User-Generated Content (UGC) has become an invaluable tool for businesses. In this blog, we give you the steps on how to get more views by leveraging UCG. By encouraging and featuring content created by your audience, you can foster a stronger sense of community, boost engagement, provide the social proof consumers are looking for and ultimately drive more views.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to leverage UGC on YouTube:

1. Encourage User Submissions:

Create a Clear Call to Action: In your videos or channel descriptions, explicitly ask viewers to share their own content related to your niche or brand.

Offer Incentives: Motivate viewers to participate by providing incentives such as shoutouts, exclusive content, or giveaways.

Set Guidelines: Establish clear guidelines for submissions to ensure that the content aligns with your channel’s values and brand image.  Go for the best message, sound and authenticity.  Quality of video is less of a concern and may even play into the video’s credibility.

2. Promote UGC:

Feature in Your Videos: Highlight fan-created content in your own videos, whether it’s a simple shoutout or a full-fledged segment.

Create Dedicated Playlists: Dedicate playlists to showcase UGC, making it easy for viewers to discover and enjoy.

Share on Social Media: Cross-promote UGC on your other social media channels to reach an even wider audience, and get a bigger bang for your buck!  Always try to repurpose content for maximum efficiency.

3. Engage with UGC:

Respond to Comments: Show appreciation for fan-created content by responding to comments and engaging in conversations.

Share and Retweet: If viewers share their UGC on social media, be sure to share and retweet it to amplify its reach.

Offer Feedback: Provide constructive feedback on UGC to help creators improve their skills and produce even better content.

4. Collaborate with Creators:

Partner on Videos: Collaborate with popular creators in your niche to create joint videos that feature UGC from both channels.

Host Contests: Organize contests or challenges that encourage viewers to create content based on a specific theme.

5. Leverage YouTube’s UGC Tools:

Community Posts: Use YouTube’s Community tab to share polls, questions, and other interactive content that encourages viewer participation.

Super Chats and Super Stickers: Monetize UGC by enabling Super Chats and Super Stickers during live streams.

Following these tips is how you can get more views and effectively leverage UGC to grow your YouTube channel, build a stronger community, and increase your overall reach.

Be sure to get signed releases when a piece of UGC has been requested by you!  Mind your legalities!  There’s nothing worse than having to take a great trending piece of content down, due to some misunderstanding.