Could User-Generated Content Open Young Consumers’ Hearts?

User-generated content (UGC) — defined asOpens a new window “any type of content that has been created and put out there by unpaid contributors or, using a better term, fans” — is hardly a new concept.

Since the launch of YouTube in 2005, people’s interest and demand in videos made by, and often times featuring, regular Janes and Joes has skyrocketed.

That fascination with UGC, in fact, precedes the modern internet. America’s Funniest Home Videos, for instance, which debuted in 1989, was originally intended as an hour long, one-off special. It was such an unexpected success that the network, ABC, turned it into a regular weekly program.

Indeed, people are seemingly drawn to original content made by, well, other ‘nobodies.’

However, thanks to the development of digital media-sharing platforms, the way consumers view and relate to that type of content has changed. UGC is everywhereOpens a new window and young digital audiences — the “YouTube generation” — have grown up consuming it day in and day out.

YouTube may be the first brand that comes to mind as the home of video UGC, but it’s one of many big names that thrives on content, especially video, produced and uploaded by the public.

At its peak, video-sharing app Vine counted 200 million monthly active users before its parent company, Twitter, shut it downOpens a new window . Meanwhile, Snapchat, which boasts some 100 million monthly active users in North America alone, has remained a mainstay among the most popular social media apps.

Then there’s Facebook and Instagram, which have increasingly focused on encouraging users to create and share more content. The ever-popular ‘stories’ functions on both social media platforms are attractive and easy-to-consume ways of packaging UGC.

Add the explosion in popularity of apps and programs solely dedicated to UGC. Video game culture has helped live streaming platforms such as Twitch and Mixer become major brands while even more recently, UGC-driven video-sharing apps including TikTok have fast become the rageOpens a new window .

TikTok, as I wrote recently, is the hottest app on the market and has been “the most downloaded app in the iOS App StoreOpens a new window from January 2018 til March of this year – five consecutive quarters.” It already has more than 800 million installations and 500 million active users.

TikTok’s main rival, Triller, has also been making waves, and in the past few weeks secured a $28 million Series B investment.

Why marketers should care

My point: UGC is arguably the most popular form of digital content in the game.

More importantly, companies have taken note and developed UGC-specific tools, technologies and strategies to help individuals better create and share images, memes, blogs and videos with other consumers.

So we’re seeing a rising and pervasive culture in which people create UGC. From sharing photos of the food we order at restaurants, to folks walking down the street vlogging on their phones, to our Instagram stories — people everywhere, particularly younger generations, are sharing and consuming this content with gusto.

Why? Because that’s what others want to consume. This type of content grabs our attention on social channels — and triggers our engagement, big-time.

Think about the rate at which the biggest viral challenges spread. From the “ice bucket challenge” to the #trashtag movement, their popularity centered on public enthusiasm to get in on the action.

That’s why you should care.

Younger audiences including Generation Z, which have been extremely difficult to reachOpens a new window through traditional advertising channels and tactics, don’t want to buy from and engage with companies that treat them as “sales targets.”

Rather, they respond well to brands they perceive as authenticOpens a new window and honest. And UGC reeks of authenticity because, ultimately, it’s authentic.

The opportunity for brands lies not in crafting a ‘UGC strategy’ to be treated as yet another direct marketing play. Instead, it should be seen as a way to engage with younger consumers and reach them on their level.

In essence, it’s a form of content marketing, which is defined by Google as “a type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material (such as videos, blogs, and social media posts) that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services.”

Brands can use hashtags and launch challenges that encourage people to post their own content in response. Inciting that level of involvement creates a connection between the brand and consumer.

Marketers that effectively use UGC will identify ways to engage with and relate to people online, rather than market at them. And those who do it right will reap the rewards.