User-generated content (UGC) has been widely hailed as the solution to today’s digital ad overload. UGC acts as the connective tissue between an organization and its audience. In the socially-driven world we live in, people look to their peers to validate their actions and inform their purchase decisions.

When someone “like us” has an opinion about a company or a product, we’ll take their word over the company’s any day of the week. That is the power of UGC.

The Impact of UGC

UGC is nothing new. Ever since people have been able to publish their own opinions about products, brands, and services, we have been inundated with it. Online ratings, reviews, videos, blogs – all user-generated content, every bit of it validated by our own actions as we research, shop, and sift through information that will show us the way forward.

The statistics speak for themselves:

• Ninety percent of consumers in the United States cite UGC as more influential to their buying decisions than traditional marketing.
• Seventy percent find UGC more interesting than brand marketing
• Less than half of consumers trust brand marketing
• More than 70 percent trust UGC over other forms of marketing
• CTR increases by 73 percent when there is UGC involved
• Website visitors will spend 90 percent more time on a site with UGC video content
• 84 percent of millennials say that UGC is more trustworthy than other forms of media, including influencer marketing

Why UGC Video is More Important Than Other Types of UGC

Of all the types of UGC out there, user-generated video is by far the most influential. User-generated video has the power to capture attention and create an emotional response, and the majority of people prefer it to reading text, whether in a blog or on a website.

Video is more memorable than any other type of content. Most people, by nature, are visual learners. As such, they are more likely to remember something they saw on a video over text or audio content. The average person will only read about 20 percent of the text content of a web page, but they will view every image.

And if that’s not enough, check out these numbers:

• Videos increase email opens and click-through rates by almost 20 percent.
• High-quality video is imperative, as anything less than that results in a negative brand impression.
• YouTube boasts one billion hours of viewed content every day.
• Ninety-two percent of video users share what they’ve seen with others.

So, now that you know what UGC video is and why it’s important, let’s talk about how you’re going to get some.

The Challenges of UGC

If you have the power to inspire, your audience will be more than willing to weigh in. Your social channels, as well as ratings and reviews sites, are a good source of content, but connecting all the dots is not always an easy task.

Since the burden of actually making UGC videos falls to your audience, your job is to collect, sort, and present the content that they make.

Choosing a platform that can help you manage the process will not only improve the quality of your results, but it will also reduce the time it takes and the money you have to spend to reach your goals.

User-Generated Video Platforms: What They Are and Why You Need One

A UGC platform is a web-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) that allows you to collect various types of media, including posts, images, and user-generated videos, that you can leverage to tell your story.

Whether you are collecting content from ten, a hundred, or a thousand people, a UGC platform makes it easy for you to aggregate and index content. It will also simplify the legal process, reducing the time it takes to clear content for you to use on your channels.

Critical Factors in Choosing a UGC Platform

If you are shopping for a UGC platform, you’ll find no lack of choice. However, choosing the right platform is critical to your success.

Some factors to consider:

1. Features. Choose a platform based on the features you need to accomplish your goals.
2. Ease of Use. The reason you need a platform is to make your life easier. Choose a platform that you and your team will be able to master quickly and manage efficiently.
3. Integrations. Your UGC platform should connect to all of your channels, including social accounts, websites, and any other corner of the web you occupy.
4. Customizability. The platform should be configurable to the way you work and customizable to your unique branding.
5. Price. Your platform should demonstrate value, be priced within your budget, and deliver a measurable ROI.
6. Choosing your platform can also be based on the type of business you engage in. For trade associations, Gather Voices is a clear choice, as it is designed with the needs of associations in mind.

Gather Voices saves associations time and money, providing a central platform from which to collect, edit, and distribute member videos at scale. Whether your people are across town or across the country, coordinating your efforts is easy, and the results can be had for a fraction of the cost of a traditionally-produced video.

A Platform Alone is Never Enough

However, a platform alone, no matter how fantastic it might be, is not enough. To reach deep into the collective consciousness of your audience, you still need a compelling campaign.

Integrating video into your existing marketing strategy is a great place to start. You already have content priorities and topics in place; integrating video will take it to the next level. Aligning your video strategy with other marketing objectives will help you paint a cohesive picture.

In the world of association marketing, Gather Voices is a unique tool. Focusing exclusively on UGC video, it gives you the tools and the power to produce high-quality user-generated video content that generates the results you need.

To learn more about Gather Voices and how it can elevate your association’s video marketing strategy, schedule a demo today.