How to Streamline User Generated Content Uploads for Your Website

If you’re not utilizing user generated content, you’re missing out! And if you don’t have a solution to provide seamless content uploads and manage files and media effectively, you’re losing out!

In today’s digital age, user generated content (UGC) has become a valuable asset for many businesses. From product reviews and social media posts to blog comments and customer feedback, UGC provides a unique perspective on your brand that can help you build trust, increase engagement, and boost conversions.

However, managing and curating UGC can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to the process of uploading content. For website owners and managers, ensuring seamless and user-friendly UGC upload experience can be the key to attracting and retaining contributors. Yet, many websites still struggle with this aspect of UGC management, resulting in frustrated users, low engagement, and missed opportunities.

In this blog post, we’ll explain what is user generated content and explore how you can streamline the process of uploading UGC for your website. We’ll look at the challenges of UGC uploads, the benefits of a streamlined process, and practical tips for optimizing the user experience. Whether you're looking to enhance your UGC strategy, boost engagement, or simplify the process for contributors, this post has everything you need to know. So let's dive right in!

What is user generated content?

What is UGC content? User generated content refers to any form of content that is created by users of a particular platform, website or brand, rather than by the organization’s internal staff.

Since 92% of customers trust recommendations shared by fellow shoppers or users, rather than advertisements, UGC content is fast becoming an important part of Content Operations! This can include a wide range of different types of content, such as blog posts, comments, videos, images, voice recordings, and social media posts. When user generated content is used effectively and in unison with professionally-produced images and videos, it can enhance conversions and improve engagement.

Where do UGC content come from?

UGC can come from a wide range of sources, including social media platforms, online communities, forums, and blogs. It can also come from customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials on e-commerce websites or product review sites.

With the rise of smartphones and the ability to capture high-quality images and videos, UGC has exploded on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Consumers now have the power to create and share content easily, and brands are taking notice.

Your customers are usually your primary source of UGC content. Most often, you'll seek out UGC from your consumers either because you've asked for it (in the form of reviews or testimonials) or because they've naturally chosen to share information about your business. Think of Instagram praise-filled posts or TikTok unboxing videos.

Another group could be your employees! Employee-generated content reveals the significance and narrative of your brand. Whether for employer branding purposes or just by them sharing a day of their life assembling shipments or working with their teammates, this behind-the-scenes content promotes authenticity across social media platforms.

Finally, for the retail and e-commerce industry, an increasingly important trend of UGC creators should not be overlooked! A UGC creator produces sponsored material that highlights a certain brand or product. Their perspectives are more reliable and trustworthy because they seem non-affiliated with the brand.

Why is user generated content beneficial for brands?

UGC can be utilized at every level of the buying process to enhance conversions and affect engagement. Customer-focused content can not only be utilized on social networking platforms, but also in emails, landing pages, product pages, and checkout pages.

Offers an authentic and diverse range of perspectives

One of the key benefits of UGC is that it allows for a more diverse range of perspectives and authentic experiences to be shared on a particular platform. No one likes listening to a brand singing praises of its own products. Instead, consumers want to read and see real and relatable reviews from other users like themselves.

Seen as the modern word-of-mouth, consumers are 2.4 times more likely to trust and engage with UGC than with traditional advertising, as it feels more like a recommendation from a friend than a marketing ploy.

Builds community growth and brand loyalty

Customers now have a chance to be part of a brand’s community! People thrive when they are part of something bigger than themselves, which significantly impacts brand loyalty. Your brand aficionados and supporters (who may be long-term customers) are often the ones who are most enthused about your company and it helps facilitate dialogue between a brand and its target audience.

Increases engagement and reach

UGC can help to increase engagement (by 28% in fact!) and reach. When consumers create and share content related to your brand, they are essentially doing your marketing for you. You can leverage the viewership and follower base of your users to increase your brand's visibility and reach, as their personal followers and connections are likely to see and engage with the content. This encourages product discovery since the content is more far-reaching than your paid advertisements!

Provides valuable user insights

Having such UGC doesn't just benefit the user experience; it can also help build a sense of community and engagement and provide valuable insights and feedback to the site or platform's owners or administrators.

By analyzing the types of content your audience is creating and sharing, you can better understand what they like and what motivates them. This information can help you to tailor your marketing strategies and content to better appeal to your audience.

Saves costs on content creation

Every year, brands spend $72,000 on average to create quality and professional content. Utilizing UGC can be a cost-effective way to generate content. Rather than spending time and resources creating your own content from scratch, you can leverage the content that your audience is creating for you.

For example, you could add UGC images in your product page or even in an email sent to a customer who has abandoned their shopping cart to re-engage them to purchase something. You can also use these photographs sent by your users in social media, and tag them to acknowledge their contributions. Your users will be happy to be featured and you will continue to build a loyal brand supporter - it’s a win-win!

There are many ways to repurpose this content; it can help save time, money, and resources while still allowing you to create compelling and engaging content for your audience.

What are the challenges of user generated content?

While user-generated content can be a valuable asset to any website, managing and organizing it can be a challenge. Here are some of the main challenges:

• Volume: Depending on the size of your website and its user base, you may receive a huge amount of UGC on a daily basis. Managing and organizing all of this content can quickly become overwhelming.
• Quality: Not all user-generated content is high-quality. In fact, some of it may be spam or irrelevant to your website. While you want to take in new perspectives from your users, you still want to ensure that the content is appropriate, on-brand, and in line with your brand’s values and guidelines. With so many different contributors, it can be difficult to maintain a consistent look and feel across all the content. Sorting through all the content to find those gems can be extremely time-consuming.
• Legal issues: Because it is difficult to control what content your user uploads, sometimes UGC can contain copyrighted material or other legal matters to be addressed. Ensuring that all UGC published on your website or application is legal and properly licensed can be a considerable challenge.
• Moderation: UGC can also be subject to inappropriate or offensive NSFW material. Having an AI-powered moderation system in place to review and approve content automatically before it is posted is important to maintain the integrity of your website and helps you save lots of time!
• Organization: Once you have identified the best UGC, organizing it in a way that is easy to find and use can also be challenging. With proper organization, UGC can be recovered and preserved on your website, making it easier for users to see.
• Technical Aspects: You want to ensure a seamless upload experience to attract more UGC creators for your brand. That means you’ll have to manage the technical aspects of uploading and organizing the content.

Nonetheless, with the right tools and strategies in place, it is possible to streamline the process of user-generated content uploads and ensure that it is a valuable and positive part of your website or platform.

What are the tips to streamline user generated content uploads?

So, what are the best practices for streamlining the UGC uploads for your website? We’ll go through some of the tips to streamline the content upload process, and these are important steps that can help you overcome the challenges we’ve described above!

Define your upload guidelines

First and foremost, before you start accepting UGC content, it’s essential to brainstorm within your content teams on some guidelines as to what kind of content you want on your website. This will help you filter out irrelevant or inappropriate content and ensure a consistent user experience. This includes the creative aspects and also the technical aspects:

• Do you want humanized content that displays a user’s face?
• What image file formats can you accept?
• Do you have specific image requirements and resolutions?
• Will you accept GIFs and videos? If so, what length of video is acceptable?

Clear guidelines are also needed for user permissions and ownership. If you want to repurpose the photographs on other platforms - you’ll need to have a process where your contributors are aware that their photos are used elsewhere. This includes specifying who owns the content and what rights you have to use it. To safeguard your brand, you should also have a process in place to remove content that doesn’t comply with your guidelines or violates your terms of service.

Provide easy-to-use upload tools

This part is one of the most important portions because you need a simple, intuitive, and secure way to receive the photographs. Whether it is photographs from your own customer base or from UGC creators, you want the process to be as easy as possible to encourage second, third, and recurring content uploads!

You could use web-based forms or third-party services like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive for users to upload their files. But suppose you want a more robust solution. In that case, you'll need a media file uploader that can be easily integrated into your website or application using APIs, allowing users to submit their content without leaving your website.

Plus, you'll have to consider the different ways that users upload their content - from their existing device, cameras, URL link, or even storage solutions!

Optimize your upload process

Optimizing your upload process means ensuring the files submitted are automatically optimized for the web. This stage can save you tons of time to moderate the submitted content!

• Compressing images and videos to reduce file size, which speeds up the upload process and bandwidth consumption
• Using Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to speed up the delivery of your UGC by distributing the content across multiple servers worldwide. This reduces the load on your website server and ensures fast load times for your users.
• Automating your UGC uploads directly onto your website or applications to save time and reduce errors.
• Moderating UGC with AI to flag out harmful content, or to improve the look and quality of the submissions and to review and approve content before it is published on your website.

Manage your UGC content efficiently

Finally, after receiving all these photographs and videos, you’ll need an efficient way to store and manage the content. That’s where a Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution comes in!

A DAM system acts as a central hub for brands to store, organize, and distribute all kinds of digital assets, including UGC. With a DAM system, brands can streamline the process of UGC uploads and management.

Want to launch a new marketing campaign? You can easily search and retrieve past UGC assets relevant to the new campaign. With robust search capabilities, you can filter the content by keywords, tags, and other metadata to quickly find the content you need. This is especially important for larger brands and enterprises with vast amounts of content.

If your brand works with numerous UGC creators and want an all-in-one system for upload, feedback, and approval, you can do it all in a DAM. DAM managers can grant permissions and assign different access levels to other users, ensuring that your UGC content is properly vetted and that only approved content is shared with the public.

Key Takeaways

All in all, user generated content is a valuable resource for any brand looking to engage with their audience and build trust. However, managing and organizing UGC uploads can be challenging without the proper tools and processes. Further, content curation and optimization can be time-consuming! By streamlining the UGC upload process with an easy-to-use media uploader, brands can ensure a seamless and efficient experience for their audience and reduce the workload on their own team.

Imagine having an all-in-one solution that streamlines the management and organization of your user-generated content. With a Digital Asset Management platform like Filerobot, you'll have a centralized hub for your content, complete with automatic uploading, tagging, and categorizing features. Not to mention, it offers advanced search capabilities to make finding specific content a breeze. Plus, with access controls and permission settings, you can rest easy knowing that your content is secure and only authorized users can access it.

With the right approach and tools, brands can harness the power of user generated content to drive engagement, build brand loyalty, and ultimately grow their business. Get ready to revolutionize your UGC game and request a free trial to learn more!

FAQs

What types of user generated content can be uploaded to a website?

User generated content can come in various forms, such as images, videos, audio recordings, written reviews, and social media posts. Any type of content that is created and shared by users can be uploaded to a website.

How can I ensure the quality of user generated content that is uploaded to my website?

To ensure the quality of user generated content, you can establish guidelines for content creation and provide clear instructions on how to upload content. For further quality assurance, you can utilize AI content curation tools before it is published to ensure that it meets your quality standards. Some features include, background removal or NSFW moderation.

How can I encourage users to upload more content to my website?

Incentives and awards can be provided for the best content or you can run a UGC campaign to gather more content. Featuring user-generated content on your website or social media channels to showcase the creativity and engagement of your community can also encourage your users to share more!

Finally, don’t forget to make the upload process smooth, intuitive, and seamless for your users!

How can I protect my brand’s reputation when allowing user generated content on my website?

To protect your brand's reputation, you can establish guidelines for content creation and moderation to ensure that the content aligns with your brand values and messaging. You can also monitor user-generated content regularly and promptly respond to any inappropriate or negative content.