There’s a new marketing buzzword every few years or so, and "UGC" is having a moment. Or maybe it’ll be a more permanent term. It’s too soon to tell. User-generated content, UGC for short, has been building momentum for a couple of years, proving to be an effective marketing tool for B2C brands.
Different from influencer marketing, rather an evolution of it, UGC is any form of content, such as images, video, text, and audio, that has been created and published online by users of a brand.
UGC is more than meets the eye
UGC has been surfacing on the internet for a while now. Whenever a user posts their dinner at a restaurant, a selfie wearing their Lululemon belt bag, or a cooking video using their Le Creuset pan, that’s UGC. Brands are just now starting to leverage this content as a way to authentically market their products.
Some common ways brands collect UGC:
- Reviews: Whether solicited or unsolicited, reviews are the most apparent form of UGC. Users write reviews so potential buyers better understand products, their use cases, pros and cons, etc. Brands often use these reviews as testimonials on their website or social media. For example, software sellers that rank high on G2 based on their reviews receive badges, and these sellers put these badges on their websites as a form of UGC marketing.
- Unboxings: There’s a certain ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) element to unboxing videos that make them so appealing to watch. This is where users record themselves opening a package from a brand. They’ll show the packaging and product and describe the look and feel. Something about watching someone unbox a package makes others want to do the same.
- Challenges: Brands will set challenges ranging from getting customers/followers to record themselves using their product in a certain way to sharing a personal experience related to the brand’s mission. Challenges are a great way to get consumers actively engaged with a brand and a creative way for brands to collect content for marketing.
- Tags and hashtags: This is an efficient way for brands to discover unsolicited UGC. Consumers are increasingly posting about brands, and they are either tagging the brands or using the brand’s hashtags in the post. As long as brands have the content creators’ consent, they can use the UGC on their social media platforms.
The popularity of user-generated content reflects in the reviews left for products in G2’s User-Generated Content Software category. G2 describes UGC software as platforms that help brands collect visual product content or company mentions from social media and other sources to repurpose for marketing efforts. UGC software can help build brand communities and draw revenue from engaging, real-life use cases while reducing the need for in-house marketing content. It can also assist with securing the rights to redistribute content and rewarding users whose content is impactful.
The chart below shows the consistency in reviews generated for UGC products on G2. The category has already seen over 300 reviews in 2022, even with two months left in the year.
UGC leverages consumers’ craving for identity and belonging
UGC can be seen as an evolution of influencer marketing. While influencer marketing isn’t seeing a slowdown, consumers are starting to question the authenticity of content created by influencers who are paid to post. UGC creators are also stepping into influencer territory. For example, if someone has a bad experience with an airline losing their luggage, they might post about it online to let off some steam and perhaps get a free flight in the process. However, they are also influencing their followers to use their services. They are also creating a brand for themselves—a brand that does not fly with this airline.
Personal branding and a sense of identity is at the heart of UGC. With so much UGC in circulation, it’s so much of the content that we see online. When we see others sharing their experiences and favorite products, we are compelled to do the same. Doing what others are doing gives us a feeling of belonging. We want to follow social trends, and in doing so, we create personalities for ourselves online, also known as personal brands. Where we buy from, which concert we went to, and which current events we believe should be highlighted—all of this showcases our values, what motivates us, and the people we strive to be.
According to Statista, as of 2022, 4.59 billion people (58% of the world’s population) use social media, for an average of 2 hours and 25 minutes per day. This implies that our online presence is almost as important, if not more important than our offline presence. The digital world is encroaching on our day-to-day lives so much that our online brand is having more of an impact on our offline lives than the reverse.
What’s next for UGC?
Initially, the definition of user-generated content was limited to unpaid content creation. However, UGC has turned into a whole industry, with some creators working full time creating user-generated content for brands. This begs the question—how is UGC really that different from influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing quickly grew in popularity several years ago, and it seems to have reached a peak recently, with consumers questioning its authenticity and trustworthiness. This is why many brands have switched to UGC, which is great when the content isn’t paid for. However, when it is, this is problematic. Thankfully, there are several “good” forms of UGC that are unsolicited and authentic that will keep this market thriving. Will the “bad” take over the “good”? Only time will tell.
Edited by Jigmee Bhutia
Want to learn more about User-Generated Content Platforms? Explore User-Generated Content products.
Priya Patel
Priya is a Senior Research Analyst at G2 focusing on content management and design software. Priya leverages her background in market research to build subject matter expertise in the software space. Before moving back to Chicago in 2018, Priya lived in New Zealand for several years, where she studied at the University of Auckland and worked in consulting. In her free time, Priya enjoys being creative, whether it’s painting, cooking, or dancing.
