Why You Should Leverage User Generated Content (UGC) in Email

User-generated content (UGC) isn’t just the icing on the cake of social media marketing—it can be the secret ingredient in your email strategy, too! By mixing in authentic, customer-driven content like photos, testimonials, and reviews, you can bake up trust, boost customer engagement, and create email campaigns that resonate. UGC lets your customers become your biggest advocates, delivering a slice of authenticity that prepackaged marketing can’t compete with.

What is User-Generated Content?

User-generated content (UGC) is content created by your customers—think photos, videos, reviews, and social media posts—showcasing their experiences with your brand. Unlike polished, studio-created content, UGC is authentic and relatable because it comes straight from the people who know (and love!) your products.

Picture this: a satisfied customer shares a photo of their new purchase in action, tags your brand’s social account, and raves about how much they love it. That photo? It’s gold for your marketing! And that’s how you make UGC feel genuine and unscripted – a key ingredient for building connections and driving conversions.

Benefits of User-Generated Content In Your Emails

Adding UGC to your email campaigns can sweeten your eCommerce marketing strategy in more ways than one. Here’s how it serves up results:

1. Builds Authenticity

In a world of overly polished and fine-tuned social media ads, consumers are hungry for something real. UGC delivers just that. By featuring customer-generated content in your emails—from glowing testimonials or candid photos—you show your audience the real-life value of your products.

These unscripted moments connect with your audience on a deeper level. When someone sees another customer enjoying your product, it’s easier for them to picture themselves in the same scenario. This level of authenticity develops trust and turns your emails into a genuine conversation rather than a sales pitch.

2. Builds Community

UGC isn’t just about showcasing your products—it’s about celebrating your customers and bringing them together. When you feature user-generated content in emails, you send the message that your customers are an essential part of your brand story.

Highlighting a social media post or sharing a “Customer of the Month” spotlight builds a sense of belonging. Your customers feel appreciated, and they’re more likely to stay engaged with your brand. This snowball effect creates a loyal community that’s excited to contribute and share their experiences with others.

3. Encourages Trust

Trust is the foundation of any successful eCommerce business, and UGC helps you build it layer by layer. When your customers see real people advocating for your products, it carries more weight than anything you could say yourself. 

Reviews, photos, and testimonials act as social proof, showing potential buyers that others have already taken the leap—and loved it! UGC bridges the gap between brand promises and customer expectations, making your emails feel honest and credible.

4. Provides Social Proof

Social proof is a tried-and-true recipe for conversions. People trust what other people love, and UGC is the perfect way to showcase that love. When your email highlights glowing reviews, 5-star ratings, or customer-submitted photos, you’re giving potential customers the validation they need to make a purchase.

This kind of social proof reassures your audience that they’re making a smart choice. UGC bakes credibility right into your email campaigns through snapshots of happy customers and carousels with testimonials.

5. Increases Engagement

Nothing captures attention like real-life stories. UGC naturally draws people in because it’s relatable and visually compelling. When you include customer photos or videos in your emails, your audience is more likely to engage.

By turning the spotlight on your customers, you make your emails feel less like a pitch and more like a celebration of your brand’s community. This kind of genuine engagement can lead to stronger relationships and better results over time.

6. Allows for Increased Personalization

UGC opens the door for a new level of personalization in email marketing. By tailoring user-generated content to match your audience’s preferences or purchase history, you create emails that feel relevant.

For instance, if a customer recently purchased one of your top-selling items, you can include photos or reviews from other customers who loved the same product. This approach makes your emails feel personalized while encouraging repeat purchases by showing complementary products or inspiring new ideas.

7. Cost-Effective Content

Creating high-quality marketing content can eat up your budget, but UGC offers a cost-effective alternative. Your customers are already generating a treasure trove of content—photos, reviews, videos—you just need to tap into it.

By encouraging your audience to share their experiences (and don’t forget to get permission to use that content!), you can save on production costs without sacrificing quality. UGC also has the added benefit of feeling more authentic, so you’re saving money AND creating content that connects – win-win!

How to Incorporate UGC into Emails

Ready to sprinkle some UGC into your email campaigns? Here’s how to get started:

1. Showcase Customer-Submitted Images

Feature photos from your customers to highlight how your products fit into real life. This makes your emails feel more authentic and visually engaging.

2. Highlight Testimonials and Reviews

Include customer feedback to add credibility to your emails. A glowing review paired with a compelling call-to-action can do wonders for conversions.

3. Encourage Users to Tag Your Brand

Run a social media campaign before rolling out your email efforts, encouraging customers to tag your brand. Once the campaign is complete and got the great engagement you were looking for, use these tagged posts in your email campaigns to create a cycle of engagement that benefits everyone.

4. Customer Spotlights

Dedicate a section of your email to celebrating your customers! Highlight creative or inspiring ways they’ve used your product to build a sense of community and inspire others.

UGC Email Examples to Inspire Your Next Campaign

Looking for inspiration? Here are a few brands that have perfected the recipe for UGC success:

• Glossier: Known for featuring customer selfies in their emails, Glossier uses UGC to showcase their products in daily life.
• Away: This travel brand highlights user photos of their luggage in far-off destinations, blending social proof with wanderlust.
• Warby Parker: By combining customer reviews and real-life photos into their campaigns, Warby Parker builds trust and authenticity.

Each of these brands uses UGC to create emails that are visually stunning, relatable, and effective. The key takeaway? Authenticity always sells.

Bring Your Emails to Life with UGC

UGC has the power to change your eCommerce email marketing strategy from cookie-cutter to unforgettable. By incorporating customer-generated content, you can build authenticity, cultivate trust, and engage your audience like never before.

Start small—experiment with one type of UGC, like customer photos or a testimonial, and see how your audience responds. With a little creativity and a dash of strategy, you’ll be serving up email campaigns that stand out in no time.

Ready to whip up some UGC magic? It’s time to turn your customers into the secret sauce behind your email marketing success! Reach out to the digital experts at CAKE.

About the Author

Tiffany Anderson serves as a Senior Content Strategist at ZGM and has a passion for telling stories. Her specialties include crafting marketing materials, website content, articles, blogs, landing pages, sales copy, and more! Beyond creating the copy, she enjoys the art of editing and making sure all those commas and colons are in the right place.
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