Digital marketing trends are constantly moving and shifting. To stay ahead of the curve, brands need to keep up with the latest trends and constantly re-evaluate their content strategy based on them. That is the only way to move forward. 

Every year, TINT releases the State of Social and User Generated Content report to help marketers do just that! Here are some key insights from the report that will help you with your brand strategy. We have also added our own opinions on what this means for the marketing industry. 

But, before that..

About TINT 

TINT is an all-in-one user generated content platform that lets you get more engagement and drive more conversions by helping you discover the best content generated by your customers and fans. Using advanced tools, TINT gives you access to the most detailed performance insights, allows you to easily track the latest trends, come up with UGC contests, and schedule and publish your content across all social media channels. 

TINT’s State Of Social And User Generated Content Report 2023

Survey Methodology 

The data for this report was gathered by TINT using online surveys. 256 consumers and 456 marketers from around the world took part in the surveys. 

Key Insights From the State of Social and UGC Report 2023

#1 Marketers plan to invest more on video and audio content 

66% of consumers believe that among the sea of brands, the ones that use audio and video content tend to stand out more. In fact, consumers plan on being more active on Facebook and Instagram, followed by YouTube and TikTok – all of them being social media platforms that are very video-friendly. 

So, as much as 79% of marketers plan to invest more in video content in 2023 across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. 

#2 Social media is often being used as a search engine 

Gone are the days when social media was used for the sole purpose of connecting with friends and family. These days, it is being used as a search engine. 

At least 76% of consumers agree that they have used social media platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook to read up on the latest news, discover new brands and experiences, and search for how-tos. This means brands need to ramp up their social media SEO to increase their discoverability and reach more people. 

Social media SEO is often platform-specific. An example of SEO for TikTok is adding closed captions which increases the views of your videos. 

#3 Most marketers do not have the resources to measure content performance 

Surprisingly, only 18% of marketers state that they are able to measure the performance of their visual content across different platforms. Without performance metrics, you will never know which of your strategies are working and which ones need some tweaking. Especially with visual content gaining more prominence, marketers need to invest in social media analytical tools if they want to beat their competition. 

#4 User generated content ranks the highest on customers’ trustworthiness scale 

Since UGC is authentic, unpaid content created by customers who already use and love the product, most consumers trust them more than other types of content. Staged UGC, on the other hand, is the least trusted by consumers. Brand content ranks right in the middle.

In a nutshell, consumers do not want to be advertised to. They want to discover brands naturally, and UGC as well as content by creators are a great way of doing that. 

Conversely, brands prefer content generated by them since they are vetted by the brand and will be in line with their vision. However, with 75% of consumers claiming that they can detect when they are being advertised to, it might be time for brands to focus more on UGC. 

#5 Marketers are facing more challenges 

In 2023, 36% of marketers claim that their budgets were decreased, while only 29% stated that their budgets were increased. The rest did not see any changes. 

Apart from budget, user engagement and time to create visual content are also pressing concerns for marketers. As much as 61% of them also claim that they do not have the resources needed to generate more content. 

One of the best solutions to this problem is using authentic UGC. It is free, generates a lot of engagement, increases your brand visibility and trustworthiness, and, most importantly, saves you time and money. 

#6 Over 65% of consumers think there is a difference between creators and influencers

And more than 72% of marketers agree! Even though both of the terms are often used interchangeably, customers believe that creators focus on the content first, while influencers focus on the audience first. 

More than 60% of consumers also agree that TikTok creators hold more influence over their purchasing decisions than celebrities. This is because they view creators as normal people like you and me who advocate for a brand because they genuinely like it, as opposed to celebrities who get paid to advertise. 

#7 UGC is replacing stock photography 

As much as 80% of consumers prefer real photos of consumers rather than the same old stock photos that everyone uses. They want to see a diverse pool of real customers using the products and sharing their experiences. 

Not only does it make consumers feel seen, it also highlights the fact there are real people out there who are advocating for your brand, which increases trust in your products. 

One thing to keep in mind is that you should always request permission before using other people’s content for your marketing – something that only 23% of marketers seem to be doing. 

#8 Most consumers look at ratings and reviews before making a decision 

Coming as no surprise to any of us, 80% of consumers stated that they use ratings and reviews from real buyers to make informed purchase decisions. 

69% of marketers also agree that ratings and reviews play a major role in increasing conversions, but most of them do not leverage them. A great idea is to re-share your testimonials on your social media pages and newsletters. With social media being used as a search engine, highlighting your customers’ positive experiences will help potential buyers make quicker purchase decisions. 

You can access the full, detailed report on TINT’s website. Click here!

What Does This Mean for Marketing in 2023? 

• Brands need to invest more in audio and visual content.
• With social media being used as a search engine, brands need to focus on optimizing their accounts across all platforms for SEO to increase their discoverability. 
• As much as 82% of marketers need to invest in tools that will measure how their visual content performs across various platforms. 
• Consumers prefer authentic UGC content over other types of content, so brands need to start leveraging this.
• UGC content can help with the three most pressing challenges that marketers currently face: budget, engagement, and time. 
• Consumers prefer photos of real customers rather than stock photography, so brands need to start making this shift by incorporating UGC. 
• Most people look for ratings for reviews from real customers to help them make a purchase decision. So, brands need to encourage customers to share their reviews and re-share them across platforms to attract more potential buyers.