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Feb 14, 2025
User-generated content (UGC) is a marketing goldmine. It’s raw, authentic, and packed with the trust factor that modern consumers crave so much. For brands tapping into UGC, this type of content has the potential to create a ripple effect that drives sales and solidifies brand loyalty.
Why? Because people trust people like themselves. As we’ve seen over and over again, customers’ genuine stories beat even the best-polished ad campaigns.
So, if you’re ready to make UGC marketing part of your strategy and add it to your social media calendar, you’ll love this article.
User-generated content involves various forms of content, like photos, videos, reviews, or social posts, created by people rather than brands. It’s authentic, unfiltered, and often shared organically by customers or fans. This type of content created by users adds a layer of trust that no polished ad can replicate.
Creating UGC doesn’t follow a one-size-fits-all format. You can try user content showcasing your product in action, heartfelt reviews on product pages, or viral UGC videos on TikTok, because UGC is great social proof in most of its forms.
User-generated content works because it’s authentic and relatable. Seeing real people talk about your brand builds trust and encourages others to engage.
More than effective, it’s efficient, as it helps you keep multiple social media accounts active with fresh, meaningful content that connects with your audience naturally. Here’s what else makes it great. 👇
Customer content is powerful because it’s honest – and it’s also great for business. In fact, according to a study by Entribe, 77% of respondents said they’d prefer buying products or services from brands that share user-generated content.
I asked George Danaila, Content Marketing Strategist at Planable, about how valuable UGC is and he highlighted a perfect example:
I love GoPro’s ‘Be a Hero’ campaign. It fueled GoPro’s brand image as synonymous with adventure and extreme sports. The authenticity of real users’ experiences helped boost GoPro’s credibility and build a strong community of brand advocates.
When you share genuine experiences from and with real users, it fosters trust in ways polished marketing campaigns can’t. People relate to people, not logos. UGC helps potential customers see your brand as reliable and approachable, which builds long-term loyalty.
User-generated content (UGC) delivers big results with much lower costs. It works because it taps into something that no in-house content can replicate: real human connection. Customers trust other customers more than ads, as proven by the power of online reviews, online forums, and personal recommendations.
The cost savings come as your audience becomes your content creators. Instead of pouring money into production teams or ad creatives, you amplify user content that’s already being shared. And it performs better! UGC ads have a 50% lower cost-per-click than standard ads.
Plus, they boost your awareness at less cost. For example, Coca-Cola nailed user-generated content marketing with its “Share a Coke” campaign. Encouraging people to share photos of personalized bottles resulted in over 600,000+ shared images and a clear sales boost.
Global Instagram posts from the iconic ‘Share a Coke’ campaign
It’s one thing for a company to say its product is great— it’s another when customers say it for them. Social proof is based on the concept that people are influenced by the actions and opinions of others, especially their peers.
Take skincare brand The Ordinary for example, which experienced huge growth, partially thanks to UGC on TikTok and Instagram. The brand has a powerful social media platform presence, backed by over 1.7 million users. They post, repost, like, and grow together with their followers – a great example of a UGC content marketing strategy done well.
The Ordinary’s growth is largely attributed to great social media and powerful brand ambassadors doing UGC for their go-to skincare company.
Across Europe, the brand became one of the most popular choices for consumers. Once again, real testimonials resonated more than polished ads.
User-generated content puts your brand in front of fresh eyes. When customers share their experiences, they act as unpaid ambassadors, exposing your products to their followers. It’s authentic, organic, and far-reaching.
Take Gymshark, for instance. The fitness apparel brand thrives on UGC, encouraging fans to share workouts wearing their gear. This strategy turned Gymshark into a social media phenomenon in the fitness field with over 7.3 million Instagram followers.
With free marketing that resonates, potential customers have better chances of discovering your brand naturally, often leading to stronger trust and quicker conversions.
User-generated content (UGC) is one of the most effective ways to build brand loyalty because it creates authentic connections between your brand and your audience. Essentially, your UGC creators share stories about using your products or services, slowly becoming ambassadors and advocates, categories known for being more likely to spend more.
However, not all UGC has the same impact. The most powerful UGC influences others to buy and deepens emotional connections with the people who already did.
For example, incentivizing UGC within a loyalty app motivates participation. It reinforces the feeling of being valued through tailored rewards given away each time someone creates content about your brand and posts it on social platforms.
Elisa Montanari, Head of Organic Growth at Wrike, agrees wholeheartedly:
You can’t ignore the growing importance of real human connection. If you’re not using UGC, you’re missing out on valuable opportunities to extend and elevate the conversation that’s already happening all around you. By sharing and engaging with UGC, you’re not just reposting content — you’re humanizing your brand, building community, and deepening relationships. People want to see your brand from more than your own lens, so sharing UGC widens those perspectives and sets you up for better success.
The key difference lies in authenticity versus control. Organic UGC offers a more organic connection with audiences, rooted in genuine experiences, while paid UGC provides brands with greater influence over messaging and reach.
PS: When considering organic vs paid UGC (or both!), think of how efficiently your team can manage and collaborate on content. Using content collaboration tools can also help streamline this process.
Consumer-generated content comes in many shapes and forms, influencing people differently, depending on its format. Let’s explore the most popular ones below.
This is the most popular type of UGC. It’s used in all major user-generated content campaigns for social media marketing. Visual content can look like static photos on Instagram, witty video content on TikTok, or even live streams, like the GRWM ones. They tap into the audience’s interest and also contribute to long-time brand perception and feed assets.
And if we know one thing about marketing, that’s how important repetition is. Remember the rule of 7? UGC content helps reach that repeated exposure and boost brand promotion and placement (as part of your 4Ps strategy).
In my opinion, great UGC peaked during the TikTok boom. Just look at brands like La Roche Posay, for example. They’ve truly mastered the art of creating, sharing, and encouraging UGC content creation.
Word of mouth, Google Reviews, TrustPilot, Reddit, and other forums and peer-to-peer social media platforms – what do they all have in common? They use social proof, AKA testimonials and reviews.
People want to see how other people experiment with your brand. That’s just how consumer psychology works. Social proof comes in many forms, but not every UGC campaign is created equal. A funny review may work wonders for a themed park or an event, while an informative review can increase brand awareness for an education company or a SaaS tool.
Let me show you what a great job the marketing team from Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort did by using a one-star negative review to create a five-star ad! And this took place way back in 2017: a UGC campaign ahead of its time.
Blogs are still ruling today, and it’s because, much like with reviews, people want to gain more knowledge about the products they plan on consuming before considering them. Many creators run this type of content for free in the form of:
…and more.
So, why not use it as part of your marketing strategies? After all, it’s brand-specific content created by people in your community.
That’s just what Glossier, the beauty brand, does when sharing customer stories or their glowing reviews of skincare products on their blog.
When I told you that we’ll get into what types of UGC work best for you, this is the section I was referring to. Let’s explore the ins and outs of a well-crafted UGC strategy.
I know…strategy, again? Well, you can’t expect to just look for UGC content, run more social media posts, or pour extra money into influencer marketing and hope for the best.
Your UGC goals should be aligned to wider marketing goals. Of course, this content format, just like any other, can be measured in KPIs, but the “why” behind investing in it, the expected results, dissemination channels, and frequency of posting are all something you decide in the planning stage.
That’s because different types of UGC in your content mix may change depending on what your social media goals are. For example:
UGC means a lot of things on multiple platforms. On LinkedIn, it could mean a more formal, informative review of a product. On TikTok, it could mean a funny or blunt review. On your Instagram, UGC can mean pictures of your audience engaging with your giveaway or brand hashtag.
So, before diving into UGC, get a feel of what works in your specific industry and niche, what kind of user-generated content examples perform best, and what your audience likes.
While content formats and types differ, so do audiences. And while you may think that the same person might hold different social media accounts (and that’s true), it’s the intent behind their user journey that counts. People don’t go on LinkedIn to find funny videos, right?
So, besides figuring out what kind of content you want to deliver, and what type of UGC and content formats perform best, you must consider your audience.
Follow leaders in your field to get a feel of their community, and run market research as simple as scrolling through social channels to better understand this aspect.
Then, as you create content for your UGC campaigns, tailor CTAs for each of your brand’s social media. Grab attention with a witty CTA like “Send this to your bestie” for light platforms, or something like “Learn more” for professional ones.
Always (and I mean always) give credit where credit’s due. It’s not just nice, but also a legal obligation if you want to lawfully reuse, distribute, or gain from your customer photos, videos, reviews, or anything UGC.
You can do so by asking them directly if you want to reuse their content and getting approval. Don’t forget to tag or mention the creator visibly in your post or any other marketing campaign assets. If you can’t find the original creator, at least try. Pop the question to your online community and show goodwill, people will appreciate it.
It’s not just common but required, and it’s not just me saying so. Here’s what Lauren Grubb, Social Media Specialist at StrategiQ has to say:
At StrategiQ, we regularly check in with accounts where we receive UGC to see what our audience is talking about and if there is any content that fits well with the brand. We will make sure to vet them by looking at their profile and seeing if they are aligned with the brand, as well as making sure there are no red flags. Always ask for permission to use the content. We do this every time so we don’t come under fire for using content that is not ours to share. Also, tag the user in the post to make sure they feel like they are getting something in return.
The saying “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it” doesn’t always work in marketing. Because how can you tell if something is broken, if you haven’t tested a better version of it, or worse, haven’t even monitored performance?
When I spoke with Roland Jakob, Managing Partner at Blazekin Media, he couldn’t speak highly enough of UGC:
UGC consistently outperforms polished brand content in terms of engagement. I’ve been involved in campaigns where conversion rates jumped by nearly 30% after incorporating UGC. What’s even more valuable is the long-term effect — it builds trust and a sense of community that sticks with people, and that’s something money can’t buy.
But even when you try something new that performs well, it’s important to track and measure your marketing efforts because more often than not, you’ll realize that there’s room for even better.
For example, you might think that your UGC reviews are performing well. They’re gaining traction, being reshared, and gaining 20 comments. But what if you asked creators to tweak the hook? Or the CTA?
At a recent event I attended, Robert Tatoi’s presentation showed just how powerful adjusting the hook was for audience retention on TikTok. His full slide deck is available to view from the Webstock presenters page.
A weak hook performed the worst, even if the rest of the script was on point.
When the hook is good, the falloff isn’t quite as sharp, but people still drop once they realize the script is weak.
Nail the hook and the script and you’ve got much better retention.
But this kind of analysis is only possible when you measure all those metrics, both before and after improvement. Write everything down and keep track of your KPIs – you won’t regret it.
Naturally, you can’t just go online and ask everyone in your community to stop creating their own content and invest in yours instead. Paying for UGC is a good approach, but an even better, more sustainable one is to incentivize your existing customers or find it online ready-to-go. Let’s get into it.
Many believe customers only create UGC for luxurious brands. Wrong! People engage with brands for fun, wit, social responsibility, or simply because they identify with the brand’s values. The secret lies in crafting brand messaging that’s relatable, inspiring, and unforgettable.
Take Dove’s #ShowUs project as an example. By championing inclusivity and realistic beauty standards, Dove created a movement that resonated deeply with its audience. The campaign empowered women worldwide to share their authentic beauty stories, generating waves of UGC and fostering a sense of community.
Your brand can achieve this by developing clear, consistent key messages. For instance, a skincare brand might focus on inclusive beauty, clean ingredients, or sustainability. Repeat these themes across all touchpoints and encourage those who align with them to actively engage and become advocates for your brand.
Your UGC might already be there, waiting for you to look it up. Try finding it by searching for your brand name, product reviews, and branded hashtags, or by running geo-located keyword research for your area (e.g. best X in Bucharest, Romania).
And if you haven’t found anything yet, don’t worry. Keep on monitoring hashtags, mentions, or tags related to your brand to see if anything comes up. By following the strategies above, sooner or later, you’ll find something.
Proactivity is your best friend in boosting your brand’s community, and implicitly, brand advocates create UGC. If your followers feel like they’re part of a one-way relationship, meaning that you never like, share, or reply to their comments, they’ll drop the engagement in time.
It’s called a community because everyone interacts and engages, and that starts with the leader, AKA you. Make sure to dedicate recurrent weekly time to connect with your audience if you want them to connect back. This creates a sense of community where users feel comfortable sharing more and more content with the brand.
Roland Jakob emphasized this point during our chat:
Keeping a steady flow of UGC starts with creating an environment where people actually want to contribute. We actively engage with users, acknowledging them when they tag or mention us. It’s like building a two-way street where both sides get something. Incentives help, but I’ve found that recognition often works just as well, if not better. I’ve also encouraged employees to share UGC and engage with it on their own channels, which boosts participation.
In the last few years, we have seen a small decline in users tagging brands in content as we see an increase in content creators/influencers asking for collaborations. For brands we work with that may not have a big budget for an influencer marketing program, it has been slightly more difficult to maintain a flow of content. To mitigate this, we have launched UGC competitions for users where if they upload their content tagging the brand, they will be put into a competition to win a prize. This has worked well to generate additional content.
That’s according to Lauren Grubb. And she’s right. If you want to incentivize UGC, contests, challenges, and giveaways are excellent tools. Platforms like Instagram make them quite effective, as they motivate users to quickly generate content that aligns with your messaging.
Let’s use the example of Starbucks. Each holiday season, Starbucks encourages customers to decorate their iconic red cups and share photos on social media using a specific hashtag. Their “Red Cup Contest” campaign uses their customers’ creativity to generate engagement and a wealth of authentic content. It’s genius.
Encouraging your audience to create UGC can be as simple as directly asking them. People are more likely to engage when prompted in a way that feels personal and fun. For instance, asking for their opinions, running polls, or even challenges can encourage participation. Pair this with a branded hashtag, and that’s how you’ll create a great space for their contributions.
George Danaila ran me through his approach:
I always think about how to encourage people to interact with the content I share. This could be asking people for their opinions on product features in the captions, running challenges and polls, or asking for photos and videos of customers using the product.
A successful example of this approach is once again Coca-Cola’s #ShareaCoke campaign, where customers were encouraged to share photos with personalized Coke bottles. The campaign transformed a simple ask into a global wave of engagement.
User-generated content (UGC) builds trust, boosts engagement, and fosters brand loyalty, making it a must for your social media strategy. Start incorporating UGC to connect authentically with your audience. And while you’re working on boosting your social media efforts, try Planable to plan and schedule your posts effortlessly, with 50 free posts when you sign up.
Maria is a content marketer, SEO copywriter, and social media specialist with experience working for a wide range of B2B businesses. She loves to keep up with the evolution of digital marketing, particularly in areas such as social media management, content, SEO, and PR. She is passionate about her work and loves to add a unique spin to any topic.
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