In short
UGC is any content customers make about a brand, from reviews and photos to videos and contest entries.
People trust other people more than ads, which is why customer content works as social proof.
Most brands combine organic UGC with paid UGC creators, who deliver content to a brief with the rights agreed.
Once a brand reposts or comments on a customer's post, UK advertising rules apply to it.
Measure engagement, reach, conversion and how much usable content a campaign produced.
Image: 22 IMPACT
User-generated content, or UGC, is the photos, videos, reviews and posts that customers make about a brand. Done well, it gives a brand a steady supply of content that people believe. This guide sets out the UGC solutions for brands that work today: what counts as UGC, how to get more of it, when to pay creators instead, the UK rules on reusing it and how to measure what it returns.
Along the way it looks at two campaigns that ran the idea at scale, and ends with a checklist to work through before you repost a customer's content.
UGC is any content, whether text, images, video or reviews, that customers or users create about a brand, rather than the brand making it itself. An unboxing video, a five-star review with a photo and a post tagged with your campaign hashtag all count.
Brands use it because people believe other people. In Nielsen's 2021 Trust in Advertising study, 88% of respondents said they trust recommendations from friends over all other promotion channels. UGC is the closest a brand gets to that kind of word of mouth at scale.
It also does practical work:
A steady supply of content Customer posts give you fresh material for social, product pages and email, which takes pressure off your own team
Social proof Seeing real people use a product helps a new customer decide to buy
Community Featuring customers gives them a voice and a reason to stay involved
Reviews and testimonials Written or photo reviews on your site, marketplaces and review platforms
Social posts Photos, Reels, TikToks and Stories that mention or tag your brand
Video Unboxings, tutorials, try-ons and footage shot with your product
Contests and challenges Entries made for a hashtag campaign or competition
Crowdsourced ideas Designs, names or suggestions your audience sends in
Filming an unboxing video at home
Most customers will not post about a brand unprompted. A few simple steps change that.
Ask for something specific Say what content you want, which hashtag to use and where to post it
Make it easy Cut out sign-ups, long forms and anything else that puts people off
Give people a starting point Examples and prompts help anyone unsure what to make
Feature the best posts Reshare them on your channels and product pages, and credit the creator every time
Reward people A discount, early access or a feature on your page all work. If a reward is tied to a review, the review has to say so
Reply Commenting on posts shows people they have been seen and encourages others to join in
There are two broad routes, and most brands use both.
Organic UGC
This is content customers make of their own accord, or in answer to a campaign. It is the most trusted kind and costs little, but you cannot control its volume, quality or timing.
Paid UGC creators
Here a brand pays creators to make content in a natural, customer-style format: a talking-to-camera review, a try-on, a get-ready-with-me. The brand gets usable content to a brief and on a schedule, with the rights agreed upfront. Because it is paid, it counts as advertising and needs a clear label.
Our influencer and UGC campaigns handle creator casting, contracts, approvals, posting and reporting. If you make content yourself, our creator management looks after the brand deals side. Platforms are making creators easier to find too: read about YouTube's creator search tool for brands. To talk about a campaign, contact us.
Reusing customer content brings legal duties. Three areas matter.
Rights and credit
A customer owns the photo or video they made. Ask permission before you use it, ideally in writing, and credit them whenever you feature it. GoPro, for example, requires entrants to its Million Dollar Challenge to clear all content rights.
Advertising rules
The ASA says UGC falls under the CAP Code once a brand adopts and incorporates it into its own marketing, for example by reposting it, commenting on it or, in some cases, liking it. From then on the full Code applies: any claim in the post needs evidence, and stricter rules apply to areas such as alcohol. A post a customer makes unprompted, which the brand does not endorse, is outside the Code.
A reasonable moderation policy is allowed. But the ASA warns that removing negative content, such as publishing only positive reviews, is likely to count as adopting the rest.
For paid creator content, ASA guidance asks for a clear label such as "Ad" upfront on each post. Terms such as "gifted" or "sponsored" are not enough on their own.
Reviews
Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act has banned fake reviews, and reviews that hide that they were paid for with money, discounts or free products. Hiding negative reviews or showing only favourable ones is banned too. The CMA can fine businesses up to 10% of their annual global turnover.
Decide what a campaign is for before it starts, then track the numbers that match.
Engagement Likes, comments, shares, saves and mentions on UGC, compared with your own content
Reach and follower growth New followers, profile visits and website traffic during and after a campaign
Conversion Sales, sign-ups or other actions from pages and ads that use UGC
Volume How many usable pieces the campaign produced, and how many you went on to reuse
For building an audience to begin with, read how to grow your Instagram following organically. And if a post ever turns against you, our guide to handling a PR crisis covers what to do.
Starbucks #WhiteCupContest
In 2014 Starbucks asked customers to draw on its white cups and share them with #WhiteCupContest. It received more than 4,000 entries, and the winning design became a reusable tumbler.
GoPro Million Dollar Challenge
Since 2018 GoPro has split $1 million among creators whose clips make its highlight reel. In 2023 it drew about 43,000 submissions, and other entries go on to feed its social posts and TV ads.
Checklist
FAQ
User-generated content: any text, images, video or reviews that customers or users create about a brand, rather than the brand making it itself.
A creator a brand pays to make content in a natural, customer-style format, such as a review or try-on video. Because it is paid, it is advertising and needs a clear label.
Yes. Ask before you use someone's content, ideally in writing, and credit them whenever you feature it.
Only if the review makes the incentive clear. Since 6 April 2025, reviews that hide that they were paid for with money, discounts or free products are banned.
Send your brief and we’ll come back to you.
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