In just five years, user generated content has gone from a mild curiosity to a fully-fledged business strategy. Growing Business speaks to tech savvy entrepreneurs to understand the power of the user
Dave Carroll’s experience with United Airlines couldn’t have been worse. Baggage handlers had smashed his guitar, and when he reported this to the airline’s staff, they did nothing to help. Carroll felt United owed him compensation, but the company just wanted to sweep the matter under the carpet. The musician responded by recording a song about his experience and posting it on YouTube.
United Breaks Guitars has now been viewed over eight million times, and has been reported by news organisations across the world. United Airlines subsequently compensated Carroll, but is still coming to terms with what was a totally avoidable PR nightmare. The case is a glaring example of how powerful the consumer has become in the information age. Reports of bad customer service and neglectful behaviour spread like wildfire. However, user generated content (UGC) also offers businesses a chance to engage with their customers on a far more meaningful level. Entrepreneurs need to grasp how a negative, like a broken guitar, can be turned into a positive.
Understandably, entrepreneurs might be wary of opening up their websites to comment and contributions from customers. Richard Anson, founder and chief executive of Reevoo.com, was among the early pioneers of the idea. His company, set up in late 2005, collects and aggregates customer feedback about retailers and manufacturers and publishes the responses online. He is adamant that having reviews next to a product helps it to sell, even if some of the feedback is negative.
“If you look at the current trend of the web it is very much about trust and transparency,” he says. “Consumers have become increasingly aware of advertising and marketing techniques, but they are much more influenced by reviews and recommendations.”
Listening and learningAndy Atalla, founder of web marketing firm atom42, says the best thing to do is start listening to your audience online. “Download TweetDeck and set up some feeds so you can find out what consumers are saying about you and your competitors,” he suggests.
Incorporating UGC is a “mindset shift” for companies, and Atalla reckons many aren’t ready to engage with the public and hear what they really think. Certainly, you need to fully understand what your reasons are for setting up a blog, forum or even a Facebook page. Is it to drive sales, find out more about how you are being perceived or to move into other markets? One of atom42’s clients, building company Aspect Maintenance, has announced it will soon be enabling customers to post video testimonials on its website.
However, those who use UGC have to accept that not all customers will be praiseworthy. Tammy Cowan-Learn, director of strategy at digital marketing firm Reading Room, warns against attempting to edit or sanitise UGC. “The worst thing you can do is to take it off the site, as it’ll come back to bite you one way or another,” she says. “You may be able to remove it, but you can’t take it off YouTube. It’s about seeing the naysayers as an opportunity to have a conversation.”
Exploring options If you’re new to this area, then explore sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. All have packages and applications used by businesses, which can help you get into the swing of things. Widgetbox is also worth exploring, as it allows you to download free, clickable icons for sites such as Twitter or Facebook, as well as numerous other sites.
The world of UGC is a broad offering, although for the user it is technically fairly straightforward, usually little more than a simple download and adding some JavaScript into your content management system (CMS). The exact methods involved depend on your CMS and what you are trying to achieve. Web software such as WordPress, Joomla and Drupal all have UGC functionalities built in, so if you want to add something new, the capacity ought to be there already. Providers such as these are Open Source, but are already being used by businesses and organisations across the world.
If you want to understand more how these things work technically, then experimenting in ‘safe mode’ should be illuminating, but not damaging. If you get stuck, then the online community is often very helpful and happy to offer advice for free through blogs and forums. Those of you looking for something more sophisticated should work with a web developer who can provide ongoing support. There’s huge competition out there, so you ought to be able to find a deal that works for you. The difficulty with IT people often seems to be communication, so becoming more conversant in web speak is a benefit.
Legal issuesOne fear entrepreneurs may have is getting sued because of what a user has published on their website. Laws regarding defamation, obscenity and copyright all apply to UGC, but are entrepreneurs being successfully sued? David Bond, head of advertising and marketing at law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse, says there are some regularly used defences, which usually prevent this from happening. “The most common one is for the company to show it wasn’t responsible. If you have no knowledge that the material was on your site, then you are not liable,” he says. However, once you have been informed, the best option is to take it down in accordance with your ‘take down’ policy, which Bond recommends all UGC companies should draw up and implement.
The other main legal issue for online firms is to ensure your terms and conditions are read before use. Bond says the best way is to have an opt-in tick box at the end of the T&Cs, ensuring all users have scrolled past them. However, most companies put their tick box in a more user-friendly position. This has led to some users claiming they hadn’t seen the agreement. However, Bond says this usually doesn’t work as long as the conditions are fair, lawful and genuinely accessible. The one grey area, he admits, is children. “Minors can’t enter contracts, so, technically, if they are under 18 they should be getting parental consent, although this doesn’t really happen,” he says.
Managing the massesThe speed of online development means decisive action is a must – great news for smaller firms, not so for the United Airlines of this world. Indeed, the big issue with UGC is not legal or technical, but structural. The right community manager needs to be able to have a conversation with the online community, and be able to respond with more than just words from time to time. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to develop a policy and ethos, which is then interpreted by a responsible person. And this is the tricky bit. “We are still working on where the role sits,” says Cowan-Learn. “Is it marketing, customer service or IT? I tend to think it’s a mix of all three.”
Where to go next
Businesses interested in UGC should take a look at these websites:
Applications Widgetbox
Download widgets to your company’s website from all the major social networks for free
ww.widgetbox.com
TweetDeck
Allows you to monitor and manage all your social network accounts from one place
www.tweetdeck.com
Foursquare
Links businesses to customers via their smart phones, so you to know when they are at your place of business
www.foursquare.com
Oneforty
Twitter’s applications site. Business owners should check out Hootsuite
www.oneforty.com
Open Source CMSWordPress
Still the world’s favourite blogging software
www.wordpress.org
Joomla
One of the most respected pioneers of Open Source content management systems
www.joomla.org
Drupal
An increasingly popular content management platform
www.drupal.org