Once a visitor lands on your website, you only have 50 milliseconds to make a positive impression.
The goal of every marketer is to reduce bounce rates and increase the average time spent per session, but achieving these metrics requires a well-thought-out strategy to make a powerful first impression. Effective use of authentic user-generated content ("UGC") can break up chunks of text, aid in selling your product or service, and contribute to a higher brand recall.
This blog post will cover three ideas you can use to incorporate UGC throughout your website that will convert your visitors into buyers.
The majority of your website visitors might not be familiar with your social media accounts, so why not integrate your Instagram feed as part of your website in the form of a widget? This feature serves as an instant boost of social proof and can open the door to many new followers.
Without getting too technical, widgets are often third-party applications embedded directly into the body of your website. On some websites, you might have seen widgets such as weather reports, clocks, and countdowns without even realising it.
The Outer Hebrides has embedded their Instagram feed at the bottom of their website in a widget. This gallery of visual assets allows visitors to explore the organization's social media presence without leaving their website. What is even better is that social media widgets can be enhanced with authentic user-generated content to show potential visitors what they should expect to see from the cameras of actual visitors.
For more on acquiring UGC via SnapSea, check out SnapSea's approach to UGC.
A hero banner is an oversized web banner pinned at the top of a web page that covers the entire horizontal space. More importantly, it serves as a first look into your organization's offerings. Because hero banners take up the majority of the screen, you want to make this space come alive by adding an impactful piece of UGC. With large pieces of content like this, first-time visitors are more likely to remember your homepage due to the visual appeal and lively feel.
When browsing any website during the decision-making process, reviews and authentic anecdotes will always stand out to a potential customer. A positive review not only encourages more visitors to consider buying a particular product or service, but it can also build credibility for your brand. Consumers often see five-star reviews as an indication that the item is worth their time and effort.
To amplify a review's authenticity, consider combining it with UGC and placing this material on your website or social channels to give a complete 360-degree view into a customer's experience.
Consumers say visuals are the most important factor in online purchases. Incorporate UGC into your reviews, whether you're promoting a new dinnerware set, destination, or restaurant.
When it comes to finding the right visual content, this can be an image or video you have already sourced and posted to your social media accounts. If the piece of content you choose from your social channels doesn’t already have a written review, invite the creator into a conversation and gather their feedback to supplement your offerings.
Overall, your website will need to answer two questions:
Using the formats outlined above, you can incorporate UGC on your website to incline visitors to stay on your website and ultimately convert them into long-term customers. Leveraging relatable UGC that matches your brand ethos can go a long way towards driving conversions.
For more information on how to utilise UGC to maximise your brand, head back to SnapSea or give us a follow on LinkedIn.
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