User Generated Content (UGC) is content that someone outside of your company generates. It is likely generated about your brand whether or not you are aware of it. It is authentic, using keywords that the consumer uses. So why not provide a forum on your website for it and let your users help improve and market your business?
UGC has many benefits:
- Rich keywords for SEO that your marketing department may not have thought of
- Additional and fresh content for SEO
- A reason for users to drive traffic to your site
- Community development and participation chain extension: Users who contribute content to your site have an investment and are more engaged
- Reduction in customer support/ service calls and expenses
- Product development. If you can create an engaged community of users, they can help you improve and develop products.
Types of UGC that can be incorporated into your site:
- Blog comments and conversations
- Twitter/ Facebook streams
- Ratings & Reviews
- Forums (Ask & Answer type platforms)
- Wishlists
- Photo & Video Galleries
- Polls & Surveys
- “Like” buttons
Invite to Pimp Your Blog
A great recent example I witnessed of using a blog (and Twitter) to create UGC and engagement was from someone I follow on Twitter, social media strategist Danny Brown. Danny sent out a tweet inviting his followers to shamelessly promote their blog. I hadn’t read Danny’s blog until he gave me this opportunity. He gained a new follower (probably many) out of the invitation. He introduced his community to each other’s interests and blogs. He drove traffic (and links—key for SEO) to his site and created conversations (172 comments to date) with people. You can see this example at http://dannybrown.me/2010/02/18/an-invite-to-pimp-your-blog/.
