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The Ultimate Guide to User-Generated Content: Boosting Your Brand with Authenticity

In today’s digital landscape, user-generated content (UGC) has become a powerful tool for brands to engage with their audiences, build trust, and drive conversions. From customer reviews and testimonials to social media posts and blog comments, UGC provides authentic and diverse perspectives that can enhance a brand’s online presence. In this ultimate guide, we will explore the benefits of UGC, best practices for creating and leveraging UGC, and how to optimize User-Generated Content for SEO.

Why User-Generated Content Matters

UGC is any content created by users or customers of a brand. It can be in the form of text, images, videos, or reviews. UGC is valuable for several reasons:

Authenticity: UGC is created by real people, not by brands, which makes it authentic and trustworthy. It provides social proof, showing potential customers that others have had a positive experience with your brand.
Engagement: UGC encourages interaction and engagement with your audience. When users create content, they become emotionally invested in your brand, leading to increased loyalty and advocacy.
Diverse Perspectives: User-Generated Content reflects the diverse opinions and experiences of your audience. It helps you connect with a wider range of people, including different demographics, geographies, and cultures.
Cost-effective: UGC is often free or low-cost compared to other forms of content creation. Brands can leverage UGC to supplement their own content marketing efforts without incurring significant costs.
SEO Benefits: UGC can boost your brand’s SEO efforts by increasing website traffic, improving search engine rankings, and generating valuable backlinks.

Best Practices for Creating and Leveraging UGC

Encourage and Incentivize UGC: Offer incentives such as discounts, giveaways, or contests to encourage users to create content. Ask for feedback, reviews, testimonials, or stories about their experiences with your brand.
Make it Easy for Users to Contribute: Provide clear and simple instructions for users to submit UGC. Use hashtags, mentions, or tagging to make it easy for users to share their content on social media.
Curate UGC Carefully: Review and curate UGC to ensure it aligns with your brand’s values and guidelines. Seek permission from users before using their content and always give proper credit.
Engage with UGC Creators: Respond to user-generated content promptly and authentically. Show appreciation, ask questions, and encourage further engagement with your brand.
Integrate UGC into Your Content Marketing Strategy: Incorporate UGC into your website, social media posts, email newsletters, and other marketing channels. Use UGC to tell compelling stories, showcase customer success, and build a community around your brand.

Optimizing UGC for SEO

Use Relevant Keywords: Encourage users to include relevant keywords in their UGC, such as product names, location tags, or industry-related terms. This can help improve your brand’s search engine rankings for those keywords.
Optimize UGC for Readability: Ensure that UGC is well-written, easy to read, and grammatically correct. Google rewards high-quality content that provides value to users.
Add Alt Text to UGC Images: Include descriptive alt text for images in UGC to make them more accessible to search engines and visually impaired users.
Incorporate UGC into Blog Posts: Use UGC in your blog posts to create unique and engaging content. Quote user reviews, embed social media posts, or feature user stories to add authenticity and relevance to your blog content.
Leverage UGC for Backlinks: UGC can generate valuable backlinks from other websites, which can boost your brand’s

Join Our UGC Community and Showcase Your Brand’s Success.

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Inclusive Marketing

Post author By Nueva vista
Post date May 13, 2022

Considering diversity is critical in helping your business stay relevant and grow in the years to come. Inclusive marketing can make your brand reach a bigger audience, including all different groups of people from all backgrounds. It also helps existing customers to create a stronger bond with your business.

inclusive marketing group diverse people hugging

What is inclusive marketing?

Inclusive marketing is marketing that considers diversity in all forms, creating content that truly mirrors the diversity of the communities that our brands target. This includes age, appearance, ethnicity, gender identity, physical/mental ability, among other characteristics that define who our customers are.

The global marketplace is also becoming increasingly diverse, and inclusive marketing includes more groups. Inclusive marketing works to reach a larger audience of potential buyers by looking past preconceived notions and prejudices about minority communities.

Embracing diversity in marketing isn’t about simply including diverse groups of people in your images or your ads. It’s not about making a list of who is included. Rather, it’s about reflecting who your audiences are and connecting with them.

Why is important inclusive marketing?

As our societies become more diverse and interconnected, it’s more important than ever that companies are thoughtful about the messages, images, voices, and values that represent their brands.

Inclusion and diversity in marketing matters for brands who want to show that they care, that they understand what people want to see. As marketers, we spend our time telling people about how our brands offer solutions to their problems. But how can people trust you if your advertisement and marketing campaigns don’t truly represent your audience?

Imagine you sell products or services to small business owners. These business owners can come from any background. Would it be correct assuming that all your customers are all the same age, gender identity, ethnicity, etc, and promote your brand based on this belief? Of course not.

Inclusive marketing speaks to all groups of people, including marginalized and underrepresented groups in a way that breaks stereotypes. It represents real people in real situations in the real world.

In addition to appealing to underrepresented groups, recent studies show that modern buyers in general not only want to see more diversity in marketing and advertising but consider it as a positive when making purchasing decisions.

closeup of diverse people joining their hands

4 inclusive marketing principle

1. Truly represent diversity

People don’t only want to see an image about diversity, they want to feel identified and represented. You have to be mindful of whether the visuals you’re using truly mirror reality.

2. Be considerate of tone and language

Considering tone and language is as important as choosing the visuals. These elements can attract and please the reader, and at the same time can offend. When writing copy for your ads or posts, be mindful of the tone you write in and the phrases you use.

3. Take time to truly understand

You have to consider how to truly represent all those groups you want to approach. To do this authentically you must take the time to understand them, their opinions and experiences, what they believe in, what their traditions and history are. In this way we will create a more positive image and approach a more diverse audience.

4. Include everyone

In inclusive marketing you have to take everyone into account, you can’t reduce everything to a few groups, consider all the characteristics that make someone belong to a group: race, age, gender, sexual orientation, beliefs, native language, mental/physical ability, and so on.

Multicultural Majority

Post author By Nueva vista
Post date February 2, 2022

Hispanics are the largest minority, fueling our country´s generational and cultural changeover. In 2020, Gen Z became the first segment to be an American multicultural majority with teens 17 and under. Other segments will soon follow: under 35s by 2028 and all persons under 50 by 2033. That demands a shift in the way we think about and practice marketing—putting culture at the forefront.

Today’s marketing landscape is seeing an awakening by many companies to take a stand against hate and racism and promote voting rights, as their consumers, especially Millennials & Gen Zers, reward these actions. However, multicultural consumers also expect companies to represent them properly and exhibit cultural literacy often found lacking in marketing, which is not surprising since nine out of 10 chief executives and advertising, promotions, sales & marketing managers are non-Hispanic white. There is a real danger of getting caught up in a mono-cultural feedback loop. Cultural literacy becomes the way to both protect and optime brands in the new multicultural reality.

How to Reach The New U.S. Hispanic Market

Post author By Nueva vista
Post date February 2, 2022

In general, Hispanics are known to be digitally savvy and actually spend more time online when compared to other groups in the US. In fact, Hispanic users of smartphones spend almost 10.5 hours per week using the internet, compared to the average of 8.4 hours for the population in general. To stay ahead of the game, redesigning your website to include translation and localization aimed at Hispanics is the key to creating an authentic, engaging, online experience that boosts loyalty and optimizes sales conversions from this valuable market segment.

The Importance of Localizing Your Content for the US Hispanic Market

As America’s second fastest growing demographic (behind Asian Americans), Hispanics comprise approximately 20% of the total population. The purchasing power of this group of consumers should not be ignored when it comes to formulating your product designs, branding strategies, and marketing campaigns.

Language Plays a Big Part in Hispanic Culture

In order to successfully tap into the Hispanic market, you need to pay attention to the Spanish language and cultural localization. While many Hispanics are bilingual, a Pew Research survey showed that many Hispanics regard the Spanish language as an important part of their culture. Plus they are likely to visit Spanish websites and watch Spanish-language television. Also, those who do consume more English content may prefer sites that cater specifically to English-speaking Hispanics.

Connecting to Hispanics Will Increase Brand Loyalty

Most importantly, close to 56% of Hispanics say they are much more loyal
to brands that connect with them in Spanish. The take away from this is that brands that use only English in websites are missing out on the opportunity to connect with a large segment of the US Hispanic population.

McDonald’s is a good example of a brand that has successfully used content in Spanish and English to capture this segment of the market. Click here to read about more brands that appeal to Hispanic consumers.

Give a Spanish Makeover to Your Site With Localize

Hispanics are contributing significantly to total e-commerce purchases. So, it should go without saying that having a Spanish version of your website will lead to increased traffic and sales. At Localize, we specialize in effective website translation and localization. The right time to redesign your website for Hispanic consumers is now. Get in touch with us today to begin a Spanish makeover.

10 Best Practices for Marketing to Hispanic Consumers

Post author By Nueva vista
Post date August 18, 2021

There are many interpretations of how to define Hispanic vs Latino. For the purposes of this blog, I’ll distinguish the two in the following way: Hispanic refers to language and Latino (including Latina and Latino) refer to location Therefore, Hispanic here is defined as one who has a Spanish-speaking origin or ancestry, including Spain.

Latino refers to Spanish-speakers as well, but only people from Latin America—including Brazil. (Portuguese is spoken in Brazil, and thus, is not considered to be Hispanic.) Hispanic and Latino are often used interchangeably, even though they don’t mean the same thing. It’s important to be aware of not only who you are targeting, but also how you choose to reference them. Not all Spanish-speaking people are Latino, and not all Latinos are Hispanic.

Be aware of regional differences

According to the Pew Research Center, most U.S. Hispanics prefer to use their country of origin to describe themselves. More than half of the survey respondents said they have no preference for either term, Hispanic or Latino. However, it’s still important to localize your marketing efforts, as these preferences vary from state to state, and they also change as the Hispanic population grows.

For example, California has the highest Hispanic population percentage, and 30% of them say they prefer to be referenced as Hispanic, while 17% say they prefer Latino. But this preference is much stronger in Texas, where 46% of Hispanics said they prefer to be referenced as Hispanic, vs. 8% who prefer Latino.

Localization is critical in states with a high population of Hispanics, such as Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, New York, and Florida. There are several dialects of Spanish and Spanish variants in the U.S. Thus, Google Translate can’t compare to professional translation services—it lacks the ability to tailor translations to these dialects.

Consider generational and cultural gaps while tailoring marketing tactics and content

Hispanics, like many cultures, integrate their traditions from their countries of origin into their lives in the U.S. But cultural integration can vary depending on segments of the larger Hispanic consumer population. Generationally, they can be broken down into two main groups:

- Traditionalists: Older immigrants, and some younger, are considered “traditionalists” who don’t speak fluent English. You can market to these traditionalists via Spanish-speaking TV and radio stations, as well as Spanish websites. Your marketing strategy should emphasize these traditional Hispanic cultural values and traditions including food, family, and holidays. Know the various dialects and idioms within a specific region, and don’t stop at the online home page, TV ad, or radio message. Keep the customer engaged.

- Millennials: Second-generation Hispanics are those who are born in the U.S. into a Hispanic family. Like many second-generation ethnicities, they are typically the younger family members, including millennials, who have adopted many U.S. customs (and English) but still appreciate, respect, and enjoy their culture, language, and heritage.

Hispanic Dominant (23%): This group speaks predominantly Spanish at home and consumes most media in Spanish. Typically, they’re foreign born and have a mean age of 40. On average, they’ve lived in the U.S. for seven years.

- Bicultural (31%): This crowd typically speaks both English and Spanish at home, but they consume most media in English. They’re a combination of foreign and U.S. born and have a mean age of 34. They’ve lived in the U.S., on average, for 22 years.

U.S. Dominant (46%): This bunch generally speaks English at home and consumes most media in English. They’re U.S. born and with a mean age of 37, they’ve lived in the U.S. an average of 36 years.

Offline, the sizing of these groups is reversed, with Hispanic Dominant representing 52% of the segment, Bicultural 19%, and U.S. Dominant 28%.

Consider using “Spanglish”

For a U.S. Dominant or Bicultural audience, blend both Spanish and English into your campaign, keeping English as the primary language but integrating Spanish phrases, quotes, terms, etc. to truly connect to Hispanic consumers.

Include Hispanic talents, using Spanish influenced music and imagery

Create campaigns that are centered on Hispanic imagery and tell vibrant, colorful stories. But avoid stereotypes or singling Hispanics out.

Create mobile-friendly campaigns

Pew Hispanic Center found that Hispanic mobile phone owners are more likely than Anglo mobile phone owners to access the internet—40% vs. 34%. And according to a July 2014 Google Consumer Survey, Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely to buy mobile apps and digital media than non-Hispanics. Don’t miss these opportunities to connect with Hispanic consumers. Be sure to optimize all your digital touch points and campaigns for mobile.

Include Hispanic culture in online ads

88% of digital-using Hispanics pay attention to online ads that include aspects of their culture—regardless of the ad’s language (Google Hispanic Marketing Forum, 2015).

Be consistent with Hispanic marketing

Offering a web page in Spanish is effective, but only if your landing page is in Spanish, too. The same is true for phone orders and support: Pressing “Numero 2” for Spanish on your phone keypad is helpful only if there is a Spanish-speaking representative on the other end. If you’re going to market to consumers in Spanish, be sure to support them throughout the customer journey.

Understand Spanish-speaking social media

This is where cultural patterns shift. According to CNN, the most active of all ethnic groups on social media sites are Hispanic adults, at 72%. CNN also points out that even though “Hispanic” is the identity most referenced on social media, the term “Latino” was mentioned more on Twitter. There are many reasons for this, one of which is that Latinos are becoming more prominent in TV shows, magazines, and professional sports.

For example, according to a 2016 Neilson report, 10% of overall NFL TV game viewers are Hispanic. This results in more Tweets on Latinos. The word “Latino” was also searched more on Google in the last few years. Cultural patterns vary by region (within the U.S.) and are also a result of more references to the types of activities, music, and other events that cater to the Latino population.

Be aware of cultural diversity

It all comes down to being aware of cultural diversity within any country, where multiple ethnicities and language dialects exist. And although no one is expected to know each dialect and market, there is much benefit and value to thoroughly researching and understanding the various linguistic and cultural differences, as well as the spending patterns within a particular country.

This can be done in many ways, such as hiring local employees or services that are aware of the various differences, as well as knowing the latest research on buying trends, social media trends, etc.

After all, if you are making the effort to market to Spanish speakers, be sure to be able to relate with them the way they relate to one another. Know their local culture, language, and customs.