Kitchen and bath business owners often do not take full advantage of many marketing tools that are available to them to promote their businesses. With all the advanced technology available to us today, why not take the opportunity to use these tools to your benefit and differentiate your company from a crowded field of competitors.

This industry is very dependent on visual beauty and appeal, but over and over again, companies do not capitalize on tactics that are minimal and extremely effective. Although relatively simple, investing in User-Generate Content (UGC) requires effort and a healthy budget to put initiatives into place. It is a commitment, but there is no better way to showcase your work and help prospects imagine what their dream kitchen and bath can be.

We are not implying that because something is relatively simple, it requires minimal effort and budget. You must plan for the budget you’ll need and the effort you must put into these initiatives. It is a commitment but there is no better way to showcase your work and help prospects imagine what their dream kitchen and bath can be.

There are many good reasons to employ photos and videos in your marketing and there are many places to distribute these visual tools.

What are the benefits of using images in your marketing? Here are some interesting statistics:

• Images are memorable — people recall 65% of what they see in a beautiful picture. This far outweighs the fact that people only recall 10% of what they hear. Your prospects retain far more in their memory when they see photos than printed words — descriptions, articles/blogs, or advertisements.
• Images have a quicker impact — it takes people 10 seconds to absorb what they read and decide the value of that content. It takes only 100 milliseconds to be impacted by an image.
• Images help keep visitors on your website longer — the average time spent on a website is 15 seconds, especially if your content is not compelling enough or relevant. Breaking up your content with images can help you gain several minutes on your website.
• Images boost engagement and open rates — the numbers are clear, and people are more engaged when images accompany text. With images, articles and blog posts, they see 90% more total views, while press releases gain 45% more views with photos or videos included. Facebook posts receive 2X the engagement than posts without images. Twitter posts see 150% more retweets when images are included. And articles/blogs are shared 2X as much when images are included with the text every 75 to 100 words.
• Visual content can be your online salesperson — seeing quality images is very important to 67% of people making important purchase/engagement decisions. These high-quality images are more valuable to the decision-making process than product information (63%), a detailed product description (54%), or even customer ratings and reviews (53%).

Online video consumption is growing in importance and relevance every day. People are increasing their video consumption in huge numbers:

• 96% have increased their online video consumption.
• 9 out of 10 viewers wanted to see more videos from brands and businesses.
• It is predicted that viewers will spend 100 minutes per day watching online videos in 2022.
• 78% of people view online videos every week.
• 55% watch online videos every day.
• Video viewers retain 95% of a message.
• Only 10% of people retain a message when reading it in the text.
• More video content is being uploaded in 30 days than the content that major US television networks have created in the past 30 years.
• 82% of global internet traffic results from streaming videos and downloads.
• Watching videos accounts for one-third of all online activity.
• 85% of the US internet audience watches videos online.

What is UGC, and why is it important to businesses?

Hootsuite defines UGC as any content — text, videos, images, reviews, etc. — created by people rather than brands.

It is a powerful and effective tool for companies to use because it is authentic content created by happy, satisfied customers. It is a story from the heart and not merely a promotion by the company itself trying to sell a product or service. It conveys true, authentic feelings about a company that a customer has engaged, and this information is priceless — other prospective customers can trust the experience of a past customer to be true, and in today’s world, we all look to reviews and trustworthy content to help us make big decisions that require large investments.

To showcase your work and what your customers have to say about your work, there are many ways to distribute this content — here are a few:

• Your website – this is your online 24/7/365 salesperson. It is often your only chance to make a great first impression. Make your website memorable and unique.
• Social media – simply stated, be where your customers and prospects are. It is the perfect way to reach a large audience at one time. It is the modern-day digital version of word-of-mouth marketing. Take advantage of these free tools.
• Articles and blog posts – this is your chance to display your industry expertise and establish yourself and your company as thought leaders. As shown in the statistics, images and videos help attract interest and help readers retain your message. Be THE industry leader in your market!

Are you truly taking advantage of the opportunities to showcase your work and have brand advocates singing your company’s praises, guiding your prospects to make smart decisions and engage with you on their dream home projects? It may be the perfect time to update your marketing plan and add photos, videos, and user-generated content to your marketing mix.