Whether it's an ad created by a customer and posted on YouTube, lavish praise (or a blistering review) on a blog, comments posted to a consumer portal or something else, user-generated media (sometimes called consumer-generated media or consumer-generated content) is on the rise as a key force in marketing. "Markets are conversations," as the Cluetrain Manifesto famously asserted, and users are increasingly raising their voices within those conversations.
The intrinsic pitfalls of a UGM campaign are large and many, but so are the potential benefits.
If you're a marketer or advertiser thinking about how your brand can engage with UGM, read this article to get a handle on best practices and also to help prevent an unwary -- and expensive -- pratfall into a UGM nightmare.
The key finding: don't be coy. The more you trust your customer base, the more likely you are to find success with UGM.
Remember: in Business 2.0's recent list of 50 people who matter now, the person who topped this list was the user who creates media.
Author Notes:
Robert Moskowitz is a consultant and author who speaks and writes frequently in the U.S. and abroad on such topics as white collar productivity, knowledge management, practical use of the internet, telecommuting, caring for aging parents and business applications of information technologies. Read full bio.