How can you use user-generated content to drive referrals?

1 Encourage UGC creation

The first step to use UGC for referrals is to motivate your existing customers to create and share UGC about your brand, product, or service. You can do this by creating a clear and compelling value proposition, offering incentives or rewards, making it easy and fun, and providing guidelines and examples. For instance, you can create a hashtag campaign, a contest, a loyalty program, or a referral program that incentivizes UGC creation and sharing.

2 Showcase UGC on your website and social media

The second step to use UGC for referrals is to display and promote UGC on your website and social media channels. This can help you increase your social proof, trust, and visibility, as well as inspire and influence potential customers to take action. You can use tools and plugins to curate and embed UGC on your website, such as landing pages, product pages, or testimonials pages. You can also repost, retweet, or reshare UGC on your social media accounts, and tag or mention the original creators to show appreciation and recognition.

3 Incorporate UGC in your email marketing

The third step to use UGC for referrals is to integrate UGC in your email marketing campaigns. Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to communicate with your customers and prospects, and UGC can help you enhance your email content, design, and performance. You can use UGC to personalize your email messages, showcase customer stories, provide social proof, increase engagement, and drive conversions. For example, you can use UGC to create a welcome email, a newsletter, a product launch email, or a referral email.

4 Enable UGC sharing and referrals

The fourth step to use UGC for referrals is to enable and encourage UGC sharing and referrals among your customers and prospects. You can do this by adding social sharing buttons, referral links, or codes to your UGC platforms, such as your website, social media, or email. You can also create a viral loop, which is a mechanism that incentivizes users to invite others to join or use your product or service in exchange for a benefit. For example, you can offer a free trial, a discount, a bonus, or a gift for each successful referral.

5 Monitor and measure UGC impact

The fifth step to use UGC for referrals is to monitor and measure the impact of UGC on your referral marketing goals and metrics. You can use analytics tools and platforms to track and analyze the performance of your UGC campaigns, such as the number of UGC submissions, shares, impressions, clicks, conversions, referrals, and revenue. You can also use feedback surveys, polls, or reviews to collect and evaluate customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. By monitoring and measuring UGC impact, you can identify what works and what doesn't, and optimize your UGC strategy accordingly.

6 Learn from UGC insights

The sixth and final step to use UGC for referrals is to learn from the insights and data that UGC provides. UGC can help you understand your customers better, such as their needs, preferences, pain points, challenges, motivations, and behaviors. You can use UGC insights to improve your product or service, your customer experience, your marketing message, and your value proposition. You can also use UGC insights to segment and target your customers and prospects more effectively, and create more relevant and personalized UGC campaigns that drive more referrals.

7 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?