• by Larry Fitzgibbon , September 16, 2008

Online communities and user-generated content (UGC) pose challenges for publishers and advertisers. But done right, these communities and the content they create also present tremendous opportunities for all involved, including the creators themselves, and the brands that choose to advertise alongside this grassroots content.

That's why UGC is already having such a profound impact on society at large, even though we're just at the beginning. UGC has shifted from a budding trend to serious business. It's now time for advertisers and publishers to get serious and focus on understanding how best to leverage UGC as an essential part of a viable online business.

How-to web sites, places that provide information on everything from 'how to format a hard drive with Windows XP' to 'how to determine the correct frame size for a bike,' are among the first online businesses that have successfully harnessed the power of UGC, and there are specific reasons they succeed where others have failed. Every month, tens of millions of people visit popular how-to sites like eHow, Instructables and Howcast. Here are four takeaways to learn from these rapidly growing online destinations.

Make It Relevant

For starters, one of the biggest lessons we can learn from how-to sites is that they seek versatile content that can be read, viewed and utilized year-after-year -- meaning contextual visibility for advertisers on an ongoing basis. Consumers go to these sites with a specific purpose in mind; once there, they learn to rely on it as a trusted source -- something they want to be a part of as well.

The best how-to sites start with a roster of trusted experts that add credibility from the get-go. This is important not only for attracting visitors, but also for attracting advertisers, who see an opportunity to apply a professional face to their brands. What's more, the leading how-to sites create quality content constructed in a way that is easily discoverable by search in Yahoo! and Google. This benefits advertisers because they are capturing a significantly wider audience via content that is highly relevant to the consumer.

Make It Personal

How-to sites are typically more than just a reference library where users can find comprehensive and useful information. Increasingly, they are becoming powerful social networks that foster a conversation between readers and experts. Readers share their thoughts and expertise through ratings, comments, person-to-person messaging and community forums. They can also build a network of friends around their interests.

Some of the more advanced how-to sites actually put a face behind each piece of content, adding depth to the readership experience and encouraging consumers to interact with the experts themselves. Finding useful how-to information is important, but connecting readers to experts and creating a dialogue is invaluable.

Invite Participation

Once a dialogue is created, it's much easier to then invite users to participate in developing some content themselves. The way consumers interact with information online has changed dramatically, meaning they now demand tools and content that provides the foundation for social interaction. eMarketer projects that the number of user-generated content creators in the U.S. will grow to 108 million in 2012, from 77 million in 2007.

The most successful how-to web-sites serve as a hub where professional experts and everyday people with unique expertise can join together and share their knowledge. When the community begins to take ownership for what appears on the site, self-regulation starts to happen and only the best content survives. The end result is a growing repository of valuable information on almost everything under the sun.

Key to participation is making easy-to-use publishing tools -- for articles, images and video -- available for both professional experts and members alike to express their knowledge.

Compensate Good Content

Considering their utility, how-to sites often serve as the homepage of their users as the place where they "live" on the Web. Now that you have their attention and their creativity, you can really cement their loyalty by compensating their best content.

There is considerable proof that compensation models speak to users - by fame, money and ownership. For example, bloggers syndicated through BlogBurst secure fame by getting distribution on formidable sites like The Washington Post. Others speak to money with various revenue-generating models like YouTube and BlipTV. And others speak to ownership where the creator's byline or profile is featured on the site. Sites like eHow.com incorporate all three models, which syndicates its content, pays its writers and features their bylines and profiles.

While the value to this active audience is fame, money, and a true sense of ownership, for advertisers the value is found in the close association of their brand to trusted content, and even the opportunity to sponsor a particular expert, producer or content type. The cycle of value is rounded out in the benefit to the publishers of the content, who are able to secure greater ad revenue.