User Generated Content: Let Your Customers Do the Marketing

What's User Generated Content?

Why UGC is Marketing Magic ✨

Types of UGC Gold 💰

Photos & Videos (The Visual Proof)

Words That Sell (Written Love)

Creative Gold (The Fun Stuff)

How to encourage user generated content

Create shareable experiences

Make your product "Instagram-worthy" with attractive packaging, unique features, or memorable experiences that naturally encourage sharing.

Provide clear value that customers want to show off, results, convenience, status, or entertainment.

Design memorable moments in your customer experience that feel worth documenting and sharing.

Ask directly (but make it easy)

Include UGC requests in order confirmations, follow-up emails, and product packaging

Provide specific instructions: "Share a photo of you using [product] and tag us @yourbrand"

Create branded hashtags that customers can easily use: #MyBrandStory or #BrandNameResults

Offer incentives (but keep it genuine)

Feature customer content on your main social accounts with credit

Offer small rewards like discounts, early access, or branded merchandise

Create contests with prizes for the best UGC submissions

Build a community where customers feel valued and recognized

UGC campaign strategies that work

Hashtag campaigns

Create a unique, branded hashtag that's easy to remember and spell

Promote the hashtag across all your marketing channels

Engage with and share content using your hashtag

Example: A fitness brand using #MyFitnessJourney to collect transformation stories

Product showcase campaigns

Ask customers to show your product in action

Provide photo guidelines for better quality submissions

Share the best submissions on your official accounts

Example: A coffee brand asking customers to share their morning routine with their coffee

Community challenges

Create fun, time-limited challenges related to your product

Make participation easy with clear rules and examples

Celebrate participants throughout the campaign

Example: A meal kit service with a "30-day healthy cooking challenge"

Platform-specific UGC strategies

Instagram UGC

Stories highlights featuring customer content Repost customer photos in your feed with permission Use UGC in Instagram ads for authentic advertising Create Instagram Shopping posts featuring customer photos

TikTok UGC

Duet with customer videos to amplify their content Create branded hashtag challenges for viral potential Share customer tutorials and creative uses Use UGC sounds in your own content

LinkedIn UGC (B2B)

Share customer success stories and case studies Repost professional testimonials about your service Feature client achievements that involved your product Create industry discussion posts featuring customer insights

Best practices for using UGC

Always get permission

Ask before reposting customer content, even if they tagged you

Give proper credit with clear attribution to the original creator

Consider creating a UGC policy for your website terms of service

Maintain quality standards

Choose high-quality content that represents your brand well

Stay consistent with your brand aesthetic even when using customer content

Avoid over-filtering or heavily editing customer content, authenticity is key

Engage authentically

Respond to UGC creators with genuine appreciation

Build relationships with customers who regularly create content about your brand

Feature diverse customers to show inclusivity and broad appeal

Common UGC mistakes to avoid

Using content without permission

Always ask before reposting customer content, even if it tags your brand. A simple "Can we share this?" message usually gets quick approval.

Only featuring "perfect" customers

Real, diverse customers are more relatable than only featuring conventionally attractive or affluent customers.

Not engaging with creators

When customers create content about your brand, acknowledge it! Like, comment, and share to encourage more UGC.

Making it too complicated

Simple UGC requests work better than elaborate campaigns with complex rules.

Measuring UGC success

Engagement metrics

Engagement rates on UGC posts vs. brand-created content Hashtag usage and reach of your branded hashtags Share and save rates on UGC content

Business impact

Conversion rates from UGC posts Customer acquisition through UGC campaigns Cost savings from reduced content creation needs

Community growth

Follower growth during UGC campaigns Brand mention volume across social platforms Customer loyalty and repeat purchase rates

UGC with SocialRails

SocialRails helps you manage UGC effectively:

Easy reposting, Quickly share customer content across all 9 platforms

Content organization, Save and categorize UGC for future use

Scheduling UGC, Plan customer feature posts as part of your content calendar

Cross-platform sharing, Adapt customer content for each platform's format

Performance tracking, See which UGC posts drive the best engagement

Quick UGC strategy checklist

✅ Create shareable moments in your customer experience
✅ Ask for content directly with specific, easy instructions
✅ Develop branded hashtags that customers will want to use
✅ Always get permission before reposting customer content
✅ Engage authentically with customers who create content
✅ Track performance to see which UGC drives the best results
✅ Feature diverse customers to build inclusive community