Table of Contents
User-generated content (UGC) is content created by real customers about your brand or products, like a tagged photo or a TikTok featuring your product.
It’s easy for customers to create, inexpensive for brands to amplify, and one of the best ways to convince potential customers to hit “buy.”
In this guide, you’ll learn what UGC is and how to use it to build trust, boost engagement, and increase conversions.
Key takeaways
- User-generated content can take many forms, including reviews, photos, videos, social posts, and blog mentions.
- There are two main types of UGC: organic (shared freely by customers) and paid (content from hired UGC creators).
- UGC is one of the most powerful marketing strategies out there because it provides social proof, creates a steady stream of content, builds authenticity, and is cost-effective.
- To get the most out of UGC, always request permission, credit the original creator, and tie every UGC campaign to a clear marketing goal.
- Tools like Hootsuite help you manage UGC at scale by tracking mentions, monitoring hashtags, and measuring performance.
What is user-generated content (UGC)?
User-generated content (UGC) is original, brand-specific content created by real customers and fans. It can come in many forms, including videos, images, product reviews, testimonials, and even podcasts.
UGC can live everywhere: your own social channels, third-party review sites (e.g., Google and G2), or on your customers’ own social profiles.
When a happy customer posts about your product and you reshare it — like in the example below from drink brand Wildwonder — that’s UGC in action.
Source: @drinkwildwonder
Types of user-generated content
UGC comes in two main flavors: organic and paid. Both can show up as customer reviews, photos, videos, social media posts, or blog posts — the difference is whether money changed hands.
What is organic UGC?
Organic UGC is content your real customers share freely, without being paid or asked. It’s the most authentic type of UGC, and the kind every brand hopes to see more of.
Here are a few examples of organic UGC:
Reviews and testimonials
Online reviews are a classic form of UGC, and they work hard as social proof across your website and social channels.
Some brands even turn glowing testimonials into branded graphics to share on social. It’s an easy way to squeeze more value out of a single review.
Source: Living Proof
Photos
Photos are one of the most common types of UGC. Think: a customer showing off your product in the wild, or sharing their results after using it.
Use a niche or branded hashtag to make these posts easier to find (and reshare) later.
For example, footwear brand Asics uses the hashtag #soundmindsoundbody to collect photos from fans around the world. One quick search pulls up thousands of posts they can tap into for both content and community-building.
Videos
Social videos and YouTube content are UGC gold. YouTubers regularly post “product hauls” or unboxing videos featuring multiple brands in one video. If yours gets a mention, grab that clip (with permission) and feature it on your own channels.
Social media posts
Even a quick, positive mention of your brand is worth resharing. Repost it directly on X or TikTok, or take a screenshot and turn it into a graphic for Instagram and LinkedIn.
Blog posts
Bloggers may also shout your brand out, whether it’s a full review or a passing mention in a bigger roundup. Pull a quote and share it on social or your website to extend its reach.
For example, travel blogger Nikki on Her Way casually recommends Tevas as the best brand for water shoes in her long-term packing guide. It’s a quick, unprompted endorsement that Teva could easily pull into their own content marketing.
Source: Nikki on Her Way
What is paid UGC?
Paid UGC is content made by creators you hire to talk about your product. It’s a popular option for newer brands that don’t have a big customer base sharing content organically (yet).
Keep in mind that UGC creators aren’t the same as influencers. They’re not promoting to their own audience; they’re creating content for you to post on your own channels.
You can reach out to UGC creators on your own (using a platform like Fiverr or Upwork), but if your brand already has fans, creators may come straight to you. Either way, once you sort out a deal, you can take the content they create and share it on your website or social media channels.
Pro tip 💡: Always disclose paid UGC. Some social media platforms, like Instagram, require you to clearly label any content that’s commercial in nature.
Bottom line: paid UGC helps you fill the content gap while your organic UGC engine gets going.
Why is user-generated content important?
User-generated content is one of the most powerful marketing tools out there because it builds trust faster and cheaper than traditional advertising. In other words, real customers talking about your brand carries more weight than polished campaigns.
UGC helps brands:
- Showcase authenticity
- Foster brand loyalty
- Provide social proof
- Curate content across channels
- Keep costs low
Let’s break down why each of these matters.
Showcase authenticity
UGC is the most authentic type of marketing content you can share, full stop. Shoppers are savvier than ever, and they can smell a polished ad from a mile away.
The proof is in the numbers: Almost half (47%) of shoppers say user reviews on retailer websites are the most influential content when researching products online. Brand-generated social content? Just 11%. Influencer posts? Only 10%.
Just don’t resort to faking your user-generated posts. Audiences will catch on fast, and the damage to your brand reputation isn’t worth the shortcut. Stick to UGC from the people who actually know your brand, like customers, loyal fans, or even employees.
In short, think of UGC as modern-day word of mouth. When it comes to purchasing decisions, most consumers trust a recommendation from a real person over any ad you could run.
Foster brand loyalty
UGC builds brand loyalty because it makes customers feel like they’re part of something bigger than a transaction. When someone creates content about your brand, they’re joining your community.
It also opens up a two-way conversation between your brand and your customers, which deepens relationships and drives repeat business.
Lego does this brilliantly with its Lego Ideas community, where millions of fans submit and vote on ideas for future products. It’s a genius move: Lego gets free product research, and fans get to feel like co-creators of the brand they love.
Source: Lego
Provide social proof
With so much competition online, it’s harder than ever for customers to know who to trust. That’s why social proof can make or break your brand for new customers.
Case in point: products with just five reviews are 270% more likely to be purchased than products with zero reviews. In a noisy online world, that kind of validation can be the difference between a sale and a scroll.
Curate content across channels
UGC isn’t just for your social feeds. It works across almost every marketing channel you have.
For example:
- Add UGC images to cart abandonment emails
- Feature customer photos on product pages
- Build a dedicated UGC landing page, like Calvin Klein’s #MyCalvins hub
Instead of relying only on glossy editorial shots, they show real people styling their Calvin’s, giving shoppers a more honest sense of how things actually look on real humans.
Keep costs low
UGC is one of the most cost-effective marketing tactics you can run.
Influencer marketing can run anywhere from $20 to $50,000 per post. But asking your customers to share content about your product? Next to nothing.
That makes UGC especially valuable for smaller brands or teams without big ad budgets. You get authentic content, expanded reach, and a closer connection to your audience, all without hiring an agency or shooting a full campaign.
5 great examples of user-generated content
To help you get started with your own UGC strategy, let’s look at a few case studies from GoPro, lululemon, LaCroix, Well Traveled, and Edloe Finch.
GoPro
Action cam company GoPro uses UGC to sustain its YouTube channel, with its top three most popular videos all originally filmed by customers. As of April 2026, those three videos have racked up over 429 million combined views.
Not bad for content that costs GoPro nothing to produce.
Today, GoPro runs its own awards show and daily photo challenges to inspire consumers to get creative.
Lululemon
Canadian athleisure brand Lululemon is primarily known for its expensive leggings and yoga clothing. To increase company reach across social media, it asked followers and brand loyalists to share photos of themselves in Lululemon garments using the hashtag #thesweatlife.
Source: @brittanyleighball
Not only did this result in a treasure-trove of UGC for Lululemon to repurpose, it also organically expanded the company’s brand awareness and reach across social media via its brand ambassadors.
LaCroix
Sparkling water brand LaCroix takes a different approach to UGC: instead of relying on branded hashtags or a roster of ambassadors, they regularly repost content from everyday creators, no matter their follower count.
Source: @lacroixwater
That makes their UGC feel refreshingly accessible. Audiences see real people enjoying the product, which makes the brand feel more relatable.
Well Traveled
Well Traveled is a community-driven travel brand that leans on member-generated content to showcase its platform, property partners, and exclusive perks.
“As a service in such a visual industry, the ‘proof’ provided by member content is immeasurable,” said Well Traveled’s Director of Partnerships & Brand Marketing, Laura DeGomez. “The beautiful trips discovered, planned, and booked on Well Traveled are a phenomenal marketing and retention tool.”
DeGomez uses UGC to visually engage existing and prospective members, and increase brand awareness, expand reach, and strengthen community.
“No one tells our story better than our members,” she added, “The Well Traveled community is the key here. Whenever we can let their experiences shine, we do.”
Source: Well Traveled
Edloe Finch
Boutique furniture brand Edloe Finch pulls UGC in two clever ways: through its #EdloeFinch hashtag, and by letting customers submit photos directly on its website. Those customer photos then live right on the product pages, next to the pro shots.
Buying furniture online can feel risky. You’re spending real money on something you haven’t seen in person, and you’re hoping it looks as good in your living room as it does on screen.
Seeing how the piece looks in real customers’ homes gives shoppers the social proof they need to click “add to cart” with confidence.
Source: Edloe Finch
4 best practices for user-generated content
User-generated content is free and powerful, but it still comes with rules. To keep your brand ethical (and your relationships with creators strong), follow these four best practices.
- Always request permission
- Credit the original creator
- Specify the type of UGC you’re looking for
- Align your UGC with social strategy and marketing goals
1. Always request permission
Always ask permission before republishing or reusing a customer’s content. Consent isn’t optional, it’s the foundation of doing UGC right.
People may use your branded hashtags without realizing they’re part of a UGC campaign. Resharing their content without explicit permission is a fast way to burn goodwill with some of your best brand advocates.
When you do ask, you show the original poster that you appreciate their content and get them genuinely excited about being featured.
Bonus: it also keeps you clear of any copyright headaches down the line.
2. Credit the original creator
Always give clear credit to the person who made the content. That means tagging them directly in the post and noting whether you’re using their visuals, words, or both.
Source: Reformation
If you’re sharing content across multiple platforms, check with the creator about how they want to be credited on each one. For example, if you want to repost an Instagram photo on Facebook, ask if they have a Facebook page you can tag there, too.
Giving proper credit does two things: it shows content creators you value their work (which keeps them posting about your brand), and it helps your audience instantly spot the post as social proof from a real person, not your marketing team.
3. Specify the type of UGC you’re looking for
Tell people exactly what kind of content you want to see. UGC creators want their posts to be featured, and they can’t deliver what you’re looking for if you don’t spell it out.
Don’t be afraid to get specific. A clear ask makes it easier for people to create content that fits your brand and your marketing campaigns.
For example, soap brand Dove’s “Project #ShowUs” campaign asked for images from women and non-binary individuals “as they are, not as others believe they should be.”
Source: Getty
Despite not explicitly featuring any of its products, this UGC campaign earned the brand numerous awards and garnered tons of goodwill with its audiences.
4. Align UGC with your marketing goals
Before asking for UGC, make sure it actually supports your bigger marketing goals. Sure, it’s nice when people tag you in pretty pictures, but how can you use that content to move the needle on something that matters?
Start by pulling up your social media strategy document and looking for places where UGC can support what you’re already working toward.
Then, create a simple statement based on that information that tells users specifically what kind of content you’re most likely to feature.
Once you’ve nailed down your UGC ask, put it everywhere your audience might see it:
- Your social media bios
- Replies and comments on other user-generated posts
- Your website
- Your physical store or location
- Your product packaging
The bottom line: UGC works best when it’s specific and tied to a clear goal. Get those two things right, and your creators (and your marketing reports) will thank you.
UGC strategy goes beyond understanding the types of content you need from your customers. You also need to align your UGC campaign with broader social media goals.
For example, are you looking to increase brand awareness or drive more conversions (or both)?
Measure the success of your campaigns using a tool like Hootsuite Analytics or a social listening tool such as Hootsuite Listening to understand how the content your customers are creating impacts brand sentiment and trust.
FAQ: User-generated content (UGC)
What is user-generated content and why is it important for brands?
What are the benefits of user-generated content for engagement and trust?
How do companies collect and use user-generated content in marketing?
How do brands manage and moderate user-generated content at scale?
How do businesses measure the impact of user-generated content?
Ready to start displaying authentic user-generated content across your social networks? Use Hootsuite to publish and schedule posts, find relevant conversations, engage your target audience, measure results in real time, optimize your marketing efforts, and more. Try it free today.
With files from Chloe West.
