How do you leverage user-generated content and social proof in your social selling content?

1 What is UGC and social proof?

UGC is any content created by your customers, fans, or followers that showcases your brand, product, or service. It can be anything from reviews, testimonials, photos, videos, podcasts, blogs, or social media posts. Social proof is the evidence that other people trust, like, or use your brand, product, or service. It can be anything from ratings, endorsements, awards, certifications, case studies, or referrals.

2 Why are UGC and social proof important for social selling?

UGC and social proof can be highly beneficial for social selling, as they can help you showcase your value proposition and differentiation in a crowded market. Additionally, they can increase your brand awareness and reach as you tap into your customers' networks. Furthermore, UGC and social proof can help you build rapport and trust with your prospects by showing them real-life examples and stories of your customers' success. This can also reduce objections and doubts by addressing common questions and concerns, while encouraging action and conversion by creating a sense of urgency and scarcity.

3 How do you create UGC and social proof?

Creating UGC and social proof demands a proactive and strategic approach. To start, you should pinpoint your ideal customers and their pain points, goals, and preferences. Additionally, it’s necessary to collect feedback and reviews from your existing customers via surveys, emails, or social media. Furthermore, incentivize your customers to share their experiences and stories with your brand, product, or service on their own platforms or channels. Moreover, curate and repurpose the best UGC and social proof for your own content creation and distribution. Lastly, monitor and measure the performance and impact of your UGC and social proof content.

4 How do you share UGC and social proof?

Sharing UGC and social proof requires careful consideration. You must align your content with your buyer personas and buyer journey stages, as well as choose the right platforms and channels for your audience's preferences and behaviors. Additionally, you should optimize your content for each platform and channel with relevant keywords, hashtags, tags, captions, and calls to action. Engaging with customers who interact with your UGC and social proof content is also essential. Finally, testing and experimenting with different types, formats, and frequencies of UGC and social proof can help you discover what works best.

5 How do you leverage UGC and social proof?

Leveraging UGC and social proof requires a creative and collaborative approach. You should showcase your content in your own website, emails, or other marketing materials, co-create content with customers or influencers, amplify it with campaigns or contests, repurpose it into different formats, and update it regularly. Doing so will help you keep your content fresh and relevant and invite more participation and engagement.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?