User Generated Content - The Future of Communications

Social media and the internet have drastically changed the communications landscape in many ways. Near instant access to information through websites, blogs, and social media platforms has created a platform for nearly anyone to participate in news, marketing, and social issues. Yet perhaps the biggest impact these resources have had on the communications field is the lowering of the barrier to entry for content creation. As social media continues to transition professional communications away from a more linear marketer-to-audience style and toward a more transactional model, more people are jumping in and creating their own text, audio, and video content to share with the world than ever before (Ashman, 2018). The content created by these people, referred to as User Generated Content, represents a paradigm shift in the communications world. It goes beyond simply providing the common user a means to interact with marketers, journalists, and other influential people. Now, the online community can itself be at the center of communications, creating its own news, advertising, and communities. In a way, the rise of user-generated content has given everyone the opportunity to become a communication professional in their own right, but this isn't to say that the online individual can replace the communications professional. Rather, this presents communications professionals with the opportunity to tap into this content and engage with it in a meaningful way. This post seeks to explain how user-generated content has impacted both marketing and journalism and express how communications professionals can use this content to further their own work.

What about user-generated content is so appealing to the average user? In short, authenticity. Very few people trust brands and large corporations implicitly. In fact, only about 9% of Americans say that they trust mass media a "great deal," and much of this mistrust stems from recent online developments such as the influx of fake news in recent years (Beveridge, 2022). More than ever, users are weary of brand marketing efforts, and this is why user-generated content is so important. User-generated content circumvents this issue by not being directly associated with the brands and media users are distrustful of, and the data shows that when brands invest in user-generated content through things such as sponsored videos for their products, there is a proportionate increase in engagement and positive reception, with well made user-generated content noted for its authenticity and trustworthiness (Israfilzade & Baghirova, 2022, pp. 78-80). It's clear that user-generated content is key in modern marketing to develop trust in a brand, and if marketers can tap into that trust, they will see results. Staying up to date with what the users are looking for - things like interaction, engagement, and authenticity - will be key for all communicators looking to establish a meaningful connection with their audience, and user-generated content offers not only the blueprint but the opportunity to build those relationships organically by allowing the users to provide their own takes on products and services. As a frame of reference, below is a video from a Welsh YouTuber who goes by "The Painting Coach" where he provides a review of a new range of miniature model paints. Importantly, this video not only advertises for the paint line, known as "Two Thin Coats," but it does so in a way that presents the user's unfiltered opinions, both good and bad about the paints, which boosts not only visibility for the brand but also positive association (The Painting Coach, 2023).

"The Truth About Two Thin Coats Paint" by The Painting Coach, 2023

Perhaps even more telling, however, is how user-generated content has impacted journalism. As stated above, only 9% of Americans feel that they can truly trust mass media, and this distrust has provided a window for user-generated content to come in and become a primary source of information (Beveridge, 2022). To illustrate just how effective user-generated content is when it comes to journalism, I would like to highlight a series of recent events that transpired only two months ago in January of 2023. At the beginning of the year, the gaming company Wizards of the Coast announced that it would be making substantial changes to its Open Game License or OGL (Codega, 2023). For those who are not in the know, the OGL is an open agreement between Wizards of the Coast and the player base of the popular table-top roleplaying game "Dungeons & Dragons" which stipulates that third-party content creators can create content for the game within the parameters of the agreement and not risk legal action from Wizards of the Coast. For years, the OGL has been a pillar of the D&D community, so changes to the OGL were always going to be met with pushback (2023). Yet when the company first informed its employees about the changes, insiders at the company chose to leak the information not to major news outlets but rather to content creators on social media platforms. One in particular, William Earl who goes by the username "DnD Shorts" on YouTube was one of the first to go public with this information. Following Earl's first video, the Dungeons and Dragons community took it upon themselves to organize online, with talking heads in the community acting as news providers and figureheads during a mass boycott of Wizards of the Coast. The hashtag #opendnd went trending in a matter of hours and stayed trending throughout the month (Demopoulos, 2023). Eventually, the pressure from the community was so great that, in spite of their efforts to curtail information and smooth out their public relations, Wizards of the Coast was forced to renege on the promised changes to the OGL, announcing this on a post on their website, DNDBeyond (Brink, 2023).

"Every Insider Leak I've Been Given on Wizards of the Coast" by William Earl (DnD Shorts), 2023

So, what can be learned from this situation? It's telling that insiders at Wizards of the Coast leaked this information to YouTube content creators like Earl. What this shows is that not only does user-generated content have a better chance of being trusted by online communities, but that trust can be leveraged to back causes and common interests. As communications professionals, this powerful force in the journalistic world cannot be ignored, and journalists may find more opportunities to act independently in order to tap into this zeitgeist.

References:

Ashman, M. (2018). Introduction to professional communications. Creative Commons.

Beveridge, C. (2022, December 8). What is user-generated content? and why is it important? Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://blog.hootsuite.com/user-generated-content-ugc/

Brink, K. (2023, January 27). OGL 1.0a & Creative Commons. DNDBeyond. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1439-ogl-1-0a-creative-commons

Codega, L. (2023, January 5). Dungeons & dragons' new license tightens its grip on competition. Gizmodo. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://gizmodo.com/dnd-wizards-of-the-coast-ogl-1-1-open-gaming-license-1849950634

Earl, W. [DnD Shorts]. (2023, Jan 22). Every Insider Leak I've Been Given on Wizards of the Coast [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4kGMsZSdbY

Israfilzade, K., & Baghirova, S. (2022). Comparing the Impact of Brand and User-Generated Video Content on Online Shoppers’ Purchasing Intentions. Management of Organizations: Systematic Research, 88, 69–84. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.2478/mosr-2022-0013

The Painting Coach. (2023, February 26). The Truth About Two Thin Coats Paint [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEQMKakaOEU