Understanding Ugc in Digital Marketing

UGC is not a STYLE of advertising. The "U" in UGC stands for "USER." A USER is someone who has actually USED a product or service. The rest of the acronym stands for "GENERATED CONTENT" When you put it together, it stands for "USER-GENERATED CONTENT" Which is the very opposite of "ARTIFICIAL GENERATED CONTENT" OR "AI GENERATED CONTENT." The whole idea of USER-GENERATED CONTENT is to have actual USERS talk about your product positively. The idea being that content generated by actual users brings a level of authenticity and credibility to a brand that no amount of polished marketing can replicate. That's because real people sharing real experiences builds trust. At first, the idea was that this content would be either spontaneous or encouraged by brands to be curated and amplified. But like most things in marketing... it soon evolved into paid actors and influencers producing "UGC Style Videos." The word STYLE here at least makes it more honest. But, at the end of the day, a KOSHER STYLE DELI is not Kosher. But what we're seeing now with AI avatars being labeled as "UGC" represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what made and still makes UGC and UGC STYLE videos valuable in the first place. If a company creates and uses an AI avatar to talk about a product, there is no actual USER involved. Not even a fake one. These UGC testimonials and reviews lack the very qualities that made UGC powerful: •Genuine experience with the product •Unpolished authenticity that signals truth •The relatable human connection of seeing someone like yourself •The social proof that comes from real customer advocacy Do the people bragging about AI-generated UGC videos all over LinkedIn genuinely believe that it is the STYLE of a UGC ad that makes it effective? Or is my brain just distracted by the chemicals released by the good-looking women they always seem to use to show off their true inventions?.. Sorry, I mean INTENTIONS. Of which, by the way, there can be only one. Based on the ads I see them used, it does not involve being an honest marketer. When companies like HeyGen call these "UGC AVATARS," they are essentially encouraging people to use them in highly unethical ways. Ways which can cause severe damage to any brand that uses them without disclosing that they are AI-generated And which, ironically, may also cause the death of UGC ads altogether. The technology is not perfect now, but it's only going to get better. It will soon become a lot more challenging to separate the UGC ads from the AGC ads. When that happens, I believe people will begin to associate this STYLE of content with fakery and start ignoring it altogether. If they haven't already, that is. 👍 like if you agree 📝 comment if you disagree (or agree as well) ♻️ reshare if you want to spread the word Sign up for the LinkedIn Genius Workshop if you want to learn to write posts like this one (link in comments). #AI #advertising #creativity #copywriting

I've been using this word wrong for years... 😳 User-generated content has existed for over a decade, but platforms like TikTok have cemented it as a distinct content category. TikTok democratized content creation by allowing anyone with a smartphone to produce content that holds value for brands, consumers, or both. In the past five years, "UGC" now refers to video content created outside of professional studios — by everyday people. These videos typically have low production value but high social proof. True UGC refers to content generated by actual users who are enthusiastic about a product, compelling them to share their experiences on social media or through reviews. However, UGC now also includes influencer or creator-generated content, where creators follow a brief to simulate user-generated content. These videos still maintaining low production value and high social proof — with better quality and scale. Despite the distinction, content leveraged by brands and not directly posted by creators is often labeled UGC. Even influencer content can fall under this umbrella if the intent is to be repurposed by the brand. The term "creator-generated content" (CGC) is technically more accurate for commissioned content, but the industry still widely uses "UGC." I, too, use this misnomer. And I still plan to use it incorrectly for the foreseeable future. Why? - It's industry standard to call it UGC, despite the technical inaccuracy. You just don't hear CGC in regular industry speak. - UGC conveys a specific style of content—its format, vibe, and purpose are immediately understood. - Creators and brands refer to the creators who produce mobile-first, short-form video content for brand use as "UGC creators." Curious other digital marketing and social media experts' thought on trends here? 🧐 #influencermarketing #ugc #digitalmarketing #socialmedia

The best UGC isn’t made by creators you seed products to. It’s made by actual customers. The problem is that brands need a never-ending amount of UGC, and working with creators is super expensive and time-consuming. The good news is that your customers are already creating (free!) content for you – you just need a process to gather it and incentivize it. Right now, most brands I talk to really struggle to get real UGC. They scrape social media to see if they find any content about their brand but it’s either not enough or it doesn’t work as creative for their paid social campaigns. Most of them just give up and pay creators to make them – but it doesn’t have the rawness that UGC should have... and it becomes really expensive. But here’s where I’ve seen on-site communities make a huge difference. When you give your customers a space to share, it becomes so much easier to collect UGC naturally. I love seeing brands use prompts and challenges to incentivize it and make it a fun part of how they interact with you. Couple examples: - Beauty brands can ask customers to upload progress photos and show their results after 30 or 60 days of using a product. - Or artists can run a competition for the best video from the last concert so fans upload clips directly to your site. If you have an on-site community, get creative! There are so many ways to gather, manage, and use UGC once you own that process.