What Is User-Generated Content?
User-generated content (UGC) is non-sponsored content related to a brand that’s created by users—like customers or employees—rather than the brand itself.
Here’s an example of UGC: Author Kayla Ann’s Threads post praising the movie “KPop Demon Hunters.”
How Can UGC Help Your Brand?
Some ways UGC marketing can help your brand are:
- Increasing your revenue: Getting positive brand coverage improves user sentiment and may lead to more purchases
- Scaling your content marketing efforts: Encouraging users to create UGC helps you accumulate marketing content about your brand with minimal or even no extra production cost
- Discovering new marketing angles: As users talk about your products or services, you’ll learn their preferences and pain points—and get ideas for tailoring your marketing to match
- Improving your visibility in AI tools: Our study on how AI search impacts SEO shows Google cites relevant UGC from forums like Reddit in its AI Overviews. And our research on how AI search works reveals that other AI platforms similarly trust user-created content.
- Growing brand awareness: UGC helps more people discover and learn about your brand. For example, the image below shows that 5,400 mentions have led to an estimated reach of 9.55M. This reach can lead to more searches of your brand.
Types of User-Generated Content
Types of user-generated content include:
- Unboxing videos that show the user opening a product’s packaging to reveal its contents
- Product demonstration videos featuring a product in use
- Written reviews that list pros and cons of a product or service
- Testimonials that describe how a user benefited from a product or service
- Contest entries where users try to win a prize by submitting UGC that contains certain hashtags or tag the brand running the contest
- Articles voluntarily written by a brand’s employees sharing their work experiences
Real-Life UGC Campaign Examples + Their Results
Check out these three real-life UGC campaign examples to get inspiration for your own campaign:
1. Video Testimonial on Mentoring Experience
Peter Lewis, Founder and CEO of Strategic Pete and a Business Mentor on the GrowthMentor platform, encourages his mentees to leave feedback on his services.
One of them created this video testimonial in response:
Within days, this testimonial led to Peter entertaining new client conversations and mentorship requests. Without any extra effort on his part.
“When you genuinely help people, UGC creates itself,” Peter says.
And the results can be impressive. “A single authentic video drove more engagement than any polished ad ever could," he adds.
2. Trustpilot Product Reviews
RushOrderTees set up automated emails requesting that customers review the brand on Trustpilot after receiving their custom apparel.
The brand focuses on gathering Trustpilot reviews due to the platform’s widespread recognition. And its reputation for being unbiased.
Within six months of launching its UGC campaign, RushOrderTees saw a 35% increase in Trustpilot reviews. Its average rating also improved from 4.3 to 4.8 stars.
“If we see a pattern in comments, like customers wanting better order tracking, we can act on it,” says Michael Nemeroff, Co-Founder and CEO of RushOrderTees. “That makes reviews valuable for attracting new customers and making existing ones happier.”
3. Video Testimonials on Service Experiences
Stairhopper Movers asks customers to film video testimonials of their experiences using its moving and storage services in person once the work is complete. The brand then posts these testimonials on its YouTube channel.
Like this video testimonial:
The goal for Stairhopper Movers’s UGC campaign? To promote word of mouth about the brand’s services in a trustworthy and engaging manner.
And the campaign has succeeded.
“We’ve seen increased trust from potential customers, as they can see real people talking about their moving experiences in an unscripted, natural way,” says Adrian Iorga, Founder and President of Stairhopper Movers.
How to Get UGC
Here’s how to actively get UGC for your brand instead of passively waiting for users to create it:
Ask Customers at the Right Time
Ask customers to share their experiences with your brand right after a transaction. They’re more likely to mention good things and important details while their memories are fresh.
You could word your request like this:
“Thank you for shopping with us. If we’ve done well, we’d love it if you shared your experience on [name of review platform].”
And make it easy for customers to fulfill the request.
For example, Red Salt’s site provides convenient links to various review platforms:
Offer Incentives for UGC
Encourage users to create UGC by offering incentives like discounts, freebies, or contest prizes in return.
Here’s an example:
Kerry Ellis’s singing-focused UGC campaign invites users to post social media videos tagging two accounts and including a specific hashtag to have a shot at winning event tickets and a personalized experience.
Before incentivizing UGC creation, check that the UGC platform permits this.
For example, providing incentives in exchange for Google reviews goes against Google’s policies. Google may remove these offending reviews. Or even terminate your brand’s Google account.
Turn Employees Into Brand Ambassadors
Provide employees with an excellent working environment, and they’ll be more likely to post UGC commending it—signaling you’re an attractive brand.
Here’s an example:
Wise employee Flora Shi posted on LinkedIn about presenting the Wise platform’s growth to hundreds of colleagues.
Flora even invited others to consider a career at Wise—which speaks volumes about the company.
How to Use UGC
Once you start getting UGC, try these techniques to make the most of that content.
And consider crediting users when sharing their UGC. They’ll appreciate the recognition, which improves the consumer-brand relationship.
Post UGC on Social Media
Posting UGC about your brand on social media helps you fill out your posting calendar with content that builds trust with followers.
Lox + Schmear has put this technique to good use by sharing this glowing Google review on its Instagram account:
Feature UGC on Your Site
Feature UGC from various sources on your website, where site visitors can view everything in one place.
Just like how Festoon House’s site displays customer reviews from Google and social media:
The brand’s homepage also links to this review page, helping potential customers discover it.
“There are customers who use our services and products just because they saw a review their friends made on the website,” says Matt Little, Founder and Managing Director at Festoon House.
That trust drives real results.
“I gained a steady number of repeat, referred, and new customers,” Matt adds.
Use UGC in Ads
Use UGC in ads to potentially improve the return on investment on your ad spend, as users may find the organic nature of your ads’ content more authentic and trustworthy.
SportingSmiles launched a Facebook ad campaign featuring customers using and enjoying its dental products. And those UGC ads received 20% more clicks than other ad types.
The UGC ads SportingSmiles ran also got more conversions. The brand attributes this to people being more likely to buy a product after seeing others like them use it.
“Seeing these results, I’ve made UGC a key part of my marketing strategy, encouraging satisfied customers to share their experiences,” says Evan McCarthy, President and CEO of SportingSmiles.
Track Your Brand’s UGC and Its Impact on AI Visibility
Track your brand’s UGC to learn what users think about your brand and discover opportunities to amplify positive sentiment. Then, see what effect that UGC has on your AI visibility to inform your future efforts.
Use Brand Monitoring to keep track of UGC related to your brand.
This social listening tool automatically scans the web for new mentions of your brand and alerts you of these via email.
When creating a new brand query in Brand Monitoring, select the sources you want to monitor. And configure other settings, like tracking UGC in certain languages or from certain countries.
Click “Create query” when you’re done.
The tool will display the latest UGC about your brand from your selected sources. For you to view and act on.
As you work on increasing your UGC footprint, see whether it helps your AI visibility with Semrush’s AI SEO Toolkit.
The Visibility Overview report shows how often you’re mentioned relative to your competitors. And even shows the specific sources that AI tools reference when generating responses that mention your brand.
Try it today to stay ahead of the competition.