These are the times that people are changing how they create and consume content. Consumers are adapting in an age where misinformation is easier than ever. They want to find the right content and create it. As a reliable and consistent component of modern content strategies, user-generated content (UGC), has outperformed other marketing trends.

No longer are consumers content to accept content as it is. Customers expect more authenticity and personalized online experiences. Brands must recognize this shift in customer content attitudes if they are to succeed with content marketing. Getting the content right can have a significant impact on turning prospects into clients.

User-generated content is still effective even as marketing strategies change. We have compiled a list with statistics and trends in UGC that will help you understand its importance.

The importance and value of authenticity are (still) increasing

• Up from 86% in 2017, 90% of consumers believe authenticity is crucial when choosing brands to support and love (up from 86%). (Stackla)
• 83% of marketers agree authenticity is important to their brands. (Stackla)
• 61% of marketers believe authenticity is the key to content marketing’s effectiveness. (Stackla)
• 79% believe that UGC has a significant impact on their buying decisions. (Stackla)

Influencer marketing campaigns don’t influence consumers as much as marketers believe

• UGC is 9.8x more influential than influencer content for consumers when it comes to making purchasing decisions. (Stackla)
• Only 8% of consumers believe influencer-created material has a significant impact on their buying decisions, a 23% decrease from 2017. (Stackla)
• North American marketers spent over $1 billion last year on influencers. (Ad Age)
• 49% of marketers plan to increase their influencer marketing investment in 2019. (Stackla)

UGC allows personalized customer experiences at scale

• 67% of consumers (Gen Z 73%, Millennial 70%) believe it is important for brands that they provide a personal experience. (Stackla)
• 92% of marketers believe that their brands provide customized experiences for customers. However, 45% of consumers disagree with this conclusion. 14% of respondents flatly disagreed, 41% disagreed, and 41% were neither agreeing nor disagreeing. (Stackla)
• 95% of marketers believe personalized emails have increased their open rates. (Socialnomics)
• 55% of customers are eager to receive discounts and offers that are tailored specifically for them. (Socialnomics)

Millennials are both professional content creators and consumers

• The largest content contributors are the Millennials, ages 25-34. They contribute more than 70% to all UGC. (DMNews)
• Millennials spend an average of 18 hours per day looking at media. 30% of this time is spent viewing user-generated content. (Business2Community)
• UGC is perceived by millennials as 35% more memorable than other media. (Business2Community)
• Only 1% of Millennials believe that a compelling advertisement would increase brand trust. (Crowdtap)

Content creators are eager to share their content.

• 89% would share positive experiences at a travel destination. (Stackla)
• A positive dining experience at a restaurant is a common reason for 85% of people to post. (Stackla)
• A majority of people would share positive experiences with beauty or health products. (Stackla)
• 62% of people would post about buying a car. (Stackla)

UGC enables successful video marketing

• 45 percent of people spend over an hour watching YouTube or Facebook videos each week. (SEMRush)
• 56% of UGC videos and photos are what consumers want from brands. (Stackla)
• UGC fan videos on YouTube get 10x more views per viewer than brand content. (ReelSEO)
• Consumer engagement increases by 28% when they can see a mix of user-generated product videos as well as official brand content. (SEMRush)

UGC increases website visitor time

• UGC galleries are more popular than websites without them. Visitors spend 90% more time on websites with UGC galleries. (Salesforce)
• UGC can increase conversions by 10% when it is included in an online purchasing path. (Salesforce)
• Sites featuring UGC saw a 20% rise in visitors. (SocialToaster)
• Leading Hotels of the World doubled the time they spent on site by including UGC on their websites. (Stackla)

UGC improves email marketing click through-rates

• 77% of consumers prefer email marketing communications. (Square2Marketing)
• UGC leads to 73% more email click-through rates (Salesforce)
• Social context can drive 50% higher recall and 35% more online sales lift when an ad is placed in context. (ZDNet)
• UGC was used by Amazfit to increase their email click-through rate by 8%. (Stackla)
• Customers of Stackla have experienced a 29% increase in sales when they use UGC in their email marketing campaigns. (Stackla)

Using UGC across social media channels humanizes brands

• Every day, Instagram receives 60 million images. (Adweek)
• More than 50% of respondents said that they create content at minimum once a day, with 23% claiming they do it more often — between 2 and 5 times per day. (Crowdtap)
• If a brand does too much self-promotion, 45% of people will not follow them. (Venngage)
• UGC posts that are shared on social media channels have a 28% greater engagement rate than posts from standard brands. (SocialToaster)
• UGC-integrated social campaigns see a 50% increase in engagement. (Salesforce)
• Brand-generated content on Facebook received 6.9x more engagement than user-generated content. (Mavrck)
• 51% of consumers believe they would be more inclined to buy from a brand if it shared a photo, video, or other content on its social channels. (Stackla)

UGC ads increase engagement

• UGC ads generate 5x more click-through rates. (Salesforce)
• B2C brands believe Facebook ads are an integral part of their paid social marketing strategy. 90% say they use Facebook ads regularly, and 57% plan to increase their Facebook ads usage in the near future. ( Social Media Today
• UGC helped Toyota increase their Facebook ad engagement of 440% (Stackla)

These statistics are quite clear. User-generated content encourages interaction, while branded content recites information. User-generated content is more engaging than stock photography. User-generated content can be as authentic and influential as influencer content, even if it seems stale and tired.

Brands who leverage user-generated material can enhance their content strategy across all channels and more. 2019 will be the year of user-generated content, as we’ve stated before. It’s not enough to be left behind!

source https://www.nosto.com/blog/42-statistics-about-user-generated-content-you-need-to-know/