In episode 196 today, we discuss harnessing user-generated content's power to grow your brand. Our subject matter expert today is Ashley Wright, from London, UK. 

Ashley’s marketing career background: He has been in marketing for the last 18 years. He gained vast digital marketing experience by dealing with big brands like Adidas, Reebok, and American Airlines. This helped his entrepreneurial spirit and thus, he launched his own marketing agency. 

What he did for the big brands: Over a period of six years, Ashley harnessed the power of user-generated content to grow such big brands as Adidas, Reebok, and American Airlines. Working at Adidas, Ashley specialized in digital marketing for European markets, especially the UK. He dealt with large-budget paid socials and brand awareness, often spending between 8-10 million euros a month for marketing efforts. He also handled product launches and pushed the product to grow their sales.

Trends in paid ad space today: Our subject matter expert reckons that the growth in technology has brought about a big shift in the way of doing things. He argues that the advent of artificial intelligence has grown the capacity of individuals and businesses to harness the power of user-generated content for growth of their brands. Going forward, Ashley says that the digital marketing space will become increasingly competitive. The number of marketers on social paid platforms responsible for many user-generated content that compete for user attention. 

Time codes 

• (0:06) Introduction of today’s topic and guest expert
• (0:35) Ashley’s marketing career background
• (01:40) What he did for the big brands
• (03:22) Trends in paid ad space today
• (05:14) Why direct consumer brands are struggling today
• (09:54) What makes a brand’s user-generated content stand out. 
• (11:47) Best practices for testing what is working
• (14:13) What is user-generated content (UGC)
• (19:16) Best practices for user-generated content on social media
• (25:19) Ashley’s choice of his brand representative