The most efficient way to deliver high fidelity personalization in your daily email, and drive over 11x return on spend (works seamlessly with your existing email service provider).
Infinitely expand your brands photography with Curator™ AI. Generate new product photography that’s indistinguishable from the originals, and combines multiple products together.
Create, manage, deploy, and target an unlimited number of personalized messages. Deliver any of the messages from your pool through a single image URL and link embedded within email, SMS, mobile, or on your website.
Zembula connects with any enterprise data source. If you don’t see a specific data source here or have a custom data source, we will always connect it for free.
The most efficient way to deliver high fidelity personalization in your daily email, and drive over 11x return on spend (works seamlessly with your existing email service provider).
Infinitely expand your brands photography with Curator™ AI. Generate new product photography that’s indistinguishable from the originals, and combines multiple products together.
Create, manage, deploy, and target an unlimited number of personalized messages. Deliver any of the messages from your pool through a single image URL and link embedded within email, SMS, mobile, or on your website.
Integrations
Connect with 100+ integrations
Zembula connects with any enterprise data source. If you don’t see a specific data source here or have a custom data source, we will always connect it for free.
How Retailers Can Tap Into User Generated Content To Convert More Customers
Retails are always out there looking for an edge. With email marketing, something that’s seemingly small, just a lift in 1% in the open, click, and conversion rates can translate into a big boost in sales.
One way to help improve your email marketing is to start including some user-generated content (UGC). This content is invaluable. It’s essentially no cost to your brand, and it does make a real difference to consumers.
The evidence bears out that, in retail, especially. That includes user-generated content in marketing campaigns, which has been shown to increase conversion. A study by Yotpo found significant jumps in conversion rates (from 80 to over 200%) in apparel, fitness, food, electronic and health and beauty brands that included UGC in their marketing.
Here are a few ways retailers can start using UGC to convert more customers.
Ask for reviews, ratings, and testimonials
If you don’t have reviews and ratings ready to go on your site, all is not lost. All you have to do is start asking for them.
Many brands create a post-purchase email campaign that is geared toward nurturing the relationship with consumers who have already bought. Part of that is asking for their feedback on your products and services.
By simply asking your customers to give you their thoughts and opinions, you’re building a good relationship with them. Not to mention, you’re also creating user-generated content that you can then utilize to attract more customers.
Highlight reviews and ratings
One of the easiest ways to start incorporating user-generated content into your marketing is to start with reviews and ratings. Many brands now highlight ratings on products on their websites.
This approach isn’t just an empty gesture. Research shows that when consumers see product ratings and reviews throughout the sales funnel, they are more likely to buy. Plus, seeing at least five reviews, as well as recent reviews, also builds trust with the brand.
So, showcase the reviews and ratings you have for your products.
Capitalize on user-generated content
If there’s one thing you should know about the internet, it’s full of really creative people. What you need to do is find and boost who is creating content around your products and services.
One recent example is Ocean Spray. In late 2020, a viral TikTok took off when Nathan Apodaca took a video of himself skateboarding while listening to Fleetwood Mac and drinking Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry juice.
This short video took the internet by storm. It was a boost for both Ocean Spray and Fleetwood Mac and unleashed all sorts of related user-generated content. Members from the band, other celebrities, and even the CEO of Ocean Spray all released short videos of them copying this feelgood video.
Make your customers the stars
One of the best things about user-generated content is you’re getting the real, authentic opinion of your customers. And when they love your product enough to make a video or share their thoughts on social media, it’s a great way to highlight them.
Virtually all consumers search reviews before they shop online. And, those consumers also tend to trust the opinions and reviews of strangers before what you say about your own brand. Showcasing user-generated content helps close that trust gap. The social proof consumers see from other customers just like them matters and can help nudge them in the direction of buying.
Embrace user-generated content
Here’s the cool thing, once you’ve started stockpiling testimonials and product reviews from user-generated content, you can start using it all over your email marketing. There are plenty of benefits to doing it.
Adding at least a few forms of UGC into your marketing can give wary consumers just enough push they need to turn into buyers. For many brands, especially smaller retail and mom and pop shops, those gains matter.
Just a small lift in conversion rates can end up making a huge difference in your bottom line. What brand doesn’t want more of that?
Liz Froment
Liz Froment is a content writer at Zembula. A graduate of University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Liz is a travel aficionado, Boston sports fan, and maple syrup connoisseur.
User-generated content is all the rage right now. Brands are incorporating it into everything from social media campaigns to television ads to, you guessed it, email marketing.
There are plenty of reasons why user-generated content (UGC) is hot right now, with no signs of slowing down. Part of it is because it provides a lot of benefits to both brands and customers.
Here, we’re going to break down the biggest benefits of user-generated content and why so many brands are tapping into it more often. Chances are, at least a few of these will convince you to use UGC in your next email campaign, if you aren’t already.
Let’s dig into it.
Benefit #1: It converts people into customers
This is a big one. Every brand wants to get more people shopping, and it’s difficult. Even the best companies with killer marketing skills usually drive only a small percentage of people to buy.
So, any lift you can get in your conversion rates can make a difference. UGC helps. In a recent study, customers who were shown user-generated content during their shopping experience were more likely to buy compared to those who weren’t.
Benefit #2: It puts customers front and center
Sure, having a famous spokesperson can do wonders for your brand. But, you might be surprised to learn just how much the opinions, ratings, and reviews of regular people matter to your customers.
Featuring lots of user-generated content in your marketing helps show off your best asset, your current happy customers, to potential buyers. What they have to say can make a huge impact on shoppers.
Benefit #3: It’s unique
One of the great gifts of the internet and social media is its ability to find some amazingly unique content created by everyone, from teens to grandmas, in their homes at the beach, and everywhere in between.
When you make UGC the focus of your marketing, you can mine the internet for all sorts of killer creative content. And, you can even ask people to create it by introducing contests and campaigns around their thoughts of your products or services.
Benefit #4: It’s free
Do you spend a lot of time nervously eyeing your marketing budget? Incorporating user-generated content is a great way to help stretch your budget. When you’re relying on others to create your content, you don’t have to spend a ton of money making it yourself.
Now, that’s not to say you’re off the hook. You still have to find creative ways to adapt and showcase the UGC you do get in ways that engage your current customers.
Benefit #5: It helps build trust
One of the most important things any brand needs to do to succeed is building trust with customers. It’s harder than you might think. As much as you want to let them know they can trust what you have to say, it’s often the opinions and reviews of others (who are just like them) that stands out.
Something that really matters to consumers is that UGC is authentic. These are real thoughts by real people, so it adds yet another layer of social proof to your brand.
Benefit #6: It’s personal
Personalization is another trend that has been hot in email marketing for the last few years. Consumers want to see the content that matters to them and their interests. In fact, nearly three-quarters of consumers are willing to give you all sorts of data and information for more personalized ads, so expect you to deliver.
So a benefit of user-generated content is it can help you deliver that personalized content. When you understand what resonates with your customers, you can start sending them more personalized content that will drive interest and engagement.
Benefit #7: It helps boost your other marketing channels
While we’re all about email here, there’s no denying it’s just one tool in your overall marketing arsenal. Social media is another huge part of how many brands get out the word and connect with consumers.
So, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that your social media is another way to share what’s happening with your customers. Plus, since most UGC gets generated on social media, it’s actually a great place to mine for more content for your emails too.
As you can see, there are plenty of benefits to user-generated content. All you need to do is start incorporating it into your marketing.
Liz Froment
Liz Froment is a content writer at Zembula. A graduate of University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Liz is a travel aficionado, Boston sports fan, and maple syrup connoisseur.
