What is UGC, and why should you be using it?
UGC (User-Generated Content) is sh*t hot right now - and not just for big businesses!
If you’re an SMB, here’s why UGC content might be perfect for your brand.
You've definitely seen it. Someone on TikTok, or Instagram, holding a product to the camera, talking about it like they're on FaceTime, talking to a pal. No studio lighting or slick production, just a person, a phone, and a bold message that reads like seems so natural you can’t help but feel like they’re speaking directly to you.
That's UGC. And it's everywhere right now for a reason.
So what actually is UGC?
UGC stands for user-generated content. At its most basic, it's content made by real people rather than brands. Reviews, unboxing videos, "this product changed my morning routine" TikToks, photos of your food tagged at a restaurant. All of that counts.
It used to be something that just happened organically. A customer loved your stuff, they posted about it, you reposted it and felt dead chuffed. Job done.
But it's evolved a lot. Now there's a whole world of creators who make UGC professionally for businesses, content that's designed to look and feel like organic customer content, filmed on a phone, raw-ish, personal, but actually created intentionally as part of a marketing strategy.
Why is UGC so popular right now?
The short answer is, people are just sick and tired of being sold to! At one time, marketing was all about glossy adverts, perfect lighting and super polished copy that sounds like it was written by a committee. But now, with SO many platforms and audience touchpoints, and a million different kinds of exposure for businesses, it all blurs into background noise.
UGC cuts through that because it looks like something a friend sent you, not something a brand paid a lot of money to produce. And psychologically, we're much more likely to trust a person over a logo.
There's also the algorithm side of things. Short, raw, authentic-looking video content tends to perform really well on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Sooooo it's not just about trust, it's about reach too.
And for businesses with smaller budgets? It's often MUCH more affordable than a full production shoot, and it tends to convert better anyway. So it's a bit of a win all round.
Why should your business care about UGC?
If you've ever looked at your content and thought "this feels a bit stiff" or "I keep posting the same thing but no one is actually buying anything", UGC style content is worth exploring.
It shows the human side of your business. What it's actually like to work with you, buy from you, experience what you do. And that's the stuff that makes people decide to get in touch.
It also gives you variety. Rather than every post being a graphic with your logo on it or a perfectly posed product shot, you've got content that moves, that talks, that feels like something worth watching.
Some tips if you want to start using UGC
Encourage your customers to share. You don't have to wait for it to happen by accident. Ask people to tag you, leave a review, or share a photo after they've bought from you or used your service. A simple "we'd love to see it" in a follow-up email or on your packaging can go a long way. Most people are happy to do it, they just need a nudge.
Repost what you've already got. Have a scroll through your tagged posts and mentions. There's a good chance someone's already said something nice about you and you've never done anything with it. Screenshot a review, reshare a tag, quote something a client said. That's all content, and you didn't have to make any of it.
Don't over-edit it. This is a big one. The whole point of UGC style content is that it feels natural. If you get a video from a customer or creator and you spend three hours adding fancy transitions and a branded outro, you've kind of defeated the purpose. Keep it feeling like what it is.
Be clear about what you want. If you're working with a creator to make UGC for you, brief them properly. Tell them what you want the content to do, who it's for, what you want someone to feel or think after watching it. The more specific you are, the better the content tends to be. Vague briefs lead to content that could be for anyone, which ends up feeling like it's for no one.
Mix it in with your existing content. UGC doesn't have to replace everything else you're doing. It works really well alongside your other posts. A good mix of UGC style content, behind the scenes stuff, and your more polished posts tends to keep things feeling varied without it all looking like the same template copied seventeen times.
Need some help with your UGC?
This is where I come in, and I promise I'm not going to make it weird and salesy.
I run content creation days where I come to your business or your event, camera in hand, and spend the day capturing what you actually do. The real atmosphere, the people, the product, the process, all of it.
From that, you can go one of two ways. I can create the content for you, editing it up and getting it ready to post, or I can package everything up neatly so you've got a bank of footage and photos to work with yourself.
It's ideal if you're the kind of person who keeps meaning to sort your content but never quite gets round to it. Or if you've got an event coming up and you want to make the most of it without spending the whole day stressed behind a camera.
The content we create on those days tends to have that natural, documentary-style feel that works so well right now.
So, ready to start creating some UGC?
UGC works because it feels real. People trust it. The algorithm likes it. And it gives businesses a way to show what they do rather than just telling people about it.
You don't need a massive budget or a film crew. You just need the right content captured in the right way.
If you've got a business, an event, or just a load of stuff going on that you know would look great if someone actually filmed it properly, that's what the content creation days are for.
Drop me a message if you want to chat more about booking in a UGC content day with me!
