User-generated content (UGC) campaigns are among the most popular marketing campaigns in use today, because they open the door to fan, customer, and audience participation. For organizations in sports, entertainment, and beyond, UGC campaigns maximize the value of social platforms, generate goodwill and free publicity, and build brand loyalty between current customers and the next wave of new ones.
The best UGC campaigns look effortless and minimal. They are not. These campaigns rely on user-created content, but they need a strong plan, a capable marketing team, and robust technology to make the most of social media content — and to make fans feel like they are participating, not being used. This article covers what UGC is, the campaigns that prove it works, and how to design your own.
What Is a UGC Campaign?
A UGC campaign is a content marketing technique that uses user-generated content to increase brand awareness, build social proof through customer endorsement, and add real-world authenticity to a brand on any social platform. UGC campaigns demonstrate how photos and videos captured or edited by ordinary users represent the brand — a sharp departure from traditional campaigns built on content from a marketing team, creative team, or ad agency. UGC is unique, less polished, more open and honest, and it carries the sentiment and insight of the person who made it.
That authenticity makes the campaign more credible to audiences, and it is cost-effective — often generating more engagement than an agency-created campaign. The network effect of a well-run UGC campaign reinforces brand values and spreads recognition to new audiences: branded hashtags, personal sharing by ambassadors and creators to their own followers, and implied or direct endorsement from customers all compound. Run the collect-to-distribute workflow well and the feedback loop builds on itself.
Examples of User-Generated Content Campaigns
User-generated content is original, branded content that consumers create and publish on social channels. Using customers as your own social media marketers is now a core strategy for raising brand awareness and driving sales. UGC takes many forms — images, videos, testimonials, podcast episodes, reviews, even page comments — and it flows from several kinds of stakeholders.
Customers
Customer content is typically the most prominent in any UGC campaign. It covers a favorite product, makes the case to buy, or drives conversions straight to your site.
Brand Supporters
Every brand has a group of highly engaged customers ready to post about its products, services, and news. These are your most passionate advocates. Their positive content builds community and customer trust — which is why 89% of marketers consider influencer marketing effective.
Employees
Employees are another valuable source of user-generated content — employee-generated content (EGC). They share behind-the-scenes material that goes deeper than customer content can, and it works across every social channel. Nearly half of CMOs name employee advocacy their best-performing social initiative.
Why Should You Implement a UGC Campaign?
UGC campaigns are becoming essential to brand marketing strategy. Built on customer-centric content, they are ideal for sharing across a wide range of social channels. Several reasons make UGC more valuable than traditional marketing content.
UGC Content Focuses on Authenticity
Social users are bombarded with branded content they find neither engaging nor exciting. UGC puts a spin on traditional marketing — making brands more accessible and more interesting as audiences scroll Instagram or check the latest on Facebook. 60% of marketers now consider authenticity important, and that authenticity can no longer be manufactured through professional photoshoots, paid advertising, or boosted posts.
Helps Grow a Community of Engaged Customers
An engaged community of customers who are passionate about and loyal to your brand is the end goal of any marketing strategy, and UGC gets you there. Giving customers a role in your company's growth shapes brand loyalty and participation. It opens conversations, lifts interaction, and lets you build relationships with the customers who keep spreading the word.
Influences Customer Purchasing Decisions
UGC is highly influential in the earliest stages of the buying journey. It works as a conversion tool: media made by your customers acts as social proof that your product pages are worth a visit. When people see others wearing your clothes or drinking from your bottles, they want the same experience — and they act on it.
Builds Trust Around Your Brand
Customers are losing trust in big-name brands. Amid fake news and growing wariness of paid advertising, a brand has to earn belief.
What Qualities Make for the Best UGC Campaign?
To turn social followers into active, paying customers, UGC campaigns are an effective method — and the right UGC platform is what lets you run them at scale. But scale alone does not guarantee success. The campaigns that deliver share three qualities.
Realistic
Content should be as realistic as possible and relevant to your product and services. If you sell workout clothes, photos and videos of people wearing your garments in the gym are exactly the kind of relevant, realistic content that lands.
Authentic
The more control you hand to your customers, the more natural and authentic the content becomes. Set strict posting criteria and over-direct the staging, and you end up with a campaign that looks too professional and controlled. Instead, let customers post the pictures they think represent your brand and show your products at their best.
Targeted
Authentic and natural content still has to be targeted to current and potential customers. Take the sportswear example: if you are after the casual gym-goer easing into fitness, sharing only bodybuilders and professional athletes will not inspire your audience to buy.
4 Examples of User-Generated Content Campaigns
Major brands have already turned UGC campaigns to their advantage. Four examples show the range.
Coca-Cola's Share a Coke Campaign
Coca-Cola printed common male and female names onto its bottles to encourage customers to "Share a Coke" with friends and family. Thousands bought the personalized bottles and shared the images across social media.
National Geographic's Wanderlust Contest
National Geographic asked followers to share their best nature shots using the branded hashtag #WanderlustContest, with a seven-day photo expedition around Yosemite National Park alongside a professional photographer as the prize. Thousands entered, boosting engagement and brand awareness — and proving that even modest camera gear can produce incredible photos.
GoPro's Branded Hashtag Campaign
GoPro makes durable, portable cameras built for anywhere — from a ski descent to a walk in the woods. Its branded hashtag campaign encourages customers to capture video and photos on their GoPros. #GoPro now carries over 50 million posts, lifting both sales and social impressions.
New Zealand National Cricket Team Content Sharing
Sports teams and brands should be using UGC to their advantage, and the New Zealand National Cricket team is a clear example. The team regularly displays fan posts, tweets, and videos on its media feed, encouraging fans to post more while watching the team play. The ongoing campaign keeps generating impressions and awareness.
What Are Some User-Generated Content Campaign Ideas?
UGC is more than getting customers to post photos of themselves using your products. A few ideas to draw from:
- Use your own branded hashtags on Instagram
- Repurpose UGC across marketing channels beyond social media
- Encourage customers to post unboxing videos featuring your packaging
- Host an event for customers and influencers
- Ask customers to review your products on their YouTube channels
- Share podcast episode clips where your brand is mentioned
- Make short links to lift conversion rates to your site
- Run a social media contest to spur content creation
- Gather UGC around a significant event or milestone
- Ask ambassadors for clips talking about your brand or organization
How To Design the Perfect UGC Campaign
A UGC campaign is a win for brands and customers alike. This form of authentic marketing raises awareness of products and services while giving customers a rare chance to get involved with the brands they love and play a role in their growth. Four steps build it.
1. Plan Your Campaign
Define the goals and objectives of the campaign, and pinpoint your target audience. Market research and goal-setting surface which sources of UGC will be most valuable to the work.
2. Design Your Campaign
Every UGC campaign differs by customer, desired result, and the product that needs an awareness boost. Choose content and customers that relate to your brand and are relevant to your target audience. A focused approach is far more likely to succeed.
3. Execute Your Campaign
Once customers begin creating content, you need a way to collect all of it and prepare it for distribution. With Greenfly, you collect, organize, review, and distribute UGC that is rights-cleared for royalty-free use. Fans and consumers submit their original videos and photos through a custom-branded webpage or an embed on your site or mobile app. For the full operational picture, see how it works for sports organizations.
4. Monitor Your UGC Campaign
Monitoring results is among the most important parts of any campaign. Select the metrics that align with your goals to gauge how the campaign performed, and use what you learn to improve the next one. Results might be new names on your mailing list, or engagement and follower lift from sharing the new UGC. The right UGC software lets you set up and run these campaigns with ease.
UGC Campaigns FAQ
What does UGC in marketing mean?
UGC stands for user-generated content — content that customers, brand ambassadors, and employees create and that brands share across their social media channels.
What are some UGC examples?
Examples of user-generated content include videos, photos, podcasts, testimonials, online reviews, and other social media posts.
What is a user-generated content campaign?
It is a marketing campaign built on content made by customers. Instead of hiring professional photographers and studio space, brands encourage customers to make their own photos and videos to share online — content that reads as more unique and authentic than in-house work.
What does UGC mean in e-commerce?
In e-commerce, UGC is a tactic brands use to build awareness and interest in their online stores. Used as social media content, it generates more conversions and sales online.
Turn fan content into a campaign
See how leagues, teams, and brands collect, rights-clear, and distribute UGC on Greenfly.