What's the big deal about user-generated content (UGC)?

It’s 2024, and the search engine is changing fast. Whether it’s a positive or negative shift depends on who you ask. But as your friendly neighborhood content writing agency, it’s our job to keep you informed about industry happenings. This way, you can make those crucial decisions before things get hectic.

Unsurprisingly, after the March core update, Google prioritized user-generated content (UGC) from platforms like Reddit, Quora, LinkedIn, and TikTok over traditional website content. This update was launched to tackle pervasive AI-generated content and content spamming.

You may have noticed this yourself. These days, a Google search might land you on a LinkedIn answer, a Subreddit thread, or a Quora discussion related to your query. It’s no coincidence that LinkedIn recently launched the “You’ve been selected to answer this question” prompt. They saw this shift coming from a mile away.

Google is living up to its Helpful Content Update (HCU) by using user-generated content as a trust signal. When people actively discuss something for a long time, Google interprets it as important content and boosts its ranking in search results.

This shift has elevated two previously neglected content strategies and brand discovery elements for B2B companies - UGC and brand search.

Let’s unpack what UGC and brand searches are and why they’re more important than ever for your success.

Why UGC Is Becoming So Valuable

Have you ever thought user-generated content is just branded hashtags and influencer marketing on social media platforms? Well, in SaaS, UGC goes way beyond that. UGC is a powerful tool for expanding your content distribution channels and touchpoints, driving SEO traffic, and scoring backlinks. All this while giving your internal team a much-needed break.

UGC is any content your users and fans create, not your company. Common types include product reviews, blog posts, forum discussions – anything that shows real people using and loving your product.

Customers these days trust their peers way more than fancy marketing messages. They crave authenticity, and UGC delivers that in spades. A study by Nosto found that 79% of people say UGC heavily influences their buying decisions.

Moreover, people trust UGC 9.8 times more than influencer content when making those final purchase choices. That’s powerful stuff. The Content Benchmark report also reveals that 26% of social media users find user-generated content (UGC) the most engaging type of content.

UGC Comes In Different Types and Flavors

However, the ones most relevant to the SaaS industry and our case study are:

1. Blog posts: This is the bread and butter of UGC in SaaS. For instance, technical writers create original content via tutorials using your product or its features.

2. Video content: Developers and engineers show off their skills by creating video tutorials for your product on platforms like YouTube or TikTok.

3. Social content: Frequently, technical folks build something cool using your product, then write and launch a social media campaign to promote it. This organic mention can be a goldmine.

4. Forums and communities: Technical communities and online forums like Reddit, Quora, or Stack Overflow are full of users who post challenges, discuss product-related issues, and even solve coding problems together. When your product is a part of these conversations, it’s fantastic for UGC.

5. Technical writing contest: This is a growing trend where brands partner with technical writing communities. They host “build challenges” or “writing contests” focused on your product, offering prizes in exchange for UGC. More on this later.

The Power of Brand Search VS Discovery Through Keywords

Google’s Helpful Content Update (HCU) isn’t just about having good content anymore. It’s about brand authority.

Content quality is important, but Google also looks for established brands with a strong reputation. If you haven’t been following Google’s anti-trust trial, you should check it out (but don’t worry, I won’t make you dig through legal documents).

The key takeaway is that Google can’t magically “understand” content and decide what’s “good.” There’s a difference between good content and content users perceive as helpful.

How does Google figure out what’s helpful? By looking at user behavior.

Brand authority signals include brand searches and alternative searches for your brand name. User behavior is how people interact with your website. This is a big indicator of its value.

Imagine a website with tons of high-quality content, but nobody searches for the brand name or product. This might raise a red flag for Google. Why wouldn’t people actively seek out this brand with all the ranking content?

If you’re not building brand awareness, you might not be a genuine brand in Google’s eyes. You’re relying solely on search engines to find your content, which isn’t a sustainable strategy in the long run.

Trust is hard to come by today. That’s why brand mentions are becoming more important than backlinks. Because strong brands naturally have a lot of trust signals built in. And what can help develop those trust signals? Brand searches and user-generated content.

A handful of high-quality brand mentions on trusted websites and platforms will be worth more than random backlinks. This trend will only continue as AI search engines become a thing.

The future of SEO and content is about building brand awareness and making your brand “mentally available” to users. And UGC and strategic content distribution are the keys to unlocking that future.

How To Drive User-Generated Content with Hackmamba

We’ve discussed how UGC builds trust signals for your brand. However, creating high-quality UGC can be tough, especially in the crowded SaaS industry with tons of competition. Smaller brands might even feel it’s out of reach.

We’ve helped businesses of all sizes generate awesome UGC through technical writing challenges hosted in collaboration with the Hackmamba community.

These challenges have yielded remarkable results for our clients. They’ve seen organic reach grow, expanded audiences, and received rapid feedback to improve beta products.

Here’s how partnering with Hackmamba can unlock the power of UGC for your brand:

• You access skilled writers and engineers across tech stacks to create content that showcases your product’s value.
• Spark user interest with challenges focused on your product’s features and real-world applications.
• We identify and share top articles embodying your product’s strengths and versatility.
• Get hands-on product insights from participants to improve your offering.
• Leverage Hackmamba’s community for high-quality content creation at a budget-friendly rate.
• Participants share experiences, boosting your product’s visibility among developers.
• By partnering with Hackmamba, you build relationships with potential customers and brand advocates.

How Neon Scaled User-Generated Content with Hackmamba Community

Neon, a fully managed serverless Postgres provider, partnered with Hackmamba to supercharge their UGC. The challenge focused on creating high-quality technical content around serverless Postgres and its real-world applications.

The Neon x Hackmamba 'Content Sprint’: This 5-week program invited developers and content creators to collaborate on tackling industry challenges. Participation offered a platform to showcase expertise and win rewards.

Vetting process: Content and code demos were judged on originality, functionality, and clear explanations.

Outcomes: Using Hackmamba’s developer community, Neon secured UGC from their target audience and free content distribution through participants’ blogs and social media posts. We reached 80k+ developers in 3 months and hit over 500k impressions across all our channels. This resulted in thousands of content views and consistent brand mentions, propelling Neon’s brand awareness.

This case study demonstrates how Neon leveraged a targeted UGC strategy to achieve its goals. By collaborating with Hackmamba, Neon earned valuable content, brand exposure, and a stronger foothold within the developer community.