Regardless if you’re booking a Christmas holiday, upgrading your car or even trying out a new restaurant, your Path to Purchase always stays the same. You become aware, you deliberate your options, make a decision and then evaluate your decision. The path to purchase model is a staple of Marketing 101 that is used to track and intercept consumer processes. Traditionally, this model was highly influenced by business-to-consumer communication. However, the emergence of review sites such as Yelp, TripAdvisor and other online forums has caused a digital disruption, shifting communication to consumers. In fact, more than 90% of consumers rely on peer-based reviews to make both large and small purchases. This means that consumer-to-consumer discussion has become an integral aspect of the decision-making process. Whilst the consumer-to-consumer communication appears to remove retailers from the conversation completely, you aren’t necessarily powerless. So, how can you use user-generated content for your business? In terms of SEO, user-generated content allows for a continual stream of content linking to your site, opens opportunities for new keywords and provides both website and social media content. Featuring and utilising user-generated content provides an opportunity for advertising, SEO and increasing conversions but it also re-kindles brand-to-consumer communication.
