UGC = Community Growth

Courtesy of Pace Communications

User-generated content is original content created by the public and published on social media or other channels. UGC comes in many forms, including photos, videos, reviews, testimonials, or even a podcast. This type of content is used to influence engagement and increase conversions.

Brands often struggle to be seen online due to fierce competition to capture the public’s attention and because of this, the public has become more selective about which brands they interact with. Consumers want to see authenticity and UGC offers customers a unique opportunity to showcase “who” a brand is. Giving consumers the chance to see a more authentic side of a brand greatly affects brand loyalty and affinity, as people enjoy it when a brand can be bigger than just another capitalistic money machine. Creating UGC allows consumers to become part of the brand’s community, instead of just another purchaser.

My community is the perfect place to get and create UGC content because PCOS is a very personal experience. In order for people in my community to create content, I would host a competition, choose people to be “brand ambassadors” and share my own personal experiences.

UGC Competition

Courtesy of Photoslurp

We always see brands creating competitions to drive awareness or engagement. I would use this same approach to drive membership in the community. I would ask participants to create a funny “Day in the life of a PCOS Cyster” video to share on their social channels to help drive membership. Each member who participates would use a unique Hashtag that members joining would input in the questions to join the group so that I can keep count and give that Cyster a prize.

Brand Ambassadors

Courtesy of Feeddough

I would choose a few of the most active members of the group to take over our group’s social pages and post content on our behalf. The ambassadors would provide testimonies about their experiences, why they picked this group, why they stay, and how it is woven into their day-to-day lives.

Personal Experiences

Courtesy of Medium

As the community “owner” I would also share my personal experiences, my reasons for creating this space, and talk to women who are lost and don’t understand exactly understand what they are going through. The whole purpose of the group was to connect women navigating their life with PCOS and I have to ensure that I continue to highlight that message.