User generated content (UGC)[1] allows corporations to humanize their brand. This is achieved as people of similar backgrounds can freely give their input on the brand and this makes it more relatable to the everyday market, as this information isn’t being sent directly from the marketing team of the brand [2]. UGC give rise to a new business model. E.g. social media applications run solely on UGC. This in turns allows for a more source of employment which can in turn aid the respective country’s economy. Furthermore, brands can grow faster when the UGC model is adopted [2]. For example, if a celebrity endorses a brand on their social account, this is more likely to reach more people faster than traditional marketing strategies. This gives rise to the next point- UGC has a great potential for business due to the large market available and its inherent accessibility (accelerated by mobile device culture). When using applications UGC allows for a more engaged audience e.g. business can post stories on their Instagram account and have a poll running; users can quickly vote in an efficient manner. Thus, this allows for a more fast and efficient method to receive customer feedback than traditional methods.
As mentioned above, UGC has a large market available and it can be devised that consequently the demise of a corporation is accelerated via this means. E.g. if a celebrity has a bad experience with a brand, due to this person’s exposure a large population will receive this and most likely disinvest from the brand. Content abuse is one of the main perils of UGC. This occurs in various forms, in which two will be mentioned: fraud and toxic content. Fraudsters use UGC applications to employ social engineering tactics for example phishing. Also, the possibility of identity theft is heightened and made easier for fraudsters to commit in such UGC environments. Toxic content is also a major issue faced in which users post fake and misleading information. This has particularly severe effects when such fake content has the potential to ruin a legitimate business reputation.