Did you know that customer feedback and user content are now more powerful than ever?
Thanks to the broader scope and influence of the internet, people are given the freedom to express their personal experiences and opinions about brands across different industries. Although user-generated content (UGC) has unlocked multiple advantages for entrepreneurs and businesses, it also meant that brands became more vulnerable to public criticism and scrutiny.
The mere thought of how much ripple effect a single negative feedback can bring is terrifying enough that it is essential for businesses, particularly retail brands, to shift their focus on the relevance of ecommerce content moderation services.
Yes, Ecommerce and UGC go hand-in-hand in the digital branding universe. How so? Spare five to seven minutes of your time and you will get just the answers you need by reading this blog!
5 Ways in Which Content Moderation Helps Your Ecommerce Business Grow
In a nutshell, user content and Ecommerce businesses are in a symbiotic, give-and-take relationship. Businesses earn favorable user feedback by providing commendable service and living up to what they promise about their brand. In return, customers give their support and loyalty, all while helping the former gain more exposure, attract leads, and boost credibility.
A business without an exclusive community of followers backing them up is difficult to trust and hardly anyone would feel compelled to buy with advertisements that lack concrete proof. Indeed, user content can be misused, but for the most part, people also need to have an authentic, first-hand experience with a company’s services for fellow customers to believe them.
1. The presence of UGC means there is organic engagement.
If you want to project credibility, you need to rely on UGC as an alternative form of advertisement. Even to this day, word-of-mouth is still a more convincing source of information for buyers that it holds more weight than commercials.
If you want to project credibility, you need to rely on UGC as an alternative form of advertisement. Even to this day, word-of-mouth is still a more convincing source of information for buyers that it holds more weight than commercials.Ideally, Ecommerce brands should allow the presence of as much UGC as they can gather on their social media pages, platforms, websites, and anywhere else where they can build and expand their presence online. When people talk about a business or product, it is a sign of interest. Whether they discuss it in forums, feature it in a personal blog or tag the brand name in a social media post’s comment section, publicity from customers should initially be considered a good head start. Focus on growing engagement from authentic users to build loyalty from your customers. The more you foster loyalty and commitment from your end-users, the greater your opportunities of selling more and acquiring higher ROI.
On the other hand, you must also be cautious with the amount of freedom you allow people to exercise especially when it involves your company as a whole. Set limitations by hiring content moderators to implement guidelines for what posts, language, and content are allowed. Provide clear and concise restrictions on your online communities and execute it with finality.
2. Moderating UGC allows you to listen more closely to what customers have to say.
Moderate comments from buyers or repeat customers to have a glimpse of the culture and opinions that they have built around your brand. A good example of this is how the popular mouthwash brand, Listerine, learned how their product has become a multipurpose tool for customers. A large chunk of their customers have shared a hack that depicts how the mouthwash can be used as substitute medication for toenail fungus.
Retail industry experts like Macy’s, eBay, and Walmart know that UGC for ecommerce reflects the competence of their services. Have you noticed how each of their campaigns are succeeded by responses to customer requests or prevailing issues coupled with their brand in the past? It would be wise to seek the assistance of online moderators to read, review, and compile the growing number of feedback from your audience. You must value positive and negative audience reactions equally, as both typically coincide with each other in strengthening a brand.
3. Ecommerce user-generated content projects your brand for higher SEO ranking.
Speaking of strengthening brands, the effective moderation and use of customer feedback is also a way to boost your rank on search engines. Service-related and brand-specific keywords gradually increase your visibility. To utilize this, you can have customers write blogs that feature your company. You can also rely on user reviews to give potential leads a fresh perspective about the features and services you have to offer. As they say, any kind of publicity, whether positive or not, is still good publicity.
Work on enhancing the presence of UGC on your Ecommerce website. Make it a point to have content, forum discussions and every user conversation on social media with keywords relevant to your services be identified with your brand. Fortify your content marketing strategy with dependable content moderation to help positive audience reactions outweigh harmful and misleading posts.
4. Combining human and AI moderation creates a powerful, modern, and efficient crowd control method.
The internet also allows for more freedom of speech. Sometimes, user content can be misused or abused. A smart countermeasure for this would be to employ both human moderators and AI-powered moderation software. There is no telling how dramatically the volume of reactions from online communities escalates. Even the most well-loved online selling websites have their fair share of naysayers, and not all feedback they throw are constructive or helpful for your growth. At the same time, you can never really tell what goes on in the minds of every follower or critic until they put their thoughts into words and visual cues. Scandals and fake news can easily be manipulated to discredit your services and make your brand seem like a hoax.
Take review management services as an example. Review management is a type of service that analyzes the validity of ratings and evaluations done about a company. Not all the reviews you read online are authentic. Some businesses hire people to fabricate lies and deceptive claims against their competitors. You need to have human moderators who can discern user intent for different content, and automated moderators to scan and filter words and languages used. You must also use both to verify user information and accounts on your pages and sites.
5. User-generated content converts ecommerce marketing strategies into feasible campaigns
Nothing beats the transparency of user-generated content for ecommerce statistics. The reactions of your followers is something out of your control. However, it is the variety of opinions that you receive that enable you to understand your supporters better. For every campaign or promotional strategy you use, expect to acquire new customers and generate a broader selection of actions and statements. The abundance of genuine and organic data you receive can be translated into statistical information that you can use to devise ads and content that will speak to your target audience.
Is UGC driving ecommerce to success?
The definitive answer to that is, yes. But you must also tread lightly and utilize it with precaution. Encourage both new and existing customers to speak out about what they like or don’t like about your brand. Likewise, set limitations to the types of content, terms, or trends that are being associated with your services with the help of professional and experienced moderators.
There are several content moderation companies like Chekkee that enable outsourcing to internationally based businesses. Their expertise in handling user-generated content for ecommerce is evident with their lineup of flexible content-regulating features for texts, images, videos, forums, websites and social media platforms.
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