Think about scrolling by means of Instagram, catching up along with your favourite manufacturers, micro-influencers, household and associates. Then you definately see a photograph of a buddy displaying off their newest sneakers. You shortly look the model up as a result of if they give the impression of being good in your buddy, why not on you?
That’s user-generated content material (UGC)—an genuine snapshot of real model love that has develop into the heartbeat of social media.
UGC isn’t only a nice-to-have to your model—it’s important—particularly when 66% of customers discuss to family and friends to maintain up with traits. Customers need unfiltered, natural and genuine insights from the individuals they know—whether or not that’s a buddy or a creator they love. Let’s face it: All of us belief a buddy’s suggestion over a sophisticated advert, particularly in an AI-driven panorama the place authenticity is vanishing and customers crave group.
On this information, we’ll dive into the basics of UGC—the what, why and the way—so you need to use all forms of social media content material, like candid snapshots, rave evaluations and spontaneous movies, to spice up your model’s relatability.
What’s UGC?
UGC is unpaid or unsponsored content material your prospects create about your model—assume evaluations, pictures, movies and social posts. It’s real, genuine and priceless for credibility.
Sharing and resharing UGC multiplies a content material asset’s attain and attracts extra eyes to your model. For instance, Biteable’s Development Advertising Supervisor, Haily Moulton (@hailymoulton), created a reel answering individuals’s burning questions on utilizing AI as a social media supervisor:
Haily can also be a Sprout Ambassador and swears by our all-in-one social media device. By reposting her Reel, Haily will get new eyes on her video—and we get invaluable content material.
Your staff can determine and measure UGC interactions utilizing social media analytics and reporting options by means of platforms like Sprout Social. Learn how to make use of Sprout for social listening so you may seize and share these moments, too.
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Kinds of UGC
UGC is available in all sizes and shapes, together with:
Beneath is an in depth breakdown of every UGC kind:
Buyer evaluations and testimonials
Customers present their love to your model by means of posts and tales.
Undertaking administration device Trello, for instance, reposted this X (previously referred to as Twitter) put up from Tony Lango, the world’s first engagement relationship supervisor:
Posts like Tony’s are private endorsements on platforms like Instagram and X. Content material like this from an knowledgeable individuals belief generates constructive buzz and attracts plenty of consideration to your model.
Pictures
Prospects’ pictures of your model or merchandise construct credibility and social proof. Additionally they entice potential prospects who wish to see your product in motion.
Gymshark’s Instagram feed, for instance, is full of health influencers posting high-quality pictures of themselves sporting the model’s activewear:
A gradual stream of UGC showcases the product in use and demonstrates influencers’ loyalty and belief within the model.
Movies
When your viewers posts movies that includes your product, it’s like digital word-of-mouth. Profit, for instance, reposted this TikTok from make-up artist Colleen (@colleen.makeupp):
This well timed Halloween make-up put up utilizing Profit’s merchandise is a superb instance of UGC that showcases a model’s merchandise in motion. It additionally highlights its prospects’ creativity and expertise, making it relatable and aspirational for potential prospects.
Blogs
Typically, prospects write detailed experiences or tales about your merchandise on their blogs.
Hostinger, for instance, featured Grammarly as one of the best grammar assistant in a roundup article:
Grammarly can reshare this weblog, characteristic a snippet from the evaluation or collaborate with the blogger on future content material. Collaboration can construct a constructive relationship and introduce Grammarly to new audiences.
Feedback are a treasure trove of opinions and insights. Glassdoor created this Fb put up from current responses in its Interview Ideas Bowl, a social media collection that includes interview ideas from its viewers:
Feedback supply two key advantages that drive development: They’re proof that different customers actively interact along with your model and supply invaluable viewers insights.
Why is UGC necessary for manufacturers?
UGC turns your prospects into your largest followers and your most genuine spokespeople. Right here’s the way it impacts your model:
Supplies a constant supply of inspiration
Battling content material concepts? You’re not alone.
The common model goals to publish 10 social posts per day, in response to the 2024 Content material Benchmarks Report. Fortunately, UGC is a goldmine for inspiration, full of buyer posts, evaluations and tales.
Right here’s why a wealthy content material financial institution is necessary: The Index™ discovered that buyers consider the bedrock of standout social media content material is the standard of a model’s product or providers.
Repurposing UGC content material is an effective way to authentically showcase the standard of your services with out being salesy. Plus, UGC is authentic. The identical analysis reveals that buyers additionally consider authentic content material—not trending subjects—makes manufacturers stand out on social media.
A constant social presence retains your model top-of-mind. Every buyer interplay is a possible put up that retains your feed lively and your viewers engaged.
Provides social proof and drives buy intent
Person-generated content material turns prospects into your most credible salespeople—each picture, evaluation or testimonial is an genuine endorsement. Why does that matter? Folks belief individuals.
Once they see others—actual customers, not actors—having fun with your product, it’s pretty much as good as a suggestion from somebody they know. Social proof faucets into the “observe the herd” intuition individuals have. If everybody’s shopping for this, it should be good, proper? This validation makes potential prospects really feel extra comfy and assured in selecting you. They want reassurance to make the leap from to invested.
Now, think about this: The Content material Benchmarks Report additionally reveals that greater than one-third (37%) of customers assume essentially the most memorable manufacturers prioritize direct viewers engagement over publishing. Which means prospects wish to interact and develop into a part of your story. By commenting on and reposting UGC, you construct private connections and a group along with your viewers, making your model extra plausible.
Generates model consciousness
UGC places your model on the radars of recent audiences. Each share, tag and point out extends your attain and spreads your model’s message.
Model consciousness is step one within the advertising and marketing funnel. Familiarity breeds belief—when individuals acknowledge your model, they’re extra prone to think about you after they’re prepared to purchase.
Every person’s content material is a private shout-out to your model, and their followers are all ears. It’s a community impact—each put up introduces your model to a brand new viewers. And since it’s coming from somebody they belief, it makes an enduring impression.
Creates authenticity
UGC places your model on the map in a means that feels natural, not intrusive. Tapping into real-time content material from actual individuals supplies the authenticity customers need. And so long as you get a person’s permission, manufacturers can deepen their real reference to audiences by thoughtfully integrating UGC into paid social media adverts.
Based on the Index, customers rank authenticity and relatability as the highest two traits in model content material.
Manufacturers have a possibility to bridge this hole and curate content material that resonates on a private stage and builds belief by specializing in these key traits.
Once you showcase UGC, you’re doing greater than including content material to your feed. You’re constructing a group round your model. You’re telling your prospects, “We see you, we hear you and we worth what you must say.” This recognition motivates them to have interaction extra and contribute content material.
Builds model loyalty
In our Index, we discovered that 73% of social customers will purchase from a competitor if a model doesn’t reply to them on social media.
Once you actively showcase person content material, you acknowledge and rejoice your prospects. This validation makes individuals really feel related to your model, like they’re part of one thing.
Each piece of UGC is an opportunity to spice up belief and construct model loyalty. Your most loyal prospects are your largest cheerleaders. Constructing a relationship with them and acknowledging their efforts encourages them to take a position extra in your model—with cash and UGC.
Contributes to your backside line
UGC is one other type of word-of-mouth advertising and marketing, and it’s some of the potent methods to attach along with your target market and cause them to a purchase order. Based on the Index, 81% of consumers will make a number of purchases a 12 months due to social media. When you may measure and develop your UGC technique, you’re extra prone to develop your backside line.
With Sprout, you may measure put up impressions, engagements and even message click on hyperlinks. These insights provide help to monitor the efficiency of UGC reposts to know what’s resonating along with your viewers and getting them to have interaction instantly with you.
5 actual UGC creation examples
These UGC examples present how manufacturers can use buyer content material to drive engagement and authenticity to construct model loyalty:
1. Nutrisense sparks glucose experiments
Well being and know-how firm Nutrisense supplies customized vitamin recommendation primarily based on steady glucose monitoring information. Customers put on a tool that tracks their blood glucose ranges in actual time, offering insights into how their physique responds to completely different meals.
Nutrisense’s platform analyzes this information and pairs customers with registered dietitians to optimize metabolic well being, enhance food regimen and assist weight reduction.
In July 2021, Nutrisense had about 25,000 followers throughout its social media profiles. The model wished to amplify its presence, so it began posting UGC and pairing it with Sprout’s insights.
Sprout’s reviews highlighted the content material that resonated with Nutrisense’s target market. By the tip of 2022, Nutrisense’s social media engagement had grown by 45%, and its group had grown to greater than 130,000—a 496% enhance.
2. Taylor Swift followers share tour outfits
Taylor Swift isn’t only a music famous person—she’s a grasp at making followers the center of her model. Her Instagram account, Taylor Nation, is a part of her PR and advertising and marketing muscle and acts as her official fan membership. It additionally pumps life into UGC campaigns that followers adore.
For the Eras Tour, Taylor Nation requested followers to put up their tour outfits utilizing #TSTheErasTour. Followers went all out, showcasing their Swift-inspired seems to be with glitter and friendship bracelets.
However Taylor Nation didn’t cease there—the account additionally reposted its favourite photos. Followers bought to be the celebrities in each metropolis on the tour.
UGC is one tactic in an in depth buyer advertising and marketing technique, and it reveals how Taylor and her staff create a tight-knit group. Followers don’t simply purchase a ticket—they purchase right into a shared story and an immersive expertise.
3. Starbucks Pink Cup Day
Prospects already put up photos of their fashionable coffees, however what occurs when a model organizes a yearly occasion? The Starbucks Pink Cup contest encourages customers to put up photographs of their holiday-themed cups after they buy espresso.
The competition encourages prospects to strive new vacation drinks and is an effective way to spark viral moments throughout completely different platforms.
The competition’s launch on an marketed day, like November 14, 2024, amplifies its influence. Customers generate content material by means of a number of platforms to unfold the phrase and share their experiences as pleasure builds as much as this present day. The picture beneath reveals how the “pink cup” buzz spiked to the highest of searches that day:
4. Wahl Skilled faucets into current communities
Wahl Skilled produces and sells skilled grooming tools, together with hair clippers and trimmers. Skilled barbers and stylists belief Wahl for its sturdy, dependable and exact instruments.
Wahl has been round for practically 100 years, so it wanted a recent technique to focus on and attraction to new prospects. Since June 2015, Wahl has pivoted its method to lively engagement, utilizing Sprout to handle and monitor conversations throughout a number of Instagram accounts, notably @wahlpro. This shift led to a curated technique of sharing UGC content material.
Wahl’s target market—a vibrant group of stylists and barbers—was already sharing their work with the hashtags #Wahl and #WahlPro. Wahl monitored these model key phrases with Sprout and reworked its social feed right into a showcase {of professional} expertise and genuine person experiences.
In solely a short while, @wahlpro boosted its Instagram engagement by 4,307%. The account’s followers elevated by 84,788 with Sprout.
5. Papa Johns leverages user-generated content material with social listening
What occurs when a celeb sparks user-generated content material? Magic.
A spontaneous second of NFL heart Jason Kelce having fun with Papa Johns pizza throughout an Amazon documentary sparked natural social media buzz. The model caught on to the rising development utilizing Sprout for social listening.
Kelce’s point out sparked UGC—fan feedback and posts—concerning the pizza, permitting Papa Johns to leverage the natural connection and collaborate with Kelce. Josh Martin, Director of Social Media and Model Engagement at Papa Johns, stated, “The insights gained by means of Sprout Social have empowered us to innovate our model engagement approaches.”
UGC moments like these—mixed with Papa Johns utilizing Sprout to enhance its response charge on social media channels—have elevated buyer satisfaction, loyalty and model consciousness throughout social networks.
Tips on how to discover and curate UGC
Recognizing the precise content material is a necessary a part of your UGC technique, and discovering the precise content material to put money into requires social listening. Beneath, we’ll discover tips on how to determine promising UGC by means of social listening and the completely different strategies to seek out content material on every platform.
What makes good UGC?
Efficient UGC ought to begin with genuine, natural interactions. For instance, when customers share one thing distinctive about your services or products, you may dig deeper to find out whether or not there’s a connection inside your model’s group.
If the content material you’ve discovered supplies the genuine person response you want and your target market connects with it, you may promote extra of this type of UGC by means of sharing, campaigns or partnerships.
The next traits sum up invaluable UGC:
- Customers naturally put up concerning the matter.
- There’s traction inside your group.
- Your model can share the put up or add worth to the dialog.
Social listening helps you discover, examine and strategize primarily based on these traits.
Discover ways to apply social listening, as proven with these examples:
- Discover new content material alternatives and UGC marketing campaign concepts: Uncover what customers and types talk about inside your business.
- Determine traits within the business: Determine what’s buzzing in your market so you may replicate it to your prospects and develop into a related model on socials. For instance, Widespread Grounds Brew & Roastery posted an image that includes purple milk with out explicitly mentioning it. A person shortly asks about it and learns that it’s cherry-infused milk.
- Promote merchandise in related methods: Hop into your group’s conversations to seek out methods so as to add relevancy to your model. An important instance is when a TikTok person went viral vibing to Fleetwood Mac’s “Goals” whereas chugging cranberry juice and skateboarding. Tons of customers and types engaged with the content material—even Mick Fleetwood jumped in and earned 2.7 million likes.
You’ll be able to automate the social listening course of so that you don’t miss a beat. With Sprout’s listening capabilities, you may entry viewers insights, trendspot and gauge sentiment to seek out out what your target market is speaking about.
Discovering UGC content material with Sprout
Utilizing Instagram for example, listed below are methods for locating related content material from customers:
1. Create a Subject to tell your question
Begin constructing out your Listening question by selecting a subject title, description and the kind of question you want.
Matters are pushed by queries you set as much as hearken to conversations on social media which are related to the topic of your Subject.
For instance, let’s think about we wish to arrange social listening for Sprout Espresso Co. to seek out out what individuals are saying about vacation drinks.
2. Select the platform you need for UGC
Decide the platforms and sources most related to the UGC interactions and digital advertising and marketing campaigns you wish to create. On this instance, we’ll choose Instagram.
With Sprout’s Question Builder, you may enter a hashtag your target market is speaking about, primarily based on present traits and wishes—no boolean required.
3. Search key phrases for UGC
Subsequent, you may add a proximity match, a hashtag and different inputs to hone in in your wants. You’ll be able to spot related user-generated content material by utilizing key phrases and grouping.
You’ll be able to add a number of phrases and variations to refine your search on completely different items of content material and traits. You’ll be able to set up outcomes and classes by means of groupings as you’re employed on these queries.
Since each platform is completely different, customers might expertise completely different parameters for Listening. For instance, it’s essential to use hashtags to your queries on Instagram.
4. Hearken to your individuals
When you seek for subjects, the Dialog part of your Subject Insights reveals particulars about your key phrases and hashtags.
Sprout makes use of revealed messages out of your viewers to create a Phrase Cloud that provides you extra perception into what your viewers cares about. You’ll be taught all concerning the individuals, locations and issues mentioned inside your chosen Subject.
Use this info to replace and refine your queries. Then, you need to use Sensible Classes, a pure language processing (NLP) mannequin, to determine high individuals, locations and issues with a subject.
You’ll find particular messages to see what your viewers is saying by clicking on a key phrase inside the Sensible Class.
For our espresso store instance, we might accumulate and analyze related key phrases and viewers messages to find their pursuits in or adjoining to espresso or places.
5. Interact along with your viewers
Now that you’ve a pulse on what your viewers is speaking about, use your search outcomes to seek out related prospects or target market members.
You’ll be able to interact with their posts, share content material and encourage related posts. Pairing your Listening insights with Sprout’s Sensible Inbox to trace mentions and tags makes it simple to proactively work together along with your prospects.
On Instagram, for instance, you may leverage insights like:
- Acknowledge tagged pictures: See who’s tagging your model with the Sensible Inbox. It’s an effective way to seek out photos of consumers interacting along with your product or experiencing your service. When customers tag you, you may simply discover and repost the story by means of Sensible Inbox, sharing UGC immediately and inspiring others to put up.
- Observe contests: With Listening, monitor related hashtags related to a contest to gauge the attain and engagement of their campaigns and determine user-generated content material. This additionally allows manufacturers to measure marketing campaign success by analyzing the quantity of mentions and the sentiment of the conversations across the contest hashtag.
- Find out about your viewers: With Listening, you may uncover traits inside your target market’s pursuits and bounce in by interacting with their Tales.
Within the instance beneath, 100 Montaditos, a restaurant primarily based in Spain, found and reposted a person’s image of her afternoon tapas:
6. Construct a group
Your Instagram UGC technique shouldn’t cease after you uncover the content material. Develop a course of to construct relationships, recruit model ambassadors and foster a group.
The conversations can begin within the feedback and DMs, however the subsequent important step is to create a group that unites the fan base that likes to put up about your model.
Greatest practices for sharing UGC
Including UGC is about greater than hitting the reshare button every so often. It’s about listening to what your prospects are sharing and seamlessly weaving it into your model’s narrative.
Listed below are some ideas that will help you make UGC a cornerstone of your content material technique:
1. Encourage your viewers to share UGC
Inspiring customers to put up content material about your model, services or products begins with encouragement and group constructing. Think about completely different methods to drive user-generated content material, together with:
- Launch contests and challenges: Host a contest asking customers to put up pictures, experiences and different forms of content material to win prizes. Then, share the content material along with your viewers to immediate extra posts.
- Begin a dialog: Publish a put up that asks for person enter, whether or not it’s a put up on X or an ask-me-anything (AMA) on Reddit. You’ll be able to share these concepts and feedback as reposts, screenshots or different compelling content material codecs.
- Set up a UGC hashtag: Create and promote a branded hashtag that customers add to their posts, encouraging others to do the identical. Hashtags additionally make it simple to seek out brand-specific UGC. One instance is Apple’s 2015 #ShotOniPhone marketing campaign, which customers proceed to make use of on Instagram and different networks at the moment.
- Create an expertise price sharing: Add a enjoyable signal at your brick-and-mortar location or create a humorous electronic mail response when customers purchase your product to create shareable experiences. Add a singular contact that encourages customers to put up.
Once you use Sprout, you may simply monitor your marketing campaign efficiency and social media advertising and marketing. With Sprout’s Sensible Inbox, you may monitor UGC hashtags and replies to key conversations. It helps you unify all of your social channels to watch and reply to your messages in a single place.
Marketing campaign monitoring additionally allows you to monitor key efficiency indicators, and perceive which forms of UGC content material your viewers resonates with.
2. Discover and repost UGC on related social networks
You might want to know the place your viewers lives on social media and the place potential influencers have essentially the most affect. For instance, Instagram is a pure match for sharing visuals, however double-check that’s the place your target market desires to see these visuals.
To start out, think about your viewers and objectives when selecting a social community. Strategically select the precise community and create an attractive social atmosphere to ship content material and nurture long-term relationships.
Determine the top-performing UGC codecs on every community and adapt their presentation primarily based on every app’s tradition. Use the next checklist to assist information you:
- Fb: Use Fb to share full video content material and tales that enhance engagement, particularly inside particular communities or places.
- X: For those who host occasions, think about making a stay X feed to seize and shortly reshare UGC in actual time. This tactic can also be a superb alternative to capitalize on hashtags.
- Instagram: Instagram is a favourite for showcasing merchandise. Manufacturers are free to get inventive and join with those that assist their enterprise. It’s also possible to simply repost on Instagram to indicate off buyer UGC and use hashtags to construct a group round your model.
- TikTok: TikTok’s tradition thrives on genuine, scrappy movies, not refined evaluations or curated tales. You’ll be able to interact with a buyer of their feedback and ask permission to share their content material in your web page.
- LinkedIn: Use LinkedIn to share UGC that aligns along with your employer model or, in the event you’re B2B, how your viewers makes use of your product at work.
3. All the time ask permission and credit score content material creators
You uncover a person put up that simply nails it. However earlier than you hit the share button, ask for permission. Earlier than reposting, evaluation the community’s content material coverage and any related native legal guidelines. This apply will make sure you keep compliant and sign your viewers that you just respect them.
Ship a fast message—it may be so simple as, “Hey, we love your put up! Can we characteristic it on our web page? We’ll ensure that to credit score you!” Including a easy “Picture by @username” or a tag within the caption (like skincare model La Roche-Posay) is typically sufficient. Giving credit score reveals respect and retains issues clear—plus, it helps construct a way of group.
When creators see you treating others nicely, that may nudge them to take part. Tagging the creator additionally introduces your model to their viewers, growing consciousness.
You’ll be able to take the gratitude a step additional, too. Relationship-building makes UGC a everlasting a part of your content material technique. A fast DM saying “Thanks!” can flip a one-time poster right into a long-time model ambassador.
4. Use worker advocacy to amplify UGC
Flip your staff into model ambassadors with worker advocacy. Encourage them to share UGC on their channels. When workers share UGC, it amplifies your attain and offers your model a human face. A put up from an individual slightly than a model usually will get extra traction, feels extra real and may unfold like wildfire.
Begin by making a tradition that shares celebrations. Provide pointers to strike the stability of authenticity whereas staying aligned to the model voice, create templates to offer workers a head begin and inspire them to put up.
Professional tip: Make posting enjoyable. Maintain a month-to-month contest or spotlight the highest employee-shared UGC to make your staff really feel related to the model’s story.
Lastly, monitor your progress. Utilizing worker advocacy instruments, like Sprout’s, helps you acknowledge and distribute the content material that resonates most, enhance worker participation with curated content material and enhance social ROI.
An worker advocacy technique that covers all of the bases turns your staff right into a driver of genuine model promotion.
5. Monitor UGC’s influence with a devoted device
If you would like your UGC technique to work, you must measure. It doesn’t matter what your objectives are, benchmarking is a should.
Our newest Index factors out that 81% of customers attribute social media to the real-time purchases they make a number of occasions a 12 months. This discovering highlights the important function of measuring, reporting and optimizing your UGC technique for ongoing consciousness and conversion.
With Sprout, you get social media analytics instruments to trace your general engagement with UGC.
Whether or not you’re posting to Fb, X, LinkedIn or Instagram, you may entry detailed viewers reviews that reveal which content material is driving essentially the most engagement and development in your profiles. It’s also possible to use our social listening instruments to research your social information on the content material and conversations taking place round your model.
Understanding what your model is tagged in supplies useful perception into your model’s UGC technique. Sprout’s Tag Report pinpoints how nicely your UGC is doing in comparison with your different content material. Use this information to optimize your general social technique so all of your content material resonates.
6. Test music copyright
When including UGC to your content material combine, you could account for copyright. It’s simple to get caught up within the visuals and overlook that music wants clearance, too. If there’s any music in user-submitted movies, you could confirm that it’s all above board and test that it’s licensed for industrial use.
Typically, it’s as easy as reaching out to the artist. Different occasions, you’ll need to swap the monitor with a royalty-free possibility. Backside line: Compliance will hold your model on the precise aspect of copyright legislation.
Tips on how to measure your UGC technique’s success
As you construct your UGC technique, you could measure your progress and outcomes. Use Sprout’s Publish Efficiency Report to trace the next social media KPIs:
- Impression: Impressions inform you how many individuals see your put up or profile.
- Publish attain: Attain reveals what number of distinctive accounts noticed your put up, measuring the general publicity of your UGC shares earned.
- Share of voice: Measure your on-line visibility in comparison with your opponents. With it, you may measure the long-term influence of your social technique.
- Likes, shares and feedback: These metrics provide help to calculate how nicely your UGC shares resonate along with your viewers. The extra interactions you see, the stronger the sign that you just hit a related matter for potential campaigns.
- Mentions: This metric sits on the coronary heart of UGC. When customers point out you in a put up or remark, you get an genuine piece of ready-to-post content material to your viewers. Monitor your model mentions for important insights into the natural development generated by your community-building and engagement methods.
Add the ability of UGC to your workflow with Sprout
UGC is the key sauce that provides an genuine taste to your model’s social presence. However it isn’t only a one-off technique—it’s a gentle dialog. Hold asking for that content material and hold crediting these creators to maintain constructing and interesting your group.
Sprout helps you streamline monitoring the UGC that resonates along with your viewers, serving to you monitor, curate and showcase the content material that tells your model’s story by means of your prospects’ experiences.
Need to see the way it suits into your workflow? Attempt a free trial of Sprout at the moment to see the way it can streamline and optimize your UGC technique.
