Let’s suppose you are shopping for a new pair of shoes and scanning all the stores for that one perfect pair. You enter a shop and the salesperson is making you try all the shoes saying this is the best. As you try on shoes a friend points out and says- this will look good.
Who will you listen to at that point- the salesperson or the friend? It is true that a salesperson at stores knows everything about shoes from sole to color to range and type. But, because you know that your friend only wants the best for you and has no sales targets to achieve, you take their word and buy those shoes.
That is how user generated content works in real life. It is a fact that people rely on words of other consumers while making purchasing decisions.
Lately, many brands are picking up the significance of UGC marketing and including it on different digital marketing touchpoints such as websites to boost conversions and build trust. But , not many know that UGC can be used in offline stores too.
Effects of UGC on Retail Shopping Behavior
E-commerce business is booming these days whereas offline stores are seeing the doom. The reason for the former’s success is that it is easier for consumers to arrive at a decision when they could know about the product by looking at other consumers’ pictures.
Many online retail websites have placed user-generated content in the review section which allows the person to get the real reviews on the product- the color, the fit, the material quality etc, all through the words of people who have bought the product earlier.
Just as an online brand, a well placed UGC can bring faster checkouts and promised sales to a business in the offline world too. As product research has become important for today’s consumers, it has therefore become the need of the time to introduce them with real users’ reviews at brick and mortar stores as well.
This means to capture their attention and engage them with UGC and faster the sales process. The interaction part can be managed by using a dynamic social wall displayed through digital signage at stores.
Social wall is nothing but a collection of all the posts across various social media platforms that brand users’ have shared about their experience with its product and services.
When a person enters the store, he/she would be instantly attracted towards the dynamic display of social media posts of consumers like him/her. This kind of interactive experience would leave a lasting impression on store visitors’ minds in terms of both uniqueness and authenticity.
Still not convinced?
Here’s why by displaying UGC at stores could bring unprecedented profits and customer engagement to your business-
You will save money on content creation
And let your team to focus on different content marketing channels. Constant content creation for various marketing touchpoints takes the creative soul out of a brand’s team. Because no channel is the same so no same content can be used for all social media channels. Well, not in case of user-generated content.
It can be used at all marketing touchpoints with no pressure on content creation. The focus here is just on content curation which can be made possible by means of any social media aggregator too.
A social media aggregator tool will effectively pick the best of user-generated content from different social media networks saving hours of business’s time, money and resources. The original content is also going to engage the users coming at the stores.
People Prefers Authentic Content
Whose words are you going to believe- brand’s advertisement or the close friend who doesn’t stop praising his favourite product. Consumers trust other consumers, not the brands, not mega celebrities or influencers! Just people like them. Why ? Because common people don’t get paid to advertise for a brand. Their feedback comes from actual experiences with a product.
Even research studies have proved that the genuine appeal of UGC helps more in conversions than branded content. By displaying UGC through digital screens at stores, managers could improve their sales numbers without even pestering the customers with their rehearsed sales pitch.
Brings Higher Customer Engagement
By using UGC at retail stores, brands can involve the customers in two way communication. When users see the posts from people like them being showcased at the stores they become curious and take their time to know more about the brand. They also witness the kind of relationship a brand shares with its existing consumers.
Users feel that the brand values its consumers and they too want to be a part of its community. Also, having UGC screened at shops let the users participate in the brand’s social media activities. The increased engagement drives conversions as well as builds brand trust in the market.
Boost The Additional Revenue
The entire point of any business is consumer conversion. UGC sees that for a brand but there are extra profits of using consumer content in retail marketing.
A retail brand can upsell the products and services by displaying UGC of similar products to the visitors from time to time. Having a social wall digital signage at the checkout point brands can give a slight nudge to their consumers to buy something more. All it takes is a little bit of creativity.
Increase Brand’s Social Reach
With engagement comes participation. How? Well, the underlying purpose of using UGC is to convert a visitor into a consumer through the power of social media posts.
But, it is obvious that the new consumer too is going to post reviews about product experience on social media just to be featured on the digital screen. The social media post will be shared with more followers , making them wonder about your brand.
They will dig up about your products and skim through social media content as well. UGC takes the offline results to online conversions. Doble profit!
Conclusion
Having user-generated content at retail stores boost brand image among the store visitors and also influences the consumers to share their reviews on social media networks bringing additional brand awareness. There is no other faster and effective way to engage an audience than user-generated content. Use it in marketing campaigns to build brand trust, social community as well as driving in-store conversions.
