Last week I was speaking to a friend of mine, who works in social media, about my recent foray into blogging. After asking me what I would be blogging about (digital marketing) he told me that I should write a post about user-generated content (UGC) as it was such a huge deal in the digital marketing world right now. I smiled and quickly agreed that it was a great topic to write about while trying to hide the fact that . . . I have basically no idea what it means.
Which is ridiculous! Surely a marketing student should have a pretty good idea of what UCG is! I mean I get the general idea of it, but if someone walked up to me and asked me for a definition and an explanation they would be met with a blank stare while I slowly backed away. So I decided to get my head firmly around the concept by attempting to write a blog about it.
The simplest way to define UGC would be to say that it can be any data or media that is contributed/created by individual users of a publication, particularly websites. Pretty much it is the production of content by the general public rather than by paid professionals.
For example..
Write a product review? = UGC
Comment on a business’ Facebook status? = UGC
Make a video on YouTube? = UGC
Interact on social media? = UGC
Write a blog about UGC? = UGC
Content that is created by users is becoming increasing popular in the digital world, with many of the most frequently visited sites on the Internet being primarily user generated, such as Wikipedia and YouTube. Other websites like Amazon and eBay utilise UGC to augment their already existing websites through reviews and user interaction.
The interesting thing about UGC is the change it has had on the relationship between consumers and companies, with organisations now shifting from influencing consumers directly through advertising to instead mediating the influence that consumers have on each other! So, instead of a company spending money trying to make you buy/like their product, they instead create the opportunity for YOU to tell/influence other people to like the product. By creating UGC, consumers’ choices and opinions become more transparent while their actions and decisions shape the behaviour of other consumers.
Watch how Sears in the US uses UGC to their advantage
Who knows where UGC will progress to in the future! What do you think of UGC, is it a handy tool for marketing? Or an unreliable mass of random information?
– Todd
mymarketingtoddyssey 
I also didn’t really know what UCG meant. Thanks for explaining it so well! It is amazing how marketing is becoming a 2 way conversation between the customers and the organisations. It will be interesting to see how UCG evolves even more.
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Thanks for the clarification on UGC. I think what Sears has done is really clever. For a small amount of follow up effort they are significantly enhancing their brand image through their consumers. The use of UGC is potentially a way to keep companies honest and create greater value for their consumers. Thanks for a great read!
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Cheers for the heads up, I had no idea what it was either!!
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I think UGC is only going to become more prominent as consumers become increasingly dependent upon the reviews and opinions of others and more desensitised to marketing communications. It can be really helpful for an organisation, but only if users post the right content! It’ll be interesting to see in the future how businesses react and try and shape UGC.
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Might not even need to post ads in the future 😉 the consumer might do all the marketing for them haha
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