What Is UGC and Why Is It Important
Any content like texts, videos, photographs, reviews, and so on—created by consumers rather than brands is known as user-generated content (UGC). Brands will then usually share user-generated content (UGC) on their own social media platforms, websites, and other marketing channels.
It has been found that user generated content (UGC) tends to generate higher engagement than original or over planned content. UGC is critical in helping brands develop their audience, establish trust, and increase sales which is due to the importance of participation in effective social media strategy.
Examples of UGC
COURTNEY QUINN (@COLORMECOURTNEY)
Courtney’s Instagram feed has a clear aesthetic: bright colours and positive sentiments. She is an excellent example of an influencer who develops content for brands that is still uniquely hers and fits seamlessly into her grid. When a branded post is evident as an ad, engagement drops, but Courtney works hard to make her UGC post look like everything else on her page.
We especially like this reel, which combines her crisp photography with a vibrant graphic background––it’s eye-catching and will make people stop mid-scroll.
MEGAN JAYNE CRABBE (@MEGANJAYNECRABBE)
Megan’s 1.3 million followers are reached through both her Twitter and Instagram account, which she uses to spread messages of self-love and body positivity. She’s an Instagram Queen, and in this video for Bumble, she got creative with the Q+A feature in Stories, creating a video post instead of answering followers’ questions through Instagram stories.
She ensured higher engagement on her account by engaging with her followers, inviting them to ask questions, and then answering the best ones.
KEVIN (@KEVIN_THE_TOY_CAVOODLE)
This adorable Australian toy cavoodle who goes by the name Kevin has established a dedicated following on Instagram thanks to his adorably aesthetic photos. While you might not link a dog with a chocolate brand, Kevin’s owner was able to smoothly merge this UGC for Ferrero Rocher into their grid.
This is a great way to remember that staying true to your type of content while creating content for brands is very crucial. Profiles that usually change their content to suit the brands style of content, tend to underperform. So it’s important for you to stay authentic to your signature style.
FEARNE COTTON (@FEARNECOTTON)
Fearne Cotton is an excellent example of how you can show your audience additional insights into your “real” life outside of Instagram, despite the fact that she is more of a celebrity than an influencer.
If you take a look at how Instagram has changed over the years, you’ll notice that Instagram users (specially influencers) are putting up content that is raw and unedited, rather than content that is unrealistically edited. By combining real content with UGC and your regular content, it brings in a sense of authenticity to your account which will help you build trust with your followers.
@BESTCOOKSPERIOD
This cooking based account serves their followers with brilliantly creative pictures of food that is created using photoshop. Though the page has less than ten thousand followers, they have found a way to keep their followers hooked onto their content.
In this particular UGC based content they did with the brand @amyskitchen is a good example of what they create and how they make their followers want to come back for more content and stop mid scroll.
