Over the last few years, new advertising and online marketing trends have emerged, in particular the video format and, more specifically, consumer videos. The most innovative brands are now successfully leveraging this new form of communication. 

Read on to find out why consumer videos are so popular and how Rossignol has maximized this new marketing lever.

The rise of consumer videos in advertising and the fall of print 

The simultaneous rise of consumer videos in marketing and decline of print advertising reflects a profound shift in consumer behavior and expectations. 

A 7.7% drive op in print advertising revenue 

Let’s start by illustrating this trend with a few figures. According to a WARC report published by Forbes magazine, the decline of print advertising shows no signs of slowing. In 2023, ad revenue for print reached $47.2 billion worldwide, which is 7.7% less than last year. The market has halved in six years and now represents just 5% of the global ad market (totaling $993 billion). 

Most marketing and advertising budgets are now allocated to digital advertising, which is growing from one year to the next. 

This massive transition from print and traditional channels to digital ones reflects a growing consumer preference for digital content.

The success of consumer videos 

Over the last few years, a trend within a trend has emerged: the rise of the video format. Or more specifically, the rise of video reviews and consumer videos, otherwise known as UGC (User-Generated Content). 

Unlike print advertising, which is often perceived as generic and one-way, consumer review videos provide a more human and authentic touch. They help brands build a deeper and more personal relationship with their audience, highlighting real user experiences. This authenticity translates into greater consumer trust and higher conversion rates. 

The development of social media has given rise to more distribution channels for UGC videos. Consumer videos are capitalizing on two main trends: the video format, which dominates social media platforms, and UGC, i.e., content created by users.

6 reasons to include video review in your marketing strategy 

There are at least six reasons to use video consumer reviews in your advertising and marketing campaigns. 

Authenticity fosters consumer trust 

Consumer reviews are often seen as more authentic and credible than brand content. Consumers have lost faith in traditional advertising, which partly explains its decline. Using consumer videos in online marketing or advertising campaigns makes brands’ messages more authentic.  

More direct communication  

Video is the most effective way of communicating and sharing a wealth of verbal and non-verbal information in just a few seconds. Ever heard the saying, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’? This is even more true of videos consisting of thousands of images. Videos add emotion to text, making brand messaging easier to understand and remember. 

Consumer videos combine the benefits of UGC (in particular, authenticity) with the benefits of video. 

Better conversion rates  

Clients using our Consumer Videos solution have all observed boosted conversion rates after adding consumer videos on their website or product pages. Why? Consumer videos reassure visitors.

Consumer videos drive conversion more than any other type of marketing. Consumers are more likely to make a purchase after watching a video of a consumer who looks like them praising a product. 

These visual testimonials prove the product’s value, reducing any barriers to purchase. They are social proof. They help consumers discover every aspect of a product and its real-life use.  

You can also use consumer videos in email and social media campaigns. They build trust and anticipated satisfaction, which increases the likelihood of purchase. 

Improved SEO for your e-commerce site 

Including video reviews on product pages boosts your website’s SEO. Search engines, such as Google, value video content. Consumer videos are marketing tools that help boost your product pages’ visibility.

Fewer returns 

Managing returns is expensive for any business selling online. Consumer videos can help you limit these costs. 

Video reviews give consumers a better understanding of the product. Disappointment often stems from consumers being unable to see the product in action or real-life situations. Consumer videos reduce the risk of misunderstandings, resulting in fewer product returns and greater customer satisfaction.

A catalyst for social media presence 

Video is king on social media. The success of platforms such as TikTok is based entirely on this format, which has grown hugely in popularity in recent years. Videos are the best way for brands to build their audience on social media platforms.

Showcasing your consumer videos presents two benefits: 

• It is a more cost-effective solution than producing branded marketing videos. Our Consumer Videos platform enables you to generate UGC consumer videos from start to finish, from selecting customers to post-production (semi-automated) and distributing the videos. 
• It is the most effective solution for the reasons outlined above. On social media, more than anywhere else, authentic, spontaneous, natural, and partly improvised content captures users’ attention best.

An example of consumer videos in marketing: Rossignol

But enough talk! Let’s take a look at a real-life example. Rossignol, a winter sports clothing and accessories brand, leverages consumer videos to achieve its marketing goals rather than traditional advertising levers.  

Rossignol decided to use our video review management solution to prompt its loyal customers to test its products. 

The objective was twofold: 

• Boost brand awareness and visibility. Rossignol wanted to show the diversity of its products, in particular its clothing range. 
• Build a closer relationship with consumers and be as transparent as possible.

Rossignol decided to use the video format to share customer testimonials.

The brand used email and social media to reach out to consumers, selecting 26 consumer ambassadors from many applications.

Rossignol decided to use Consumer Videos to scale up its video production and make it easier to collaborate with participating consumers. Consumer Videos enables you to manage every stage of a UGC video campaign, including recruitment, participant briefing, video production, partially automated editing, distribution, etc.

The videos were then published on all of Rossignol’s communication channels to maximize their reach: product pages, YouTube channels, and, of course, social media. Consumer videos are now fully part of the brand’s acquisition strategy.  

Conclusion  

Print and traditional online advertising have both declined. Rising GAFAM advertising costs and consumers’ loss of trust in classic forms of advertising have prompted businesses to explore new ways to build brand awareness. 

This article sheds light on one of today’s main marketing trends: consumer videos in marketing campaigns. Feel free to reach out if you want to find out more. We’d love to show you how you can leverage consumer videos to win over new audiences.

The post The Decline of Print Advertising and the Rise of Consumer Videos appeared first on Avis vérifiés.

So, how do you manage your online reputation in 2024? What are the new or emerging trends in online reputation management? Read on to find out!

Brand reputation management in the age of the Internet and social media

There’s no denying that the advent of the Internet and the widespread use of social media has profoundly transformed the way brands manage their reputation. Today, brand reputation plays out first and foremost on digital channels. The first thing a consumer does when wondering if they can trust a brand is to check consumer reviews posted on websites, blogs, review platforms, or social media. 

Today, every comment, customer review, tweet, or post on social media can potentially damage a brand’s image. As the famous investor Warren Buffet once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it.”  

When managing reputation risk, most brands focus on online reputation management. Although this is not a new trend, it is growing year after year along with the influence of review platforms and social media, which have become a consumer trust barometer. 

Brands need to be proactive, not only by monitoring their online presence but also by actively engaging their audience to shape their image positively. Companies at the forefront of online reputation management have implemented everyday practices such as managing customer reviews on their website, authenticating reviews, maintaining an active presence on social media, and collaborating with nano-influencers to build a good brand image. Now, let’s go into a bit more detail. 

The key role of User-Generated Content (UGC) in online reputation management 

Let’s start with a little quiz.

What type of content posted online and on social media has the greatest impact on a brand’s reputation? 

• A: Content published and distributed by the brand on its website, social media, newsletters, and various other communication channels. 
• B: User-generated content: customer reviews, consumer videos, social media posts. 

The correct answer is B. Today, User-Generated Content (UGC) plays the biggest role in shaping a brand’s reputation. 

The reason is simple: consumers trust peer-generated content more than brand-generated content. Multiple studies have proved this to be true. According to a Marketing Land survey, to take just one example, 83% of consumers trust online user recommendations more than ads. 

A customer who posts an online review or shares their experience with a product is seen as more trustworthy than a self-promoting brand. Why? Because customers are impartial, unlike brands. 

Consumer-generated content, or UGC, can take on various forms. The best known are customer reviews posted on websites (see the Fnac example above) or on review platforms such as Verified Reviews. 

But UGC includes a much wider range of content such as: 

• Comments posted on forums or independent blogs. 
• Posts published on social media by users or content creators with a certain audience (nano-influencers). 
• Consumer videos: product demonstrations, unboxing videos, reviews, and testimonials. 
• Photos published on social media in which consumers present a product they like (or that they were disappointed in). 

The key challenge for brands is to: 

• Analyze the content published by consumers about its products or services. UGC, whether positive or negative, is a source of invaluable feedback and allows brands to identify areas for improvement in the customer experience better than any other abstract analysis. 
• React to UGC, whether to thank the authors of positive content or to respond to detractors (responding to reviews and community management). 
• Prompt customers to publish content about their products, whether testimonial videos, post-purchase customer reviews, or posts published by partner content creators (influencer marketing). 

UGC is not just a reflection of online reputation, it is its foundation. UGC significantly influences online shoppers’ perceptions and decisions. 

The growing role of trusted third parties in managing customer reviews

The power of UGC stems from its authenticity and impartiality. However, this authenticity can sometimes be undermined. Take, for example, fake reviews, published by dishonest users (who often haven’t bought the product they’re criticizing) or competitors.  

To ensure that UGC is authentic, and therefore reliable, trusted platforms specializing in customer reviews management have been developed. The use of these platforms is one of today’s rising trends.  

Our Verified Reviews platform confirms this trend; the number of brands we’re working with is constantly growing. Our platform guarantees the authenticity of customer reviews through a solid authentication process. Customer reviews obtained via our platform are only collected from customers who have bought the product (post-purchase prompts).   

These certified customer reviews are then published on the brand’s Verified Reviews page, and can also be distributed on all the brand’s channels: 

• Product pages and/or other website pages 
• Social media 
• Email (newsletters and others) 
• In-store 
• Print communication materials 

Trusted platforms are becoming key online reputation management tools, making it possible to counter the risk of fake reviews and guarantee genuine, reliable, and trustworthy customer reviews. Joining forces with a trusted partner who can ensure authentic UGC is becoming a key component of brand strategy.

From written reviews to consumer videos: the diversification of UGC formats

Today, written reviews are the most widespread UGC format, whether posted on the brand’s website, review platforms, or social media. It is also the very first UGC format used by consumers. 

Over the past few years, a wide range of UGC formats have emerged. This is one of the biggest online reputation management trends. Brand online reputation management is no longer just about moderating written reviews. 

The most striking phenomenon is the rise of consumer videos, which also reflects the importance of video content on social media.  

Consumer videos stand out from written reviews because the vast majority of them are requested by the brand (we discussed earlier the importance of adopting a proactive approach, including for written reviews, with a platform such as Verified Reviews to guarantee authenticity).  

Brands can prompt consumers to make videos by: 

• Inviting customer ambassadors to publish testimonials about their experience, sometimes in exchange for incentives.   
• Collaborating with content creators and asking them to test products and share their opinions with their audience in videos. 

Reaching out to consumers and distributing their videos is, without a doubt, another online reputation management trend. Consumer Videos, a Skeepers solution, specializes in producing consumer videos and managing the entire process, from recruiting customers to distributing their videos on the brand’s channels, as well as editing and other post-production stages. 

Once produced, these consumer videos can be posted on websites (and elsewhere), or as extracts on social media. Either way, they help build consumer trust.

In a digital world increasingly dominated by video, companies have everything to gain by leveraging this content and incorporating UGVs (User-Generated Videos) into their online reputation

Conclusion: leverage your UGC to manage your e-reputation

Today, online reputation management is based on managing and promoting User-Generated Content, or UGC. As discussed in this article, brands can take control of UGC and actively encourage customers to create authentic content, whether in the form of customer reviews or consumer videos.

Investing in UGC management (rather than in ad campaigns with uncertain ROI) will enable your brand to enter the era of authentic marketing. Verified Reviews and other Skeepers’ solutions can help you take the next step and meet new consumer expectations in terms of responsibility and ethics.

The post Online Reputation Management: Trends for 2024 appeared first on Avis vérifiés.

Let’s take a look at how and why UGC has become so popular in recent years, and how you can harness authentic consumer content to drive brand transparency and improve your image with your target audience.

User-generated content (UGC) at the heart of brands’ strategies

User-generated content, or UGC, has become essential to many brands’ strategies. This content, created and shared by users, comes in a wide range of formats, from customer reviews on product pages to photos and videos posted on social media, such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

Unlike traditional content produced by brands, UGC stems from consumers’ experiences and perceptions. It enables consumers to speak about your brand, products, and services. Therein lies the strength of UGC!

The main types of UGC

UGC comes in various forms. The main ones include:

• Written customer reviews and comments posted on e-commerce sites or review platforms (such as Verified Reviews, as shown in the example above).
• Visual content (photos or videos) in which customers share their experience and use of a product in an everyday setting.
• Social media publications, in the form of posts or stories, showcasing products in various situations.

Written customer reviews are the oldest form of UGC and can be found on many e-commerce sites. The current trend is to create various forms of UGC on social media: photos, videos, posts, challenges, competitions, etc.

A few key figures about UGC

Many figures prove the importance and impact of UGC on consumers, their brand perception and their purchasing decisions.

Here are just a few:

• 88% of consumers check online customer reviews before making a purchase (Source: IFOP).
• 61% of consumers base their purchasing decisions on a combination of promotional content and customer reviews (Source: SmartFocus).
• 88% of consumers trust customer reviews as much as recommendations from friends and family (Source: Bright Local).
• Social media campaigns featuring UGC have a 50% higher engagement rate (Source: Meltwater).
• Email campaigns featuring UGC have a 73% higher click-through rate (Source: HubSpot).

The main strength of UGC: authenticity

The strong impact of UGC on consumers is largely down to its authenticity. The voice of the consumer is far more trustworthy and credible than the voice of brands. After all, consumers have nothing to sell so they can’t be accused of bias.

In a world where traditional advertising is met with scepticism and indifference, UGC is becoming the key to building a strong, trustworthy brand image. UGC reassures consumers.

It is authentic because it includes:

• Genuine opinions: reviews and comments reflect customers’ personal experience and have no ulterior business motive.
• Diverse experiences: UGC captures a wide range of experiences, providing other consumers with a preview of what to expect.
• Impartial reviews: most UGC is produced with no financial incentive, which makes it more reliable for other users.

The authenticity of UGC about a brand, products, or services, largely contributes to the brand’s image and credibility. It helps to build the image of a brand that is itself authentic.

Brands can also be more transparent by interacting with UGC. Responding to both positive and negative customer reviews shows that the brand is committed to its customers, which in turn builds trust.

2 examples of how to use UGC to boost customer trust

Let’s take a look at two examples of brands that leverage User-Generated Content to strengthen their brand image. These examples are not random. They illustrate two different (but complementary) ways of using UGC.

Vélobécane, boosting reassurance and conversion with UGC

Vélobécane is a Digital Native Vertical Brand (DNVB), i.e. an exclusively online business. Vélobécane specialises in the sale of electric bikes and uses the Verified Reviews platform to manage customer reviews, from collection to marketing.

What is Vélobécane’s UGC strategy? Collecting post-purchase customer reviews and sharing them on its website to:

• Boost conversion rates on its product pages,
• Reassure potential buyers visiting its website.

The result: Vélobécane recorded a 20% increase in its site conversion rate. This shows the power of UGC, in particular customer reviews which reassure and encourage consumers to make a purchase. Vélobécane also takes the time to respond to each customer review posted on Verified Reviews, further building consumer trust in the brand.

Bioderma, or the art of combining influencer marketing with UGC

Bioderma, a cosmetics company, wanted to improve its brand awareness and image. How? By leveraging User-Generated content, of course. But not just any UGC… UGC produced by nano-influencers who love the brand, its products and their respective communities.

Nano-influencers are content creators on social media with a small but particularly engaged audience. This sets them apart from “mega-influencers”, who benefit from partnerships that resemble more traditional advertising.

Bioderma used Skeepers’ Influencer Marketing solution to:

• Find suitable content creators – Bioderma has collaborated with 138 nano-creators.
• Professionally activate and manage creator partners on a large scale. Bioderma already used influencer marketing but was looking to step up its approach.

Manage TikTok and Instagram campaigns, from defining objectives and measuring performance.

Bioderma sent products to creator partners in exchange for written reviews and ratings. In other words, combining influencer marketing with UGC production… The brand used Influencer Marketing by Skeepers.

Discover the Bioderma case study: conquering with efficiency, find out how Bioderma boosted brand awareness with Skeepers

Bioderma’s Instagram influencer campaigns delivered the following results:

• 813k subscribers reached;
• 5.13% engagement rate on creator partners’ posts;
• 1,792 comments by various audiences;
• 139 stories published by creator partners;
• 39k likes.

This client case study shows how you can use influencer marketing to generate hundreds, or even thousands, of quality UGCs. This includes content produced by creator partners, of course, but also that generated by their followers.

Influencer marketing, centred on small-scale creators, helps maintain authenticity which is the holy grail of marketing today.

A few tips to encourage authentic UGC creation

Here are a few simple and practical tips to encourage the creation of authentic UGC:

• Create an engaging environment by making it easy for consumers to share their reviews and feedback. Posting a review should be simple. And, of course, feel free to ask them for more. We recommend reaching out to customers for post-purchase reviews, for example by email. You can also organise fun campaigns on social media (challenges, competitions, etc.) to encourage consumers to post content about your brand.
• Showcase your consumers’ contributions by sharing UGC on your brand’s various channels: social media, newsletters, website, etc. It’s all very well to generate UGC, but leveraging and highlighting it through your communication channels is even better!
• React to content produced by consumers: thank you messages, comments, re-shares, discussions… Responding is the best way to build an active and involved community.
• Guarantee reliable and trustworthy customer feedback using Verified Reviews, a must to tackle fake reviews.

Conclusion

Whether (classic but tried and tested) customer reviews on your website or social media publications, UGC has a major impact on brand perception. 2024 is the year to invest in this kind of content. Authentic UGC fosters brand transparency.

Today, more than ever, the businesses that stand out have built a strong and reassuring image. Traditional advertising has become less impactful in recent years, whereas UGC resonates with current trends: a search for authenticity, the prevalence of social media, etc.

If you’d like to find out more about the solutions we offer, feel free to reach out. We’ll show you how to leverage UGC to reach your objectives.

The post How UGC Authenticity Fosters Brand Transparency appeared first on Avis vérifiés.

With online shopping increasing, making sure that your customer reviews are easily accessible should be the first item on your ‘to-do’ list. The first step is to have your reviews available on your website, your social media accounts or indexed in a search engine. It is important to have your most recent reviews in a prominent location because according to a recent Capterra study, 35% of consumers have more confidence in a review left less than 3 months ago.

Once you have all of your reviews complied, its time to evaluate the percentage of positive reviews to negative reviews. Obviously positive reviews are the most sought after because they help convey the quality of your brand and products to your prospective customers. One thing that many business owners forget is that a positive review says more about your brand than you could convey in any marketing campaign. Turn your happy customers in brand ambassadors for prospects to marvel at.

While negative reviews aren’t fun to read, its important to react and learn from them. Negative reviews should be addressed within 24 hours because whoever left the poor review clearly isn’t happy with the service they received. If you have a partner that can help you identify and respond to negative reviews before they are made public, to can mitigate this situation before it happens.

It’s important to have a reliable partner to help you collect and manage reviews to build your brand. If you are reading this and are thinking that you simply can’t manage this all on your own, give us a call and we can help you out.

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