User-Generated Content For Retail Businesses
When you’re a retail business and you’re pushing great products that customers are using in their everyday life, it’s not enough for you to be telling your followers how great your products are—when you count on user-generated content for your social media platforms, your customers will be telling your other customers and your potential customers how great your products are.
And if you’re not relying on user-generated content for your retail business…well, you’re missing a chance for easy, effective addition to your social media marketing strategy. Which is exactly why you should start using it!
And don’t go assuming that user-generated content is something that only major, big businesses use, or that because you’re a small, locally-owned shop, this doesn’t apply to you. Small, local businesses absolutely can and should use user-generated content.
Furthermore, think about it this way—you probably have personal relationships with your customers and your social media followers that a big business would not be able to have. You might even be close friends or neighbors with some of your customers. That’s a great head start because these friend-customers (or customer-friends, however you want to think of them) are more likely to shout you out and are easier for you to contact if you want to get content from them.
Why Retail Shops Should Share User-Generated Content
Before we delve into what kinds of user-generated content you should be getting or how you can go about getting it, it helps to understand why so many businesses rely on user-generated content. Why is it considered a good marketing strategy?
For starters, it works
When your social media followers see a product review or a testimonial about the customer service at your store, it feels much more authentic to hear it coming from another customer instead of coming from you.
“Of course they are going to say they have great products and reasonable prices,” your followers might say. “They own the business. It’s part of their job to make it sound great.”
But when you’re sharing content on social media that’s come from satisfied customers, then your other followers will see this as more trustworthy.
It’s about building relationships
Social media is social. Interacting with your followers and getting to know them is part of the process. If you come across as this aloof, nameless business, it won’t matter how helpful or exciting your product line is—people won’t want to interact with you on social media. When you ask to share another user’s content related to your business, it’s your way of saying, “Your content is precious to me. I like this a lot. I want to make sure everyone sees what you have to say.”
This encourages that user to hype you up even more on social media, and it encourages others to do the same. People want to know their content is valued. And they love to be recognized for the content they’re creating too.
Finally, it’s free content
When it comes to cultivating a social media presence for your shop, think about all the photos of your products you have to stage, the catchy copy text you have to write, and maybe even the graphics you have to create. It takes time and energy. If you’re paying somebody else to do it, then it costs you money.
But content created by your followers is free. It keeps your social media calendar full without a lot of extra effort on your part.
How Can Retail Shops Get Customers to Create Content?
People who are active on social media love to create content—and they’re usually more than happy to shout out a favorite business, especially if they think they’ll get some exposure for it.
Let people know about your accounts and hashtags
The next time you’re ringing up a customer, let them know you would love to see pictures of them enjoying their new purchases, so they should tag your business in anything they post to social media. If your shop stocks products that are made by other companies, such as an independent artisan or crafter, make sure those account handles or relevant hashtags are available to your customers as well. When you’re tagged in pictures or posts, ask whether you can share.
Organize in-store events
Sometimes the best way to encourage posting from your customers is to give them a reason to post. While some people think of shopping as an experience, a lot of people don’t—so you have to offer them an experience inside your business. Schedule open houses with refreshments, product launches, sample days, or even demonstrations such as from an artisan or crafter who makes the products you sell. This will get people in your store and have them posting photos to various social media platforms.
Start a consistent sharing routine
There’s always the risk that people will lose interest in posting about your business if you’re not engaging with them consistently. Aim to share a post from a customer or follower at least once a week or even more often if the content is available.