Consumer-generated content material (UGC) refers to content material created by your clients about your model or its merchandise. It’s so easy that you just’ve most likely created UGC with out even realizing it by leaving a overview of a enterprise or posting a picture utilizing a branded hashtag.
The great thing about UGC is that, whereas easy for patrons to create and cheap for manufacturers to amplify, it is likely one of the best methods to persuade new audiences that your enterprise is respected and price attempting out.
On this article, you’ll be taught what user-generated content material is and how one can apply it strategically to construct belief, improve engagement, and finally, drive extra conversions. Particularly, we’ll cowl:
What user-generated content material is
Sorts of UGC
The advantages of utilizing UGC in your campaigns
Examples of how large and small manufacturers execute UGC
UGC greatest practices for moral and impactful outcomes
Key Takeaways
Consumer-generated content material contains customer-created pictures, movies, evaluations, testimonials, podcasts, and so forth., about your model or product. UGC will be natural or paid.
UGC will help manufacturers affect engagement and conversions throughout all levels of the client’s journey by showcasing authenticity and social proof whereas constructing model loyalty.
UGC is a cornerstone of many advertising and marketing methods as a result of it’s cost-efficient and helps manufacturers curate a gradual stream of content material. Be sure that UGC aligns along with your general social media and advertising and marketing technique earlier than reposting.
What’s user-generated content material (UGC)?
UGC (often known as consumer-generated content material) is unique, brand-specific content material created by customers and revealed on social media or different channels. This content material can seem by yourself channels (e.g., your social accounts, web site), third-party web sites (e.g., overview websites, YouTube), and on social media and web sites owned by your customers.
UGC is available in many types, together with pictures, movies, product evaluations, testimonials, and even podcasts.
Right here’s an instance of UGC created by a buyer after which reshared on planner model Day Designer’s Instagram:
Supply: thedaydesigner on Instagram
Sorts of user-generated content material
Consumer-generated content material is a crucial a part of many advertising and marketing methods, and it is available in many types and codecs that assist your model and your clients at numerous factors of their journey.
There are two major overarching sorts of UGC: natural and paid. The most typical types of UGC embody:
Evaluations and testimonials
Images
Movies
Social media posts
Weblog posts
Let’s take a more in-depth have a look at these kind of UGC in an natural sense earlier than concerning the paid facet.
Natural UGC
Natural UGC is content material that your real-life clients share freely. It’s probably the most genuine sort of UGC and what you hope to see out of your clients.
Evaluations and testimonials
On-line evaluations are a sort of UGC that you may share throughout your web site and social media as social proof. Manufacturers may even flip testimonials into little graphics to share on their social media accounts.
Supply: Hootsuite
Images
Images are probably the most widespread sorts of UGC. This sometimes appears to be like like a picture of a buyer utilizing your product or sharing their outcomes out of your product. Use a distinct segment or branded hashtag to make it straightforward to search out and reshare these property by yourself platforms.
Movies
Social media and YouTube movies are additionally nice types of UGC. In reality, many YouTubers share “product hauls” of things they purchased not too long ago, that includes a number of manufacturers in a single video. Share that video—or the snippet mentioning your model—to showcase what actual clients must say about your product.
Social media posts
Even a easy constructive point out of your model will be useful to reshare. Repost these feedback in the event you’re on X (Twitter), or take a screenshot and share it as a graphic on a platform like Instagram.
Weblog posts
Bloggers might also point out your model or product in certainly one of their weblog posts. This might be a standalone overview or a swift point out in a broader put up. Take into account sharing their quote on social media or your web site to unfold the phrase.
Paid UGC
Paid UGC is turning into more and more widespread, particularly for newer manufacturers that need to share the sort of user-driven content material however don’t have sufficient clients sharing their experiences but.
Paid UGC is made by UGC creators. That is completely different from influencers and is usually simply as honest as common UGC — you’re simply footing the invoice.
You may attain out to UGC creators by yourself (utilizing a platform like Fiverr or Upwork), but when your model already has followers, creators could come straight to you.
Both approach, when you kind out a deal, you’ll be able to take the content material they create and share it in your web site or social media accounts.
Notice: It’s greatest to reveal paid UGC. Some platforms, like Instagram, mandate that you just clearly point out the industrial nature of any content material you put up.
Why user-generated content material is vital
Consumer-generated content material is a crucial advertising and marketing instrument as a result of it helps manufacturers:
Showcase authenticity
Foster model loyalty
Present social proof
Curate content material
Maximize funds
Let’s take a more in-depth have a look at how every of those parts make UGC a ubiquitous, but efficient and timeless tactic.
Authenticity
These days, manufacturers must struggle to get in entrance of shoppers, and on-line competitors is fierce. Patrons are extra selective in regards to the manufacturers they work together with and buy from.
Nonetheless, no different content material sort is extra genuine than UGC. Nearly half (47%) of consumers contemplate person evaluations on retailer web sites to be probably the most influential content material when researching merchandise on-line — examine that to only 11% for brand-generated social content material and 10% for influencer posts.
Simply don’t resort to faking your user-generated posts. Audiences will rapidly sniff out the false sentiment, which might harm your model fame. As a substitute, at all times be sure that your UGC comes from certainly one of three cohorts: your clients, model loyalists, or workers.
Consider UGC because the modern-day phrase of mouth — most individuals belief suggestions over straight promoting.
Model loyalty
Individuals thrive on being a part of one thing greater than themselves, and creating UGC permits them to hitch a model’s neighborhood. That’s enormous for reinforcing model loyalty and affinity.
UGC additionally opens up conversations between your model and its clients, and this degree of brand name interplay helps construct and develop an engaged neighborhood.
Supply: Lego
Sharing viewers content material additionally works to develop and deepen viewers/enterprise relationships, driving extra model loyalty.
Social proof
With a lot competitors and noise on-line, it’s more durable than ever for patrons to know who to belief. That’s why social proof could make or break your model for brand spanking new clients.
UGC is the right instance of this. In reality, the acquisition chance for merchandise with 5 evaluations is 270% larger than these with no evaluations. When potential clients see current clients having fun with your product, they’re much less reluctant to strive it for themselves.
Content material curation
UGC isn’t simply restricted to social media advertising and marketing — you’ll be able to and may function it on different channels.
For instance, strive including UGC pictures to a cart abandonment electronic mail to assist nudge the potential purchaser to buy. You may also add user-generated content material to key touchdown pages to assist improve conversion charges.
Calvin Klein even created a touchdown web page only for UGC content material.
By displaying actual examples of shoppers styling their Calvins, consumers see different customers endorsing the model and showcasing how the merchandise look on precise people as an alternative of overly styled fashions.
Value-efficiency
Influencer advertising and marketing can run from $25 to $25,000 per put up. However the common value of asking your clients to share posts of them having fun with your product? Subsequent to nothing.
UGC is an economical strategy to scale your enterprise and diversify your content material. Plus, there’s no want to speculate {dollars} in costly advert businesses or flashy campaigns.
UGC means that you can join with crucial individuals in your enterprise: your viewers. Most will probably be excited to seem in your channel.
For smaller manufacturers or these simply beginning out, UGC is usually far cheaper and simpler to handle than larger-scale model consciousness campaigns.
5 nice examples of user-generated content material
Manufacturers of all sizes use user-generated content material to drive consciousness, improve conversions and social engagement, develop their attain, and develop their enterprise while not having to develop their budgets.
That will help you get began with your personal UGC technique, let’s see how GoPro, lululemon, LaCroix, Nicely Traveled, and Edloe Finch leveraged their customer-sourced content material.
GoPro
Motion cam firm GoPro makes use of UGC to maintain its YouTube channel, with its prime three movies all initially filmed by clients. As of September 2025, these three movies have racked up over 420 million mixed views.
Not dangerous for content material that value GoPro nothing to supply.
In reality, UGC for the corporate received so large, it now runs its personal awards present and each day photograph challenges to encourage customers to get inventive.
lululemon
Canadian athleisure model lululemon is primarily identified for its costly leggings and yoga clothes. To extend firm attain throughout social media, it requested followers and model loyalists to share photographs of themselves in lululemon clothes utilizing the hashtag #thesweatlife.
Not solely did this lead to a treasure-trove of simply searchable UGC for lululemon to repurpose, but it surely additionally organically expanded the corporate’s model consciousness and attain throughout social media because it shared content material from model ambassadors.
LaCroix
Just like lululemon, glowing water model LaCroix additionally makes use of a hashtag (#LiveLaCroix) to mine for UGC on its social media channels. However, LaCroix depends much less on model loyalists and shares content material produced by anybody, regardless of their follower depend.
This makes its user-generated content material hyper-relatable as a result of audiences see themselves mirrored in these photographs (moderately than model ambassadors or loyalists with increased follower counts).
Nicely Traveled
Smaller corporations additionally enormously profit from UGC of their social campaigns. Nicely Traveled is a community-driven journey model that makes use of member-generated content material to spotlight the perks of its platform, the standard of property companions, and different unique choices.
“As a service in such a visible business, the ‘proof’ supplied by member content material is immeasurable,” mentioned Nicely Traveled’s Director of Partnerships & Model Advertising, Laura DeGomez. “The attractive journeys found, deliberate, and booked on Nicely Traveled are an exceptional advertising and marketing and retention instrument.”
DeGomez makes use of UGC to visually have interaction current and potential members, and improve model consciousness, develop attain, and strengthen neighborhood.
“Nobody tells our story higher than our members,” she added, “The Nicely Traveled neighborhood is the important thing right here. Each time we are able to let their experiences shine, we do.”
Edloe Finch
Boutique furnishings model Edloe Finch collects UGC by way of hashtag (#EdloeFinch), but it surely additionally permits individuals to submit photographs to its web site. The model then showcases these buyer photographs proper on product pages.
By putting buyer content material on its product pages, consumers can see what Edloe Finch’s merchandise appear like in different clients’ properties. Buying furnishings on-line will be nerve-wracking, however these photographs function an amazing type of social proof.
Supply: Edloe Finch
4 greatest practices for user-generated content material
Consumer-generated content material generally is a free and straightforward strategy to market your model or merchandise, however there are nonetheless pointers to comply with to make sure that your model stays moral and respects each clients and creators.
Preserve these greatest practices in thoughts as you implement UGC into your general content material plan:
At all times request permission
Credit score the unique creator
Specify the kind of UGC you’re searching for
Align your UGC with social technique and advertising and marketing targets
At all times request permission
Consent to share content material is necessary. At all times ask earlier than republishing or utilizing a buyer’s content material.
Individuals could use your branded hashtags with out essentially realizing you’ve tied them to a user-generated content material marketing campaign. Sadly, re-sharing that content material with out express permission is a surefire strategy to kill goodwill and annoy a few of your greatest model advocates.
While you ask permission, you present the unique poster that you just respect their content material and get them enthusiastic about sharing their put up along with your viewers. You additionally preserve your self out of scorching water relating to copyright issues.
Credit score the unique creator
While you share user-generated content material in your social media channels, give clear credit score to the unique creator. This contains tagging them straight within the put up and indicating whether or not you’re utilizing their visuals, phrases, or each.
When you plan to share user-generated content material throughout social media platforms, verify for a way the creator desires to be credited on the assorted channels. For instance, if you wish to share a photograph from Instagram in your Fb web page, ask the unique creator if they’ve a Fb web page you would tag.
Offering correct credit score is a crucial strategy to acknowledge content material creators. It helps guarantee they keep enthusiastic about utilizing and posting about your model.
It additionally makes it straightforward for followers and followers to confirm that the content material was created by somebody exterior your organization (i.e., social proof).
Specify the kind of UGC you’re searching for
UGC creators need you to share their content material. Meaning they need you to inform them what sort of content material you’re probably to share.
Don’t be afraid to get particular and make it straightforward for individuals to share content material that matches your wants.
For instance, cleaning soap model Dove’s “Challenge #ShowUs” marketing campaign requested for pictures from ladies and non-binary people “as they’re, not as others consider they need to be.”
Supply: Getty
Align your UGC with social technique and advertising and marketing targets
How will you recognize what sort of UGC to ask for in the event you don’t know the way it suits in along with your marketing campaign technique? Positive, it’s good when individuals tag you in fairly footage, however how will you use that content material to assist your advertising and marketing targets?
First, sit down along with your social media technique doc and search for methods UGC aligns along with your current advertising and marketing targets. Then, create a easy assertion based mostly on that info that tells customers particularly what sort of content material you’re probably to function.
After getting a transparent UGC ask, share it anyplace individuals are prone to work together along with your model:
Your bios in social channels
Different user-generated posts
Your web site
Your bodily location
Your product packaging
UGC technique goes past understanding the sorts of content material you want out of your clients. You additionally have to align your UGC marketing campaign with broader social media targets.
For instance, are you seeking to improve model consciousness or drive extra conversions (or each)?
Measure the success of your campaigns utilizing a instrument like Hootsuite Analytics or a social listening instrument resembling Hootsuite Listening to grasp how the content material your clients are creating impacts model sentiment and belief.
FAQs on user-generated content material
How is UGC completely different from influencer advertising and marketing?
Whereas each leverage social proof, UGC refers to any content material (natural or paid) created by clients a couple of model or its merchandise. The first targets of UGC are to point out authenticity and construct belief/neighborhood. Influencer advertising and marketing is when a enterprise collaborates with an influencer to create content material that matches their model. One of many main targets of influencer advertising and marketing is to drive consciousness by getting in entrance of the influencer’s viewers.
What are some examples of user-generated content material?
Traditional examples of user-generated content material embody product or enterprise evaluations, photographs, testimonials, social media posts, podcast episodes, movies, weblog posts, and so forth. UGC can seem on social media platforms, overview web sites, private blogs, and on the model’s official channels (web site, Instagram, Fb, and so forth).
How do I get user-generated content material?
You should utilize a branded hashtag to curate UGC or use social listening instruments, like Hootsuite, to observe social mentions. When you establish acceptable UGC to repost, acquire permission from the unique creator and make sure to cite them if you share it.
Is UGC costly to implement?
UGC generally is a free strategy to acquire content material selling your model. As well as, you too can work with UGC creators for paid content material that offers you extra inventive management over the ultimate asset.
How do I take advantage of UGC successfully for my model?
Be sure that you’re posting UGC with intention. Align your UGC along with your current social media and advertising and marketing targets. As you reshare UGC, be certain to trace the success of your campaigns utilizing instruments like Hootsuite’s model sentiment analyzer.
Prepared to begin displaying genuine user-generated content material throughout your social channels? Use Hootsuite to publish and schedule posts, discover related conversions, have interaction the viewers, measure outcomes, and extra. Attempt it free at present.
With recordsdata from Chloe West.
