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The average person in the United States sees up to 100 ads per day.
This makes it incredibly difficult to stand out against the competition, no matter what you sell.
The second problem is that due to so much marketing, customers have stopped believing brands with their messaging.
Consumers live in a world that throws buckets of information over their heads daily, and a lot of that info is fake or exaggerated.
Instead of ads and marketing copy, consumers often use social proof in the form of content such as reviews - but collecting and showing those takes time.
Luckily, there's another major marketing tool that you can leverage — user-generated content (UGC).
Consumers are more likely to trust other people than brands, and you need to use this in your marketing strategies.
If you're not convinced about the power of UGC, we'll show you 68 important UGC statistics to consider and how you can leverage them.
Stats About UGC Effectiveness and Revenue
User-generated content brings you more revenue at a lower cost.
1. Marketing professionals noticed that ads with UGC have 4 times higher click-through rates than regular ads.
That's why modern marketers leverage micro-influencers when posting ads on numerous content platforms.
2. UGC-based ads experience a 50% reduction in cost-per-click compared to brand-created content without UGC.
Besides, you can save the costs of a dedicated content producer, raising to $72,000.
As such, UGC is not only a more effective content strategy but also more cost-efficient.
Pro tip: Ask your employees to generate more helpful types of content.
3. With 1,000 active participants, an employee advocacy program can generate an average of $1.9 million in advertising value.
And here are other stats:
4. 86% of brands and retailers believe incorporating more authentic UGC in their paid and owned media would improve their ads and content performance. This includes different types of content created by real people.
5. A significant 62% of consumers are more likely to click on content like ads, websites, social posts, or emails that feature real customer photos rather than images created by the brand, indicating a higher potential for click-through and conversion rates.
6. Websites incorporating UGC can see a 29% increase in online purchases.
7. UGC web pages lead to a 20% increase in return visitors.
8. UGC on your website also leads to a 90% increase in time spent on-site, demonstrating the broad impact of UGC on various aspects of online performance.
9. For 63% of consumers, visual reviews from existing or loyal customers are more credible than written ones.
10. UGC increases brand organic search traffic by up to 50%, thus complementing other sources of advertising.
11. Sharing content generated by users on X (formerly Twitter) can increase your Twitter-based website visitors by 20%. These interested visitors count as qualified traffic and quality potential customers. If you want to increase your Twitter traffic and you can't do it by yourself, you should look for an agency that will provide you with Twitter marketing service.
12. Including UGC in your online purchase path can increase conversion rates by 10%.
13. UGC is found to be 9.8 times more impactful than influencer content when making purchasing decisions, further emphasizing the power of authentic, peer-generated content.
These statistics underscore the significant influence of UGC on enhancing engagement, trust, and, ultimately, revenue while also reducing marketing costs.
That's why so many experienced marketers leverage UGC in their digital marketing campaigns.
UGC Stats About Content Sharing
So, what motivates people to share your online content? Research by the New York Times Consumer Insights Group can help us get some insights on this topic.
Side note for Google's crawlers: Yes, the study is a bit old, but there hasn't been any new research in the meantime.
And we bet people didn't fundamentally change their natures during the time.
14. People share their authentic experiences because they believe they’re distributing valuable content that entertains others. 49% of respondents want to inform their friends about their favorite products. Ultimately, their goal is to change opinions and to determine a specific behavior. That's why many people write honest online reviews and share them on social media platforms.
15. Most responders share UGC to define themselves. 68% of people perceive themselves in relation to the brands they purchase because they represent their values. So, one of the benefits of user-generated marketing is being able to connect to your audience.
16. People share information that helps them connect to their peers. 78% of responders will convey your brand’s content if it helps them nourish important relationships in their lives. This type of authentic content allows you to build a loyal community around your brand, thus creating a promotional engine.
17. Self-fulfillment is vital for sharing UGC. 69% of people share content on brands because they believe sharing their shopping experience counts for something in the world. This includes social media content and user reviews.
18. People believe in their values and want more people to get involved. 84% of people will share customer content on a cause they’re passionate about.
And here's why those motivations matter to your brand.
Basically, people love to see and interact with UGC.
Understanding what motivates your loyal customers to post their buying choices and valuable insights means you can convince more people to join your UGC campaign.
Let's look at the numbers.
19. People spend 5.4 hours daily interacting with user-generated content.
20. 90% of consumers state that authenticity is crucial when deciding which brands to support.
This is an increase from 86% in 2017, indicating a growing trend towards valuing genuine brand interactions.
21. Social media also serves as a vital platform for customer service, with 71% of customers likely to recommend a brand following a positive customer service experience through social media.
As a result, authentic marketing content can quickly become shared, whether it's part of larger social campaigns, basic blog posts, or content in email marketing campaigns.
This precise authenticity is what drives people to share, both to help and to connect with others.
How much user-generated content can you expect?
Wondering if your customers and audiences would create any UGC for you?
22. 39% of US internet users have shared posts made by other people on social media posts since 2020, proving the power of user-generated content.
23. 58% of global social media users have posted pictures and videos on their social media channels since 2017.
24. Instagram Stories has 400 million daily users, twice as much as Snapchat.
25. There are 34 million TikTok videos posted per day.
26. 4.79 million Goodreads members take part in the annual reading challenge on Goodreads.
27. There have been 90 million user-generated book reviews on Goodreads.com.
28. 25% of search results regarding the most important global brands consist of links to user-generated content.
29. 98% of employees have social media profiles and approximately 50% of them are already posting content about the brand they work for.
30. Employee-produced UGC has 2x engagement rates compared to branded content.
UGC Stats About Consumer Trust and Engagement
User-generated content statistics show that UGC is not just influential; it's trusted.
The basic gist of this customer trust is that peer recommendations work better than professional content creation across all marketing and social media channels.
31. A staggering 93% of marketers agree that content created by consumers performs better than brand-generated content in social media campaigns.
32. This trust is further highlighted by the fact that 55% of consumers across all age brackets trust UGC over other forms of marketing content across marketing channels.
33. Moreover, 60% of marketers acknowledge that authenticity and quality are pivotal in successful content, with a vast majority agreeing that customers trust content produced by other consumers more than brand-produced content.
34. Authentic content produced by real people in email campaigns improves open rates and reduces unsubscribe rates for 95% of marketers.
35. 71% of marketers want to add more video content to their marketing campaigns.
36. If you're one of them, ensure you're posting user-generated videos because 63% of online shoppers believe video reviews are more trustworthy.
37. 48% of marketers believe that UGC can help humanize even their brand-produced promotional content, leading to more advertising engagement.
38. In fact, Toyota noticed a 440% engagement boost in one of its Facebook advertising campaigns by simply powering it up with UGC.
39. When used together, user-generated product videos and branded content can increase engagement by 28%.
40. Instagram posts featuring UGC see a 70% higher engagement rate than those with brand-only content, highlighting the potential for increased interaction and conversion.
UGC Stats About Purchase Decisions
User-generated content accelerates and multiplies purchase decisions.
Again, personal recommendations and online reviews outweigh content created by professional marketers.
41. 90% of people will make a purchase decision based on UGC. The other critical channels are search engines (87%), promotional emails (79%), display ads (76%), and social (63%)..
42. 81% of customers are willing to pay more and wait for extended periods for brands advertised through user-generated content.
43. 24% of female shoppers believe that user-generated content influences people’s purchase decisions most.
44. 97% of people in the 18-29 category state that user-generated content enormously influences purchase decisions.
45. 73% of people have more confidence in their purchases if a particular brand employs user-generated content.
46. Thanks to the user-generated content surrounding certain brands, 61% of shoppers are encouraged to engage more with them.
UGC Stats About Customer Reviews
47. 95% of people will read customer reviews before buying products from an unknown online shop.
Consequently, UGC is vital if you're reaching out to a new market or if you're a startup with a modest market presence.
But here’s something exciting about how people find out about these retailers in the first place.
48. 50% of people say they learn about new products from friends and acquaintances.
The more UGC you’ll encourage people to produce and disseminate, the more new customers you’ll attract.
However, your product’s price range is significant, too.
49. 93% of people will compare different prices for similar products before making a buying decision.
Where do people find these customer reviews and information? The answer is obvious: search engines.
50. Statista shows that 62% of people search for specific information regarding the products they want to buy using search engines like Google.
UGC Stats About Email Marketing
Venture Beat’s study researched the role of personalization in email marketing and the overall impact on email metrics.
Here's what they found.
51. 95% of marketers said that personalized content improved their open rates and that their unsubscribe rates decreased:
- 17.8 had an increase of 0-5%
- 21.3% had an increase of 5-10%
- 20.8% had an increase of 15-20%
- 9.1% had an increase of 20-30%
- 7% had an increase of 30-40%
- 4.5% has a total increase of 50-70%
Another research shows other data about the personalization of email marketing:
52. 75% of respondents in North America believe that brands didn’t customize the promotional email content enough for them.
By comparison, 60% of people in Europe and 77% of people in Asia are satisfied with content personalization.
53. 60% of people in North America, 80% of people in Europe, and 88% of people in Asia want to receive email marketing tailored to suit their interests.
54. 55% of the interviewed customers want to receive emails with targeted promotions and discounts. These objective incentives can influence people’s purchase decisions only if they’re personalized.
55. 37% of people say they want to read personalized recommendations in their promotional emails. Thus, it’s essential for customers that brands genuinely understand their needs and interests.
UGC Stats About Connecting With Consumers
An essential thing about connecting with your customers—and, in fact, anyone in your life—is being explicit about what you desire.
Brands don’t want to appear pushy, so:
56. Just 16% of brands offer clear guidelines for their customers who want to create user-generated content.
57. 53% of people wish to have clear branded guidelines for their UGC.
58. 42% of consumers also like to receive actual content examples of photos and videos to create the best UGC.
But what motivates people to post user-generated content about your brand? Is it prizes, money, or discounts?
59. 15.77% of customers agree that rewards and other objective incentives will motivate them to post brand-related content, but...
60. 60% of people are motivated to post if many people feature or like their content. Customers are more interested in receiving recognition and achieving a certain status than in tangible rewards.
It’s also essential to publish the right content to connect and engage more customers.
61. 85% of consumers believe that visual user-generated content is more influential than photos and videos published by the brand.
And you also have to choose the correct channels:
62. 30-61% of people base their purchase decisions on user-generated images on Instagram compared to brand images. This broad interval shows you that Instagram, albeit a reliable medium for user-generated content, has limitations. If the content’s not good, it doesn’t matter whether it’s UG or posted on Instagram.
63. 71% of responders preferred branded YouTube videos from the subscription box FabFitFun to a user-generated video about unboxing. So, sometimes, branded content wins.
People will respond better to UGC on YouTube if those videos compare various brands offering similar products.
64. On average, businesses see a 6% traffic increase from Facebook after sharing their UGC.
65. 72% of users will agree if their favorite brands ask them to repurpose their content.
66. 64% of people say they're more inclined to publish more brand-related content if the brand has used their original content.
Measuring UGC
67. The leading KPI for measuring UGC is content engagement, according to 75% of professional marketers.
68. 81.8% of marketers don’t measure their UGC campaign performance.
How to Leverage These UGC Statistics
As you can see, UGC is a powerful form of content.
The smallest to biggest brands now incorporate it into their promotional videos and social media ads.
Although you have less control over consumer content than a campaign using influencers or brand ambassadors, you must still enforce a well-thought strategy.
That sounds like a paradox, doesn’t it?
But there’s an art to planning for the unplanned.
Here are two solutions, both starting with clear content marketing goals that fit your business objectives.
- Ask your customers to showcase their real customer experiences and to leave you positive reviews. Then, vet for content quality before publishing this UGC on your website.
- Create compelling campaigns using content creators who already know the ins and outs of high-quality content. These people can become the biggest content drivers for your brand because they're trustworthy, highly engaged, and more affordable than paid ads.
A user-generated content marketplace can help you create efficient, hassle-free UGC campaigns.
Get started with Showcase by inBeat today and use our platforms to find the right influencers for your brand.
Don't shoot in the dark - choose the content creators that deliver results.