Do you feel like all of your social media ads feature the same boring product against a white background? Do you feel like your Facebook and Instagram ads lack personality and could use some zing? The good news is that real photos taken by Internet users can now be used as backgrounds for Dynamic Product Ads, replacing the previously used stock photos. As a matter of fact, many companies are beginning to use UGC in dynamic product ads on social networks, and the results have been very promising. So why shouldn’t you make use of it as well?
UGC: what does it stand for?
UGC is shorthand for “User Generated Content,” which encompasses anything that a user creates and shares online. Specifically, user-generated content (UGC) for a brand is any content produced by the brand’s social media followers that features the brand’s products or services. Need an illustration? UGC is truly shining when a subscriber to Sephora’s Instagram account shares a photo from one of the brand’s stores showing her trying on lipstick.
Obviously, product use is not the only context in which this type of content can be useful. User-generated content also includes TripAdvisor reviews. Consumers who take selfies while holding personalised Coca-Cola bottles are not excluded from this category of celebratory social media posts. Likewise, Airbnb hosts who show off their communities to visitors do a great service.
Brands can gain a lot of value from this type of content because it increases the user’s visibility in their community and influences the purchasing decisions of other consumers. Since 92% of customers trust content published by peers over content from a brand (HubSpot), the genuineness of UGC is a potent means of increasing purchases. No one made these users post a photo of themselves wearing Nikes or playing the Switch; this content is the result of a form of free expression that inspires confidence in consumers.
The marketing industry has long made use of user-created content. However, the concept of incorporating these contents into Dynamic Product Ads is novel. Because of that, everything must be rethought.
What makes Dynamic Product Ads unique from static ads?
To fully appreciate how groundbreaking it is to combine user-generated content (UGC) with Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs), one must be familiar with the key features that set them apart from more traditional forms of online advertising.
Retargeting is the backbone of the advertising model known as Dynamic Product Ads. They allow for the generation of personalised ads to be displayed on the web pages visited by specific users based on their browsing history. Since the product image and related information are applied in real time to a base template (a white background on which you place your distinctive brand elements), these advertisements are considered “dynamic” because they are created on the fly and displayed to potential customers.
Let’s pretend a customer spent some serious time perusing your new frying pan product page before deciding not to make a purchase. The next time he logs into Facebook, he may see an ad for the same pan; if he’s interested in purchasing it, he need only click the ad to be taken directly to the product page.
The main benefit of DPAs is that they are personalised, displayed everywhere, and adapt automatically to consumers based on their web browsing history. In addition, advertising agencies make every effort to streamline the process of developing Dynamic Product Ads campaigns. Since its introduction, this format’s only drawback has been that brands are required to display their wares against boring white backdrops. Up until this point, that is!
Why use User-Generated Content in Dynamic Ads?
The DPAs now allow you to embed user-generated content, rather than just having a white background for your product. The advertising templates are updated to include this new information, and then they can be used to make targeted campaigns instantly. By replacing generic stock photos with photos taken by actual customers while using the product, companies can give their wares a leg up in the marketplace.
Using Dynamic Product Ads to provide context for your products can alter consumers’ perceptions of them. They gain a more thorough understanding of the product, its various uses, and the benefits it offers. It’s a potent instrument for swaying opinion. Even better, it aids in significantly lowering return rates (which are a real concern for e-merchants).
Brands that have tried this have reported significant increases in click-through rates, conversion rates, and ROAS (return on advertising spend) overall, thanks to ads that reach far more people. Simply put, the advantages provided by Dynamic Product Ads standards are amplified when user-generated content is employed.
How to incorporate user-posted content with DPAs
Brand adoption of this innovation is expected to skyrocket your social ads. Unfortunately, it may seem difficult to put into practise. Since social media advertising agencies do not permit DPA template changes, you will need to manually import the images you want to use from your product catalogue. And then you’ll realise that it’s too difficult, something’s gone wrong, you need a new plan, etc.
In reality, though, the process is straightforward. Lengow streamlines the process of incorporating user-generated content (UGC) into your product catalogue, allowing you to send advertising platforms pre-configured product images for use in Dynamic Product Ads.
