6 Ways to Increase the Reach of Your User-Generated Content
This blog post is the fourth in our series of key takeaways from the keynotes and breakout sessions from the 2017 PowerReviews Digital Commerce Summit.
OK, so you’re collecting user-generated content such as ratings and reviews, photos and videos. And you’re displaying all of this great content on your product pages. But how can you get this content in front of more shoppers in more places — beyond the product page?
Earlier this year, I led a session at the PowerReviews Digital Commerce Summit, exploring strategies for generating and displaying reviews online, in mobile apps and in-store to lift sales across all channels. Read on to learn six strategies I shared during the session that can help you get more mileage from your user-generated content.
1. Include UGC in Other Marketing Initiatives
Consumers trust the opinions of others like them. So look for ways to integrate user-generated content — including reviews, photos and videos — into other print and digital marketing initiatives, such as email, social and display campaigns. For example, our friends at Duluth Trading Company tout the number of 5-star reviews they have for their Buck Naked underwear in a number of different marketing initiatives across channels.
2. Highlight Ratings on Your Home Page
Want to influence where a visitor goes once they hit your homepage? Include star ratings and reviews for a featured product on your homepage. For example, our friends at JanSport highlighted their best selling “Superbreak” backpack on their homepage (just in time for back to school shopping), along with the average star rating and a written review for the product.
3. Highlight Visual Content on Category and Home Pages
After you’ve collected visual content (such as photos and videos) and prominently displayed it on your product pages, use this content to enhance other parts of your website, too, including category pages and even your homepage.
4. Include Ratings and Reviews in Catalogs
Consider including star ratings and written reviews in printed and digital catalogs to capture attention for key products. For example, if you’re an online and catalog retailer (like our friends at UncommonGoods) preparing to send a Holiday 2017 catalog, include written reviews that mention your key items being great gift items.
5. Amplify the Voice of the Consumer In-Store
Shoppers aren’t just turning to user-generated content while they’re shopping online. They also want access to this content when they’re shopping in a brick and mortar store. In fact, PowerReviews research found that around 70% of shoppers would like to access product ratings and reviews while shopping in-store.
Be sure to allow consumers to find user-generated content when they’re shopping in your physical store locations. There are a lot of different ways to do this that range from high- to low-tech.
On the high-tech end, build functionality in your mobile app that allows shoppers to scan a product while in a store and access reviews for that product. Or feature localized user-generated content in your fitting rooms like Fabletics does.
If you don’t have the technical resources available to do that, consider featuring star ratings and customer reviews on cardboard signs alongside your products — similar to what Amazon does in their bookstores.
Or incorporate consumer feedback into your in-store displays, touting the positive aspects of your product reviews — similar to what our friends at Benefit Cosmetics do.
6. Participate in the PowerReviews Open Network
Review syndication is the distribution of user-generated content, including ratings and reviews, collected on brand sites to retail ecommerce sites. Brands that participate in the PowerReviews Open Network and syndicate their content benefit from increased reach — your reviews get in front of more consumers on more websites. Retailers that accept syndicated brand content benefit from increased review coverage and depth — you get the benefits of having reviews on your site without having to generate them yourself!
Ready to start collecting and leveraging more ratings and reviews? Schedule a free demo today!
