How UGC Transforms Brand Promotion in Russia: Boosting Trust and Engagement

Over 60% of consumers view UGC content before making a purchase. This format is trusted more than traditional advertising. 

User-generated content (UGC) is non-commercial content created by users themselves. It can be photos, videos, reviews, or social media posts that show their experience of interacting with a product or brand. It's a modern form of word-of-mouth marketing that is more believable and inspires more trust than many company-created promotional materials.

Brands must recognize the importance of UGC, which directly impacts trust and conversions. Asia has long used this format, while Europe's potential is still largely untapped. In Russia, however, brands are finally recognizing the value of UGC and using it to drive promotion.

UGС Formats

Advertising campaigns that feature visuals are an excellent way to make a brand more approachable. The same is true of USG content formats. When customers see real photos of other consumers, they trust the brand. This increases engagement and click-throughs.

Testimonials and question sections on a website are some of the easiest and most effective ways to improve customer engagement. People read other people's opinions before they buy. An active question section is the best way to dispel doubts and increase conversion rates. User-generated content is crucial in marketplaces where customers rely heavily on product reviews and questions.
 

Wildberries reviews for 11i professionals hair growth serum

UGC is evolving. While text used to dominate, today the focus is shifting towards visual content and video. Visual feeds are not just for showcasing products. They are customized to a specific customer, making interactions more personal.

On Instagram*, users actively mention brands, creating content that is easily shared and increases reach. Mentions like these build a stronger connection with audiences and instill trust in products through real user experiences. 

Campaigns with UGC are effective, especially when supported by media advertising. Ads with UGC outperform regular ones by 23%. UGC email newsletters almost double clickability, and retargeting increases click-through rates by 2.5 times.

Loyalty programs associated with UGC create an ecosystem where customers are rewarded for interacting with the brand. This is not just loyalty. It is active participation in the brand's life.
 

STARS COFFEE contest in the brand’s VK community 

Creating communities around UGC, as Olympus does with photo galleries, allows users to share experiences, making the brand the center of those interactions.
 

An example of user-generated content in the Olympus Russia VK community 

UGC promotion can be integrated into outdoor advertising. For example, screens displaying content from the VkusVill store chain, gathered through the "Share Your MOYOzhenoe" contest, significantly enhance the impact of marketing campaigns.
 

Photos of VkusWill winners in front of screens with their image on them

The “Find Your Moezhenoe” campaign yielded the following results:

• more than three million additional packs of ice cream were sold; 

• evenue increased by 349 million rubles;

• 367 thousand people bought ice cream from VkusVill for the first time;

• 43 thousand people became new customers of VkusVill.

Furthermore, this store chain does not stop there. They also include EGC (content created by the company's employees) along with UGC.

The company launched an unusual contest among its employees. They designed the product packaging themselves. Normally, professional designers handle this within the company, but they decided to get creative and involve employees from other departments. The winners have already decorated the packages of pancakes and notepads, which are now on sale in stores. Packaging for ice cream, pancakes, and cheesecakes is also in development.

The contest gives employees a chance to show what they can do and attract the attention of enterprising and creative applicants. The company's flexible approach allowed for unique elements to be added to the package designs. Fifty-eight people participated in the contest, submitting 108 works.

UGС strategies for brand promotion

Let's understand how to use this tool properly.

UGC content collection

You can collect content by organizing contests, offering discounts for reviews, or asking customers to share product photos and videos. You must incentivize users to create brand-related content.

Foam Store motivates customers to leave a review in exchange for a discount on future purchases

It's important to follow brand-related mentions and hashtags. Engage with users who post about your products by liking or sharing your content.

For offline activities, you can use QR codes to direct customers to platforms where they can broadcast brand commitment.

'Yandex Museum’ has placed a QR code for leaving feedback on a flyer and a business card

UGC content selection

Select UGC that aligns with the brand image. Ensure you consider content quality, relevance to the target audience, and alignment with brand values.

Proper use of UGC data is the key to understanding your audience and targeting your marketing efforts. This is how you build more effective strategies.

Test new formats, whether photos or videos, to find the most effective ways to engage and increase conversions.

Integrating UGC into marketing strategies

Employ user-generated content on your website, social media, advertising campaigns, and email newsletters. Post user reviews, photos, and videos to make your brand more human and attract new customers.

Utilize photos and user testimonials in banners, social ads, and other media ad formats. This makes the ads seem more authentic and natural.

Include user videos in your YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram ad campaigns. It can be product demos, reviews, or testimonials. Video content is more attention-grabbing and inspires more trust.

Feedback generation

Special services are available to generate reviews on social networks and marketplaces. For new brands, this is crucial for creating a positive first impression and inspiring customer trust. Such services can quickly populate product cards with reviews, increasing conversions and sales. Many brands at the market entry stage request positive reviews on marketplaces like Wildberries.

Read our article here to learn more about how such services work and how to manage your brand reputation online.

Community building

Create a space where users can share their content and socialize. This can be a group on a social network or a special page on a website. Also, come up with a hashtag where customers can share their content. Actively participate in discussions to strengthen the connection with your audience.

For example, Lululemon invented the hashtag #TheSweatLife to allow customers to share photos of their workouts. In this way, the company has created a community of healthy and active lifestyle enthusiasts and Lululemon customers around its brand.
 

 

 

 

 

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Публикация от Corey callaghan (@frozen_still_frames)

 

Additional ideas 

Give customers discounts or freebies for reviews, photos, or videos of your product. Mark users who create content and share their posts on brand pages. This will motivate others to do the same. 

Photo contests are an excellent strategy, as demonstrated by Ostin fashion brand. The contest is simple: customers leave reviews in the mobile app or on the brand's website and receive bonuses that can be spent on their next purchase. The best reviews are rewarded with the maximum number of bonuses.

Ask customers to leave a review or share their usage experience. Successful UGC examples should be published to inspire others to create content.

Additionally, encourage customers to share their thoughts about your brand by asking questions on social media or at events. This will drive engagement and new stories.

Use social listening to find brand mentions. Engage with users who tag you and motivate them to share their experiences.

Give customers simple instructions on how to create content. Show them how to take quality photos or write a good review, like Ostin did. Let them know that their efforts will be seen on your official pages.

Work with influencers who are close to your audience. Their endorsements will inspire subscribers to create content. Run contests with them where participants share content about your products. This will increase recognition and engagement.

Which social networks are better for using UGC?

To use UGC effectively, you need to choose the right platform for the type of content and audience. Some social networks are better for photos and videos, while others are better for text or interactives. Let's take a look at the most popular platforms and their features.

Instagram* is the ideal platform for posting UGC photos and videos. Most users here actively interact with visual formats. It's the perfect platform for creating viral campaigns and attracting a young audience, especially when it comes to challenges or contests. Despite Instagram* being blocked in Russia, many users continue to access the platform via VPN actively. Instagram is the ideal platform for promoting beauty brands, as a significant part of its audience is female. Restrictions or not, you can still be sure that your branding and marketing activities will be effective here.
 

 

 

 

 

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 Unpacking by @dasha.kondakovaa with mentioning the Golden Apple brand

TikTok is the leader in UGC videos. Users flock to this site to take part in challenges, and create viral videos, so the platform is perfect for connecting with a young audience. Creativity is unrestricted. Furthermore, users of the platform, like those who publish videos on YouTube, share unboxing videos of purchased goods. However, the length restrictions on videos mean that the reviews are quite short.

YouTube is a platform for long-form video content. It is suitable for more serious reviews, testimonials, and training. YouTube attracts both young and adult audiences and allows you to launch viral campaigns through the video format.
 

Video review of a REDMOND sandwich maker with the hashtag #redmond by a regular user

The company ran video review contests on YouTube until 2021. It then changed its strategy. The company's page on the social network VKontakte now features videos created by users with ‘redmond’ marks.
 

VKontakte is the go-to platform for publishing both textual and visual UGC. It is the ideal platform for interacting with a wide audience, including contests and challenges. VKontakte is also perfect for creating a community. You can easily organize publics and groups where users will communicate, and share their experiences and content related to the brand. Active communities maintain a constant interest in products and strengthen audience loyalty. 

Telegram is an effective platform for text UGC, and it's becoming increasingly popular for video as well thanks to its short formats. However, you can only run promotions or contests here among bloggers or with their help.

 

A non-commercial post by blogger Adelle in the Don't Touch My Skin Telegram channel

Review sites (IRecommend, Otzovik) work best for text reviews and testimonials. These platforms attract potential customers who are looking for detailed opinions on products and services.

For example, KUNDER actively organizes contests for the best reviews of its products on marketplaces and review sites.

Reviews of KUNDER bottles on Otzovik.ru

UGC effectiveness measurement in marketing campaigns

To evaluate the effectiveness of UGC, start by analyzing engagement. Look at likes, comments, reposts, and saves. This will help you understand how interesting the content is to your audience.

Next, evaluate reach. Internal social media analytics tools like Instagram* Insights or TikTok Analytics will show you how many people saw your content.

It's also important to keep track of conversions. Track how many users converted to a purchase through UGC using UTM tags.

Don't forget to monitor the frequency of brand mentions using services like Hootsuite or Brandwatch. This will give you a full understanding of how actively your brand is being discussed.

Finally, calculate ROI - compare the cost of the campaign to the revenue it generated.

Let's summarize

Utilizing UGC is a powerful branding tool that helps boost engagement, build trust, and forge a strong connection with your audience. Integrating UGC into marketing strategies is an effective way to build awareness and increase conversions at minimal cost. You must actively encourage customers to create content, analyze the results carefully, and adapt your approach to engage your target audience more effectively.

However, UGC is not the whole story when it comes to a successful campaign. Contact the RMAA team for a comprehensive marketing strategy that addresses all aspects of your brand. We will help you develop an effective plan that incorporates UGC and other key tools to achieve your marketing goals in Russia and the CIS.

 

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*Meta's activities are banned on the territory of the Russian Federation.