and uniqueness.” -(99 Designs)

We’ve seen diversity as a huge conversation topic in the fashion and beauty industry for years. Now, we’re also seeing it take part in other industries as well. Everyone and every company is being held accountable for being inclusive in their content, whether they’re a startup or a Fortune 500 company.

#4: Natural 

It’s clear that consumers aren’t into heavily edited photos anymore. They want the most realistic depiction of what it’s like to use a product which is putting an emphasis on real people.  We see this shift coming as more consumers showcase their trust for user-generated content over branded-created content.

That’s why natural, minimal editing, no retouching, and leaving manipulation behind is one of our visual content trends to watch. Natural content is… natural!

Traeger Grills avoids highly-produced content on their Instagram feed and instead highlights UGC and mobile phone-style photos and images.

#5: Video

One word: TikTok. We’ve seen a huge rise in video adoption over the past two years and TikTok has become one of the most influential platforms in visual content trends. Even platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter have found new ways for their users to create short-form videos for their audiences. Video has taken over as a way for consumers to give product reviews, showcase their thought leadership, or find creative ways to integrate their favorite products into their videos.

The hashtag #dunkin (representative of Dunkin’ the coffee and donut franchise) has been viewed over 3.6 billion times on TikTok.

Even with people’s attention spans becoming seemingly shorter, long-form content continues to do extremely well. Hootsuite reports that people watch over one billion hours of YouTube videos per day. Videos on product demos, how-to’s, vlogs, trick shots, gaming, and more are driving views (lots and lots of views).

#6: Audio-visuals

Audio-visuals describe a static image with audio playing over it. This is becoming more and more normal, especially as platforms like Clubhouse rise to fame. Despite not technically having a visual component to their content, Clubhouse users can still watch their screen to see who’s talking and click around on profiles while people are talking the Room. 

The Marketing Millennials podcast shares audiovisuals to promote their recent episodes on LinkedIn. 

#7: Gifs and Memes

When brands started hiring Chief Meme Officers, we knew that GIFs and memes were officially part of marketing strategies. If you don’t have a dedicated folder or Slack channel for relatable GIFs and memes that you can share on your marketing channels with your audience—it’s time to create one. This type of content is entertaining and social, playing on a relatability factor to position a brand as a friend.

Co-founder and face of Sweat, Kayla Itsines, regularly uses memes to engage with her Instagram audience of 12.8 million followers.

#8: Blended User-Generated Content and Brand Content

The Marriott has seen the impact of user-generated content on their engagement and conversions through working with TINT and using our UGC Studio. Their social media strategy is to blend user-generated content with their high-quality company-created content. 

User-generated content is more authentic and trustworthy than company-created content. But, we get it. Your customers can’t get those perfect aerial shots or aren’t always able to get all of the products you want in one photo. We’re seeing the trend for both UGC and brand-created content across different industries as they all rely more and more on UGC to tell their brand story. 

#9: Aesthetically Pleasing

Before you start putting your brand colors together, we don’t mean that you need to create aesthetically pleasing content with the same strategy you did in 2017. While similarly filtered, high-quality, stock-looking photos were in then, that’s not what we’re talking about today. Aesthetically pleasing brands are going in on their brand colors and creating genuine and authentic content. 

Check out Sunwink, a plant-powered beverage company that’s not only blending UGC and company content—but also maintaining a cohesive color palette and brand feel.

Add Appealing Visual Content that Matches Trends

UGC Studio is the advanced owned and earned visual asset management platform to customize photos, edit, and create dynamic content like videos and GIFs to share across your marketing channels. Edit, and save multiple versions of visual content without using designers or expensive programs like Photoshop.

We’ve built UGC Studio to be a productive part of your visual content creation process with transformation workflows that can be automated to save time on repetitive actions like resizing or changing dimensions for different social networks.

Discover how TINT UGC Studio can help you stay always on top of visual trends and save time organizing and repurposing stunning content at scale. Schedule a time with our content specialists today.

The post 9 Visual Content Trends to Watch appeared first on TINT.

Social media algorithms certainly have a mind of their own, but that’s not the reason engagement is so difficult right now. In our annual State of User-Generated Content Report, we saw a theme that affected everyone; boutique to enterprise.

Where’s The Battle Coming From?

When we talk about engagement, we cover external strategies like writing copy that drives digital engagement, making sure to use Instagram stickers to get users to interact with your stories, or not being afraid to ask your audience to share your posts.

This year, we’re finding the problem is internal. Seventy-two percent of marketers reported having more job responsibilities in 2020 than in 2019 because of the pandemic.

Our 2021 State of User-Generated Content Report found three places the battle for engagement is coming from:

1. Marketers don’t have the time to create social and visual content
2. Budgets cuts are creating content production constraints
3. Teams aren’t big enough to handle consistent content production

As the world becomes increasingly hungry for more and more content, marketers are struggling to keep up. Add a pandemic into the mix, and the picture starts to paint itself.

Here’s a breakdown of how time, budget, and team size create a battle for engagement we’ve never experienced before—and how marketers are combating it.

Marketer’s Are Feeling a Time Crunch

More than half of marketers we surveyed this year (52%) believe time is a challenge for social and visual content production. Last year only 36% of marketers found time a challenging part of their role. 

As consumers look for brands to be omnipresent and top-of-mind to win the sale—marketers are feeling a time crunch.

Creating content for multiple platforms rarely happens at the click of a button. Consumers don’t want to see the same content spammed across each marketing channel. They’ve become savvy to this efficient marketing trick and less responsive. Copy and pasted content without ensuring it looks native to the platform can be easily spotted by modern consumers.

In 2020, each channel required the most relevant content that suited what consumers wanted to see. As Yazmin Slim, Digital Marketing Manager of Universal Pictures, reflects, 

“Social media content that is spontaneous, and sometimes even risky, can see huge returns.” 

Consumers are asking brands to constantly create new content. With marketers to-do lists running longer than ever before—engagement dwindles as the less engaging content gets repurposed for the sake of publishing something.

Budget Costs Are Creating Constraints

Alongside feeling like there’s not enough time in the day, marketers are also facing pandemic-induced budget cuts. More than half of marketers (51.5%) experienced a reduction in marketing budget in 2020. 

Yet, the content machine can’t stop. A reduced budget does not give the green light for engagement to tank—marketers are still focused on keeping digital engagement high. The problem is that creating content can cost a lot. Location shoots, product shoots, post-production, and everything in-between can cost 6+ figures. In 2020, more brands were focused on keeping money in their pockets for an upcoming rainy day and not in their marketing budget. 

To save their wallets, brands leaned on their customers to create content for them. Take a look at Chipotle’s ‘Make Your Order Famous’ campaign that asked fans to share a creative TikTok explaining why their Chipotle order is ‘superior’ for a chance to win $10,000 cash and have their order featured at Chipotle. By having fans create and distribute their brand for them, Chipotle reduced its budget while still increasing engagement cleverly.

Teams Aren’t Big Enough

Marketing budget costs lead to less money allocated to content production and less money for the marketing team. Our 2021 State of User-Generated Content Report found 41.2% of our respondents feel headcount is a challenge for social and visual content production.

With a small team, marketers have to be picky about what they’ll spend their time and money on. Projects have to bring a high chance of garnering the engagement they’re aiming for. If not, they wasted time they could have used trying another campaign that could have helped them achieve their metric goals. When time and budget constraints are always top-of-mind, making high-pressure decisions to prioritize specific projects became a task marketers didn’t expect would be so crucial going into 2020.

As marketing teams are asked to take on more responsibilities, marketers’ project lists just keep growing. While they try to distribute it amongst their teams, budget costs keep them from doing all that they could be to be omnipresent and drive engagement. 

That’s where user-generated content (UGC) plays a role. Like Chipotle’s brilliant move to take the role of creating content off of their team and place it on their (very!) willing customers, marketers and brands realize UGC is their answer.

UGC requires less time to create, a smaller budget, and doesn’t require the support of a large marketing team. When users, customers, or fans take photos, record videos, comment, leave a review, or create a testimonial, brands can repurpose that content across their social channels. Using TINT’s UGC Rights Management tools, they can feel safe and risk-free that the content they repurpose is allowed to be used. 

LinkedIn, Verizon, Nike, Coca-Cola, Marriot, and more leading brands use TINT to find, organize, and repurpose user-generated content across their marketing channels, both virtually and physically. While the battle for engagement lives on for other brands, these brands are finding a way around it with UGC that increases engagement and conversions.

We’re predicting the battle for digital engagement will put up a good fight in 2021. As the pandemic continues to be a part of our daily lives, time, budget, and team sizes will continue to feel the pressure of doing business in the middle of a global crisis. This is only one of five themes we found that will impact how marketing is done in 2021 from our survey of leading brands. To read all 5 themes, download our 2021 State of User-Generated Content Report.

The post The 2021 Battle for Digital Engagement appeared first on TINT.

Download the State of UGC 2021 Report

This year our findings demonstrate the importance of incorporating your customers’ voices as a core element of your marketing and brand strategy. Our research uncovered five critical themes using data from 5,000+ customers and perspectives from leading practitioners and strategists across industries. These themes cover topics from improving marketing efficacy to activating the ultimate conversion tool using social commerce. 

Don’t miss the State of UGC 2021.

Important User-Generated Content Statistics

93% of marketers agree that consumers trust content created by people more than content created by brands. Learn more in the State of UGC 2021 report.

• 93% of marketers agree that consumers trust content created by real people rather than content created by brands. 
• 75% of marketers are currently working with micro- or nano-influencers.
• 72.2% of marketers report having more job responsibility now compared to 2019
• 52% of marketers find time a major challenge when it comes to content production
• 51.5% of marketers faced a budget reduction in 2020. Only 16.9% saw budget growth.
• 41.2% of marketers report that engagement is their top performance metric
• 33.3% of marketers say one of their top challenges is creating enough content (volume) to meet their marketing objectives
• 24x: the number of times a brand message is reshared when distributed by employees.

Major Themes in the State of UGC

Theme 1: The Battle for Engagement

Engagement is a leading indicator of brand health. People, that is customers and prospects, will only engage with a brand that is interesting, present, and active. That consistent expectation of engagement can be a challenge when you realize that 72% of marketers have more responsibilities than ever. 

Producing a significant enough amount of content for all channels, social or otherwise, has caused a time crunch for most marketers. Consumers are quick to recognize when brands are cross-posting content rather than posting the most relevant content to each specific channel. Marketers must find ways to connect and build trust without falling behind in their content output. 

Feeling the crunch? Learn how top marketers are using UGC to maximize their content strategy. 

Theme 2: Omnichannel is No Longer Optional

Most marketers struggle to feed the ever-growing beast of content needs. There are more social channels and content networks than ever. Customers are fragmented across channels. Gone are the days you could pick just one, now your customers expect to find you wherever they are.

What social platform does your organization plan to increase the most activity during 2021? Compare with other marketers. 

Each distribution channel and social platform requires its own strategy. Social media cannot be relegated to the intern or the junior social manager. Social media managers now require a seat at the table to help brands connect with consumers and committing social faux-pas. 

Do you have the right content for the right channel? The State of UGC 2021 explores the unique experiences of each social platform. 

Theme 3: Influencer Marketing has a New Definition

Gone are the days of the mega-influencers with seven-figure price tags. Influencers are around us every day. They are active on every platform, every channel, and in real life. “Real influencers” are more effective, cost-effective, and accessible than big-ticket virtual celebrities. More so, their recommendations come off as authentic and sincere. You may see an ad, and not realize it is one.

75% of marketers are working with small, nano, and micro-influencers as part of their 2021 marketing programs. Is your interaction social or parasocial? Discover the difference in the State of UGC. 

Theme 4: Social Meets eCommerce

Special things happen when social media meets eCommerce. Social Commerce is a disruptive strategy that is changing the future of shopping. As people increasingly buy online, they expect a seamless customer experience. They want to buy the things they see on social and in video without ever leaving their platform of choice. 

This has lead to eCommerce operators producing shopping opportunities that are safe, convenient, and hyper-personalized. Simple algorithmic recommendations are passe, now customers expect brands to intuitively understand their needs. The world’s top brands are using UGC to resonant with this generation of digitally-savvy consumers. 

Shoppable Social and Social Commerce are the future. Don’t be left behind. Download the State of UGC report.

Theme 5: The Rise of Virtual and Hybrid Events

The pandemic brought the events, hospitality, and tourism industries crashing to a halt. But the gears of progress are never to be stopped. Virtual events found a foothold in the industry, but new interactions are starting to spring up. 

Know the difference between a hybrid event and a hub-and-spoke? Learn about the rise of new event formats in the State of UGC 2021 report.

UGC and marketing with authenticity remain the most powerful way to engage with customers and increase conversions. Download the State of UGC 2021 report or, better yet, schedule time with one of our UGC specialists to learn how TINT helps the world’s top brands achieve their marketing goals.

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