I recently did work for a company who resisted consumer-generated content for fear they would lose control over their message. Consumer-generated content is a just buzz term for something that has been happening since the beginning of time; it’s called word of mouth. The only difference today is that word of mouth is happening online.
Today people can talk about your product virtually via social networks, blogs, forums, Wikis and bulletin boards, to name a few. And instead of fearing it, businesses should embrace it.
With the rise of the virtual world, a lot of businesses have lost touch with their consumers. So engaging your customers in a conversation online can only benefit your company, spread the word of your brand and help you to grow your business.
Take TripAdvisor for example. TripAdvisor recently announced that the growth of traveler reviews and opinions grew from 15 million earlier in the year to 20 million. (For more details on TripAdvisor’s growth read Trip Advisor displaying rapid growth over 2008). People are already talking about your business. Why not take part in the discussion?
