What is user-generated content?
User-generated content (UGC) is content that unpaid consumers create and share publicly with others. Videos, blog posts, images, testimonials, social media posts, and reviews are examples of UGC, as long as the creator doesn’t receive any form of compensation or payment. Marketing teams turn to UGC to showcase authentic user experiences and build trust with other potential customers.
User-generated content software platforms help brands capture, track, and manage user-posted content across social media platforms to repurpose for marketing efforts. Marketing, legal, and product teams may have use cases for UGC platforms: marketing teams can make marketing collateral, legal teams can secure rights to distribute the UGC, and product teams can evaluate customer sentiments.
Types of user-generated content
Good user-generated content can amplify marketing efforts and help land more business, whether it’s through reviews, blogs, or images.
- Social media posts: Consumers turn to social media to share their purchases and shout out brands on their platforms. Spotify’s end-of-year review, Spotify Wrapped, is a campaign that generates a large amount of user-generated content every year.
- Reviews and testimonials: Customer reviews and testimonials serve as UGC for many brands. For instance, many reviews posted on G2 are examples of honest, user-generated content based on a user’s interaction with a product or service.
- Videos: Some consumers share user-generated video content, including recorded footage on a GoPro, live video streams across various platforms, and reviews.
- Blog posts: Bloggers who do reviews or reference brands in their blog content without pay are creating user-generated content. An example of this is naming specific tools like Slack in a blog post discussing the best instant messaging tools for the modern workplace.
Where user-generated content comes from
When referring to user-generated content, there are different types of users UGC comes from a diverse mix of sources, including:
- Customers. Actual customers are the largest source of UGC. Their content sells because they can show that they have purchased and used the product or service they share. Brands should seek UGC from this group since they have opted to post about the brand independently.
- Brand supporters and enthusiasts. Devoted and repeat customers are generally excited about the product or service. Marketers may want to reach out to this audience category for UGC content as their excitement and passion for the brand helps sell.
- Employees: Sometimes overlooked, employee-generated content (EGC) contributes to a brand’s identity across various platforms. Candidates in the hiring process may be more likely to accept a job offer after reviewing EGC.
Benefits of user-generated content
Brands that prioritize UGC are often rewarded with many benefits that help improve their reputation and save valuable time. Other primary benefits of UGC include the following:
- Building trust with customers and audience members. UGC builds trust between a brand and its base. While marketing campaigns have advantages, UGC generally comes across as more authentic and offers real-life user experiences. Stories from actual people help customers learn more about a brand from a transparent perspective.
- Time and money savings. Marketing campaigns can be costly and time-consuming. A significant perk of UGC is that it saves marketers time and cash that they can put toward other efforts, such as sharing UGC content that’s already created.
- An opportunity to create a community. With the right strategy, brands can apply UGC to create a community by engaging with their customers. Resharing content, engaging with it online, and providing thank-you gifts are excellent options for building community and showing appreciation.
- Gathering insights with ease. UGC provides companies with a wealth of knowledge about their consumers, including which of their products shine. UGC can also help brands understand where they aren’t hitting the mark and identify opportunities for improvement.
User-generated content best practices
Applying user-generated content requires experimentation, but when a strategy is executed well, it paints an authentic picture of a brand. Companies should consider the following best practices when working with UGC for the highest likelihood of success.
- Meet customers where they are. The right channel for a UGC campaign varies from brand to brand. Before running a UGC campaign, brands should identify which channels their customers spend most of their time on. For example, a business-to-business (B2B) software company may focus on review sites, while an e-commerce shop may find its most active customers on Instagram.
- Ensure the direction is simple and straightforward. Consumers create UGC if the request is clear and simple. Brands should determine what type of UGC they want to collect, such as images of certain products, and leave the rest up to consumers.
- Prioritize engagement. Brands must engage with UGC for a successful campaign. Assign designated resources to interact with consumers as they begin to share UGC. Thank them for their efforts.
Example of a user-generated content campaign
In 2014, Starbucks launched a White Cup Contest asking customers across the U.S. and Canada to decorate a Starbucks cup and submit the design on social media using the hashtag #WhiteCupContest. In three weeks, Starbucks received almost 4,000 entries from participants.
User-generated content isn’t the same as influencer marketing. Learn how influencer marketing differs.
Alyssa Towns
Alyssa Towns works in communications and change management and is a freelance writer for G2. She mainly writes SaaS, productivity, and career-adjacent content. In her spare time, Alyssa is either enjoying a new restaurant with her husband, playing with her Bengal cats Yeti and Yowie, adventuring outdoors, or reading a book from her TBR list.
