Back to glossary Content
User-generated content (UGC)
Posts, photos, videos, and reviews created by customers or community members rather than the brand itself.
What is UGC?
User-generated content is anything published by your audience — photos of your product on Instagram, an unboxing video on TikTok, a review on YouTube, a screenshot of your app in someone's tweet. The brand didn't make it; a real user did.
Why brands chase it
- Trust: 86% of consumers say UGC influences their buying decisions more than brand-made content
- Volume: a brand alone can produce maybe 5–10 posts a week; an active community produces hundreds
- Authenticity: UGC looks like real life because it is real life — phone-shot, casual, in-context
- Cost: the content is free (within reason — see below)
How to source it ethically
- Ask permission before reposting — most networks technically require it
- Credit the creator prominently in the caption
- Pay or gift for content you'll use commercially — there's a difference between resharing a candid mention and building a campaign around someone's photo
- Build a hashtag your community can use to tag posts they're happy for you to share
UGC fits naturally in a posting calendar — alternate brand-made posts with curated UGC to keep the feed varied without burning out your in-house creative team.