Image from TVPartners.nl

User-generated content (UGC), also known as consumer-generated media, is any content—blog posts, videos, news, images, wikis, reviews, music, tweets—created by end-users and published on the web. It’s the two-way dialogue all over the web today, in contrast to the one-way media distribution system of the pre-Web 2.0 era, when content was created and distributed exclusively by journalists, editors and those who held the web-publishing reins. UGC is the digital democracy.

For the purpose of this blog post, I’m going to categorize UGC into two types: UGC on your own website and UGC on the greater web, published in forums, review sites, social media sites and beyond.

UGC on Your Own Website: Asset or Liability?

UGC is a great way to open the lines of communication between your customers and your company. When customers are empowered to share their thoughts, experiences and opinions on your website, your employees can immediately respond to their concerns.

UGC is a cost-effective market research tool that provides real-time data (good or bad). Furthermore, this free content boosts the SEO value of your website and therefore can increase traffic and potentially your bottom line.

Build UGC in as a part of your content marketing plan, and be sure to allocate staff to monitor the comments made on your website. These editors should verify that the content is relevant, delete offensive language/images and spam, and be aware of copyright infringement laws. Be sure that those who publish on your website agree to guidelines that state (among other rules) the content they publish is original. Here are some other legal ramifications to be aware of before embarking on your UGC plan.

While there are a few precautions to take when implementing a UGC strategy on your own site, the risks are worth the potential benefits.

UGC in the WWW: Know What People Are Saying about Your Brand

Not only should you monitor the UGC on your own site, but you should also know what people are saying about your brand all over the web—which brings us to the other kind of UGC.

UGC in this sense is a bit trickier because you don’t have the ability to delete something when you don’t own the site on which it appears. It’s a free country, and people will express their First Amendment rights to say whatever they want, from what they had for breakfast to how poor your customer service is or how your product is an over-priced dud. The internet amplifies that voice on an unprecedented scale. But don’t despair. Whether positive, negative or somewhere in between, knowing what people are saying about your brand, service or products can empower you to change that sentiment if it’s negative or capitalize on it if it’s positive.

Here are a few UGC-monitoring pointers courtesy of SEMPO Institute:

1. Compile a list of keywords to monitor. Include company name, names of products/services and names of certain employees and management. Think of every keyword variation possible.
2. Create RSS feeds for branded terms on Icerocket, Technorati, Google News, Yahoo! News and Bing News.
3. Compile all of these feeds into one reader, like Google Reader (which I use and love).
4. Set up free Google and Yahoo! alerts so that you get regular email notifications when something featuring these keywords is published online.
5. Consider hiring social media monitoring companies like Cymfony or Crimson Hexagon. Crimson Hexagon’s Opinion Analysis Platform is a tool that monitors what people are saying about a brand, product, market or the competition so that businesses can distill meaning beyond just “positive/negative” and take the appropriate action. This data also helps prove the ROI of online marketing initiatives.

Responding to Negative UGC

The worst thing you can do about negative UGC is to take the ostrich approach. We all know about Motringate in 2008 and the subsequent Motrin boycott—the company got an “F” in Social Media Monitoring 101 first because of their failure to listen to their target audience before running an insensitive ad, and second because of their inability to reply to the backlash in a timely manner. Here are a few steps you can take to minimize damage to your brand image.

If the claims are false:

1. Contact the website and ask them to kindly retract the statements. Use supporting facts.
2. Read the website’s rules for UGC; sometimes users don’t follow them. For example, have you heard of JobVent.com, a site where current and past employees can review their company? Do you know what former employees are saying about your business? If “venters” mention names of management in a negative context, you can contact the site and ask them to remove the offensive posts per the website’s guidelines.
3. If you get no response from the website, add a comment stating your company’s position. Be sure to support it with evidence.
4. Be proactive and publish a response on your website.

If the claims are true:

1. Add a comment or post to explain your side of the story. Even better if you can get a manager or C-suite representative to make the comment themselves, adding another layer of credibility.
2. Clearly state how your company plans on responding to the issue and take action. Offer a contact email address and or/telephone number so that people can get in touch with an associate trained to respond to the issue.
3. If you’re really in a pickle, do like BP and hire a professional reputation management company to do the dirty work.

Do you have a story to share about allowing UGC on your own site, or brand monitoring on the web? What are some of the lessons you’ve learned?

Really?!?! Image from Hulu.com

This title sounds like the Really?!?! skit Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler used to do for SNL’s Weekend Update – but sadly, it’s not. It’s what I say every time I take a look at what ideaLaunch’s spam filter has caught.

As someone involved in content marketing, I understand the idea behind spamming: spreading one’s website link around the Internets is a way to get traffic. But instead of engaging in blogs genuinely, developing SEO content and a keen internal linking strategy, these weird little companies and websites do a spray and pray – lobbing out comments linked to their website, thinking it will increase traffic.

Has someone ever made real money doing this? I can’t see how. Even my dumb, tiny blog catches spam commenters, easily, instantly and freely. You can imagine that a marketing agency’s blog has something even better in place. Even if the auto-technology didn’t exist, I’d like to think most of us would be smart enough to catch and delete these manually.

There’s the super generic commenter with the r-rated e-mail address:
“Good post!” – Sandy @  thereisntabananaididntlike@fruitfetishpeople.com

The extreme flatterers from crazy websites:
“This is such a great post! I read a lot of blogs, but yours is one of the best.”  Custom Mailing Labels @ detox_your_feet.com

The too-many-in-a-row commenters:
“2:20am – Thanks. I’ve been learning a lot about Asian cooking. This program (link) has helped me with my SEO. What do you think?” – Kevin G.

“2:21am – Thanks. I’ve been learning a lot about graphic design. This program (link) has helped me with my SEO. What do you think?” – Kevin G.

“2:22am – Thanks. I’ve been learning a lot about wasting both time and money by being a spam commenter. This program (link) has helped me with my SEO. What do you think?” – Kevin G.

The lost-in-translation commenters:
“Hi. I treasured to drop you a fast note to express adoration for your sweet blogging prowess on this worthy topic. Can say that thanks is not just be adequate, for the wonderful lucidity in your writing.” – Jessaca

And then my personal favourite, the what-the-heck-did-I-type-to-attract-you-?!? commenters:
“Pay only shipping for tapeworm cure.” – Disney Fan

Really, spammer commenters, really? That’s your SEO strategy? You think we’re that dumb and desperate for comments? Well, good luck with that, Disney Fan. Lots of luck to you, Custom Mailing Labels.  And Sandy, I just hope you get the help you need.

If you’ve ever been tempted to use a program to send out robo-comments or are hiring some poor person to write these for $1 for every hundred comments posted – just … don’t.  Take a look at our marketer’s guide to commenting instead.

But what if that feedback is negative, or even ugly? While the Internet is a great connector, staring at a screen and ‘speaking’ through taps on a keyboard can sometimes dehumanize communication. This and the supposed anonymity of the web can contribute to some people being a little more blunt, a little less tactful and, well, a little mean.

When there’s something less than glowing said about you or your business, ask yourself:

• Are these comments valid, customer (or potential customer) feedback?
• Is this really “hate mail” or just a difference of opinion?
• Is this an opportunity to clear up misconceptions or fix a wrongdoing?
• Is this an opportunity to have an honest conversation with the community, a client or potential customer?
• Does this person sound like they could be reasoned with?
• Do you suspect this person is simply a troll – or worse, a competitor out to sully your name?

With the exception of the last point, if you can answer yes to any of these questions, responding is probably a good idea. Here are some additional suggestions:

• Approve comments before they can appear on your blog. Have the final say on what’s on your site – it’s yours, after all! Don’t provide a platform for trollish behavior or rants from an unreasonable person.
• If you moderate your blog’s comments, never edit the comments of others. Delete, approve or leave as is.
• If the commenter has a point (even if it’s something negative), agree. Let them know you’ve heard what they’ve said. Even thank them for their feedback.
• Walk the talk. If the commenter has a really valid complaint or they’re calling you on your goof, don’t just apologize. Make it right. Make changes. They may have just identified a major flaw in your business that could have cost you future customers.
• Tone down defensive snark talk. You can be confident, correct misconceptions and stand by your product without an unnecessary and unhelpful attitude. Take the higher road and prove that you’re a professional in every interaction.
• If you’re responding on another blog or medium, be transparent about who you are. If you’re speaking on behalf of your company, say so. Never pretend to be a customer or unbiased party.
• Do your best to respond promptly and directly. An angry customer can stir up a lot of fuss via social media – don’t give it a chance to fester!
• Don’t be afraid to take the conversation out of the public eye. If someone contacts you via Twitter, reply to them but if you think it’s inappropriate to discuss details in front of the world, see if you can resolve the issue over DM (direct message), e-mail or phone.

The sad news for the lazy marketer is that it takes a bit of time, a bit of work and a bit of – gasp – being genuine in order to do it right. The good news, though, is becoming involved in social media marketing can be as cheap as free if you have the time and inclination to do it yourself (and we can show you how to hire a writer or marketer that can do this for you if you’re short on time and inclination). Here are some quick tips:

• Monitor your brand and industry with the passion of a tween stalking the Jonas Brothers. You’ll discover websites, writers, editors and companies that feature web content that is right up your alley. Put their sites or blogs in your RSS Reader (or any other web content management system you use) and read, read, read. Get a sense of their reader base, how responsive they are to comments and their takes on different subjects you may have expertise or interest in.
• Don’t be a John Doe of the web. When posting, fill in the fields that ask for your real name or brand, e-mail and website – and be consistent about it (don’t sign off as “Darth” one day and “Mr. Vader” the next). Some websites use commenting programs like Disqus for loading comments. Take the time to complete your profile with these programs. Never comment anonymously or pretend to be a random “fan” of your own web content – that is lame, lame, lame and easy to spot.
• Engage in the conversation. A generic comment of “great post!” is just that – generic. What did you like about what was written, specifically? What do you take issue with? Maybe there’s something other commenters have said that’s struck a chord. Bring value and momentum to the discussion (but don’t act like a know it all). Show your personality, sense of humor and insight.
• Keep the blatant self-promotional whoring to a minimum. If you only show up when you can talk about yourself (by linking back to your own web content), no one is going to take your voice seriously. Blog writers love comments – it saves them from questioning whether they’re just talking to themselves and web crawlers. Share your thoughts, compliments and questions even if you don’t have anything to directly promote or link to. This is important for rapport and relationship building – one of the top commodities in the Web 2.0 world. Plus – if you’ve completed your comment profile, people can still easily find your website.
• Ping that thing. Pingbacks, talkbacks, linkbacks, whatever you call them, are automated systems that show up in most blogs when another website has referenced a post – and they, like other fantastic widgets, are your friends. Has someone else’s blog post or website inspired you? Create web content that directly links to the post in question. If pingbacks are in effect, a portion of your content with the link will be automatically fed into the original blog’s comment sections. Web content marketing should never be fully automated – so make sure your web content is engaging, interesting and presents a voice people will want to read.

Do you have other tips for being a savvy commenter when it comes to web content marketing? Let us know!