5 Local Brands Winning with User-Generated Content

User-generated Content (UGC) refers to the content that your audience or users create. The most common example would be photos of them using your products or services. Relying on user-generated content is the best way to reach millennials, as they see it as creating an authentic buying experience. Combine that with the fact that 74% of consumers rely on social media to make buying decisions, and it becomes clear why user-generated content on social media is so important. 

Despite this, brands struggle to gather UGC. Some estimates indicate that just 16% of brands even have a strategy for UGC. If you are among the brands struggling with user-generated content, or just want some more inspiration, take a look at these five Singaporean brands that have won the UGC game. 

Young Hungry Free

Young Hungry Free is a household name and one of the most popular online stores in Singapore. The brand always offers the latest fashion and has successfully built a digital community via user-generated content. 

The secret to success for Young Hungry Free was to engage their audience. They have made it a point to have weekly Q&A sessions as well as live streams. These promote that engagement, which in turn has led to their active online community. 

Young Hungry Free doesn’t limit its social media strategy to Instagram or Twitter. It is also active on Telegram, the popular chat messaging app. Via the app, the company incentivises fans to share outfits featuring the company’s clothing. They also encourage similar activity on Instagram, where fans tag the company in their posts or stories. In exchange for participating, the brand offers a free outfit every month to a lucky winner. That outfit comes from one of the upcoming launches, so not only is it free, but the winner is also among the first to get it. 

Learn how to use Instagram marketing more effectively as a start-up. 

Shopee

Shopee needs no introduction as the multi-national e-commerce giant based in Singapore with customers around the globe. 

They take the simple approach to engagement and user-generated content by offering clear rewards for reviews. When buyers leave a review on a purchased product, they receive coins in exchange. They get extra coins when they attach photos to the reviews. The platform can then use those as UGC. 

The combination of photos and reviews also encourages other potential shoppers to buy from Shopee. Experts found that reviews boost customer confidence by as much as 12 times. Reviews can be even more useful when they include photos. 

One of the great things about Shopee is that they hold quizzes and contests on social media where users receive rewards for generating content. Total win-win!

Walking on Sunshine

Walking on Sunshine is a beauty salon and café that is Insta-worthy, as evidenced by the gorgeous images spread on Instagram. This company’s approach to user-generated content involves integrating online and offline marketing. 

This strategy involves creating an in-store experience that customers want to share on social media and making it incredibly easy to do so. The idea is that by creating a memorable in-store experience that is highly shareable, Gen Z and others on TikTok will spread their brand by generating content. 

While many companies encourage customers to share photos on social media, Walking on Sunshine goes a step further. The company provides photography spots within its salon and café. It also offers photography services to help people get the perfect shot. 

In addition to the UGC from consumers, Walking on Sunshine also shares employee-generated content. 

PRISM+

PRISM+ is a local tech brand that has a strong social media presence. The company stands out with its great prices on TVs and monitors, all of which are high-quality. Their UGC strategy involves understanding the interests of their audiences and taking advantage of them. 

If you look at PRISM+’s social media pages, you will notice a lot of reposts of users’ gaming setups. This is the main user-generated content strategy for the company. They encourage customers to share pictures of their setups using PRISM+ products. Then, they repost the photos on their pages. 

This strategy from PRISM+ offers the perfect example of harnessing the interests of your audience. You can determine what your audience is passionate about or does for fun. Then, you encourage them to share those passions with you and your community. By sharing the photos, you attract other people with similar passions. Those people are likely to join the community and convert into customers. 

POSB 

POSB is a Singaporean bank and household name. The company shows how you can take advantage of UGC to create buzz. It is a perfect example of using content not just to boost sales but also to reach marketing goals like brand positioning or brand awareness. 

POSB’s user-generated content efforts came via its TrueView campaign, which the company aimed at millennials. This campaign shows that POSB is ahead of the curve, as it took place in 2015 for Singapore’s 50^th anniversary of independence. The campaign featured 16 videos but also created a video hub with additional content from users. 

The results of the campaign were impressive. In just two months, the campaign generated 1.5 million minutes of viewing time. To put that into perspective, that is the typical amount of viewing time for three years. POSB also saw a 12-time increase in subscriptions to its channel. On top of that, neighbourhood-related searches with POSB rose by 128%. 

Check out these Singaporean start-ups killing it on Instagram. 

What Brands Can Learn from These Examples

Look to the above brands for inspiration when it comes to creating and utilizing UGC. You can use it to build a successful digital community, boost reviews, integrate offline marketing with online marketing, appeal to your audience, or spread brand recognition. 

SYNC can help you with every step of your marketing campaign, from gathering user-generated content to putting it to good use. Say hi to us at [email protected] today!