Why does UGC work so well on TikTok?
According to data analysts, 70% of consumers now prefer relatable content over traditional ads.
This means the marketing landscape is constantly changing—customers aren’t responding to branded content like they used to.
What they now want is content that’s relatable (such as, real-life experiences, honest feedback, and authentic brand interactions) so they can share, comment, and engage with it.
You know what type of content does all this?
“UGC or User-Generated Content.” This type of content provides a unique opportunity for brands to connect with their audience in a more meaningful and relatable way.
Using UGC on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram allows you to connect with your audience authentically.
For instance, a customer posting a genuine product review or tutorial, showcasing how they use your product in their daily life, is an example of authentic UGC.
It's real, relatable, and speaks volumes about the value your brand can offer.
Wanna learn more about this?
Then you’re in the right place because that’s what we talk about in this guide.
More specifically, we’ll show you:
- What UGC on TikTok means
- How you can get UGC on TikTok
- Examples of brands using it
By the end, you’ll know exactly how to leverage UGC on TikTok to grow your brand presence and sales.
So, let’s dig in!
What is UGC on TikTok?
UGC on TikTok is any form of video clip produced by your existing customers or creators featuring your brand.
It’s like UGC for other social media platforms but, in this case, it can only be videos since that’s the creative format TikTok supports.
The video can show your customers jumping on a TikTok hashtag trend or:
- Using your product
- Explaining to other people how they can use it
- Reviewing your product
What makes UGC different on TikTok?
The social media platform has different features that make it easy for TikTok users to produce UGC.
They’ve got the duet feature and the stitch feature, and they can even respond to people’s comments with a video.
Important Note: For those who are not familiar, TikTok's "Duet" feature allows two users to create a single video together, even if they're not in the same location. Still, you can respond to or interact with each other's content in a split-screen format. On the other hand, "Stitch" is a feature that enables users to take a clip from another user's video and incorporate it into their own video, often to react, respond, or add their own perspective to the original content.
Why UGC on TikTok is Important
To start with, the short-form video platform supports the use of UGC so you’ll be doing your brand a favor if you decide to leverage it.
A Real Eyes study showed that brands using UGC for their campaigns had a 22% higher score than when they used branded videos.
According to the study, UGC was able to grab people’s attention the longest in the first few seconds without distractions when compared to Facebook ads.
UGC on TikTok can also help you engage emotionally with your audience. It was found to encode emotions 22% more than brand-created videos.
Another reason why it’s important is that people find it easier to trust TikTok content created by other consumers.
80% of customers say UGC plays a role in their purchasing decisions.
After all, customers are the brand ambassadors for you.
5 Ways to Get UGC on TikTok
Using UGC as part of your content marketing strategy can transform your campaigns on TikTok and widen your brand’s reach.
So how can you do that?
#1: Hashtag Campaigns
Launching a hashtag campaign is a way to create buzz and awareness for your product.
A good example is this hashtag campaign from K18, a hair product brand.
They launched the hashtag campaign in a bid to raise awareness for their product and it led to customers creating UGC with close to 500M views.
K18 can have access to any of them if they ask the creators or users for permission.
#2: Giveaways
Running a giveaway contest is another option to help you generate UGC at scale. You’ll be incentivizing customers and that can be just the motivation they need.
And considering it will run on a platform like TikTok where the algorithm makes going viral look easy, the contest can increase the chance of getting engagements.
To launch a giveaway event on TikTok, you need to:
- Decide on the prize that will motivate your audience
- Give clear instructions on what you want from them and how the winner(s) will be selected
- Specify how long the contest will run for
- Invite your audience to join in with a specific hashtag
- Announce the winner
Here’s an example of a contest from Jeremy Fragrance:
The prize is a fragrance of choice from the brand. The instruction is to dress as Jeremy and tag him in the video.
The video currently has about 35k likes and over 600 comments.
People participating in the contest you launch will produce UGC that you can leverage.
#3: Duets
With the duet feature on TikTok, active users can produce new content with existing content.
And that’s another way to get UGC.
You could create an engaging post and ask your audience to get creative by producing their version next to the original content.
This duet clip from Puma is an example of what we mean:
It featured a barista trying to make a cup of coffee with the Puma logo on top but failing epically.
Puma then invited fans to recreate the video to get a repost.
#4: Challenges
This option is similar to the hashtag campaign.
A typical TikTok challenge involves getting users to interact with or use your product in a video and this can lead to a huge supply of UGC for your brand.
People who’ve enjoyed using your product will be more than happy to jump on the challenge.
They’ll subtly be helping you promote it too as the videos can serve as social proof to users who haven’t tried your product.
You’ll have different people getting creative and sharing their individual experiences.
The ‘eyesfacelips’ challenge by e.l.f cosmetics is a good example.
The challenge was simple: show us your best makeup look and win $250 worth of their products.
It has 9.6 billion views at the moment and that’s a massive supply of UGC if you ask us.
#5: Content creators & influencers
Collaborating with TikTok creators and influencers is also a great way to get UGC for your campaigns.
Creators and influencers are social media users who know what works on TikTok and have people who trust them.
A partnership with them to produce UGC will improve conversion rates and the authenticity of your brand.
Over 80% of consumers say influencers are usually a part of their purchasing decision.
You do, however, need to ensure the creators you work with are the right match for your brand.
How can you do that?
That’s where Insense comes in—we can match you with creators who understand your brand and know what needs to be done to get your product in front of people’s eyes on TikTok.
All you have to do is sign up so you’ll have access to our dashboard.
From there, you can generate a brief explaining precisely what you want and you’ll be matched with different creators you can choose from.
Then, receive the UGC when they’re done via our chat feature.
3 Tips for Creating Better UGC TikTok Ads
TikTok has the potential to get your brand in front of the right audience while increasing your reach, engagement, and much more.
But for that to happen, you need high-quality content for organic posting and ad campaigns.
Not just any kind of ads—effective ones that produce the right results.
So, how do you ensure your ad creatives are effective?
They’ll need to have a:
- Hook: Attention-grabbing opening that stops scrollers in their tracks.
- Angle: Your message to resonate with your target audience and stand out from the competition.
- Creator: Collaborating with a TikTok creator to produce authentic, high-quality content that drives results.
Let's discover each tip in more detail.
Tip #1: Hook
A hook on TikTok is that part of a video that grabs your audience’s attention within the first few seconds to increase watch time.
To help you understand more clearly, picture video ads as a fishing hook.
Now, if you throw the metal into the water on its own, you could spend the whole day fishing without catching any fish.
And you’d agree some video posts are like that. Two weeks after they’ve been uploaded, no more than ten people have engaged with the post.
But that’s not the case when the hook’s rigged with worms before being thrown in the water. You’ll see fishes frolicking around the hook in no time.
That’s what a hook can do for your video ad.
It captivates people’s attention and compels them to keep watching like this:
How can you create a strong hook for your TikTok ad videos?
Start with an interesting fact: Piquing your audience’s curiosity is a good way to captivate their attention. It works like magic every time!
For example, Tired of breakouts and skin bumps?…
…Here’s how I went from this to this!
Start with a problem and proffer the solution: People don’t really care how your product was beautifully crafted.
Some do, but they’re only a few. What they care about is how your product can help them.
For example: If you’re like me and do X, then this is for you.
Ask a question about the problem:
Want to know the secret to [solution]?
Asking about specific challenges your audience is dealing with can grab their attention until the punchline. At that moment, you’re like their savior and they’re hoping that you can save them.
Make a list: Turning the solution into core points can get people intrigued about your ad. To them, it kinda means you’ve got multiple ways to help out.
A good example would be:
6 tips to get rid of X.
Tip #2: Angle
Another way to ensure your ad is effective is to pick a good angle.
By that, we mean a creative angle.
This describes how you want to deliver messages about your brand to your audience.
With angles, your video ads have a purpose and make your campaign more effective.
Creative angles will also help you find the perfect way to communicate with your audience and influence a customer’s decision.
Simply put, the creative angle answers some of these questions:
- What problem is your product solving?
- Is it making people’s lives easier?
- What would your audience stand to gain from using your product?
- How does it make people feel?
So, how can you come up with creative angles for your ad?
Through a creative strategic map!
Here’s what the map would look like in this particular order:
Pain point: Describes the challenge your consumer is facing; e.g., I want to get rid of my eczema.
Unique selling point (USP): What benefit your product has over the competition and in solving the consumer’s problems; e.g., skincare is affordable and perfect for my skin.
Hook: What would the attention grabber in the ad be; e.g., I’m no longer insecure about my skin.
Call to action (CTA): What action would you want the audience to take? E.g., show off my skin.
Angle: Show the USP and the hook; e.g., affordable and efficient skincare.
Tip #3: Creator
Creators have an important part to play in ensuring ads are effective.
You can use follower count as a metric when choosing a creator but, at the same time, you want to look beyond that.
How else can you tell which creator is the right fit for your brand?
By checking out what they talk about, their engagement rate, and the comments they get.
What should be your next step?
Well, use a platform like Insense to find creators that can spark engagement and resonate with your target audience.
Once that is done, you can scale with them which is what’s usually referred to as influencer marketing.
5 Types of UGC on TikTok
It’s important you get creative when it comes to using UGC for ads because it can be easy to run out of ideas about what to create or upload.
That’s why we’ve come up with different UGC creative types for you in this section.
What do you stand to gain?
Simply put, interesting and engaging UGC ads at scale can make you stand out from the competition.
Type #1: Before & After
We’ve all seen before & after content in an image or written format, especially on landing pages.
A before & after video shows how much your product has transformed your customer since they started using it.
More specifically, it portrays your product in a good light thereby increasing your brand’s reach and boosting sales.
The before version shows your customer before using your product while the after version shows the positive effect the product has had.
Why should you use before & after videos?
- They create a connection with your audience: Showing consumers where their peers came from and where they are serves as proof that this product can work for them too.
- You get to control the story: The video helps you control the narrative of how people perceive your product.
This UGC type is ideal for beauty and fashion products but it can also be used for other industries.
- It can become a viral video in no time.
A good example is this TikTok post from Myrtetange.
They began a 30-day challenge and took their audience on the journey before and after the challenge.
They wore fitness brand clothes while working out to show the progress they made. The post is one of the most liked TikToks with over 5 million views.
Type #2: Reactions
A reaction video is a video where people react to something such as a film series, music video, game, and in this case, a product.
It leverages the human emotions of people using a product or watching something.
In other words, people watch reaction videos because they enjoy the emotional connection of seeing creators react to the content in the same way they would.
They’re specifically made to capture the viewer’s attention and surprise them.
Reaction videos are popular on video-sharing platforms such as TikTok using the duet feature.
This UGC creative works well with popular creators.
So, how can you get started?
Visit a creator marketplace to find creators and then ship the products across to the creators and get the video content delivered to you.
What benefit do you stand to gain from reaction videos?
Well, according to Dhruv Sachdeva, they are a good indicator of your relevance.
They also help people discover new content.
This TikTok post by Clara Wilson is a typical example of a reaction video.
In this video, Clara, a micro-influencer, was reacting to another creator’s video on TikTok.
This is something your creator can do when reacting to products being used.
Type #3: 3 Reasons Why
It involves you prompting the creator to outline three reasons why they are in love with your product.
There should be a hint of how the product can improve people’s lives.
You can include texts in the video and a caption is good practice so it sticks in people’s memory.
BK beauty’s post in the screenshot below is a good example of what a "3 reasons why a video" should look like.
The creator listed three reasons why they love BK Beauty’s makeup brushes.
You can add a direct CTA at the end of a 3 reasons why video, e.g., “Grab yours now!”
Type #4: Us vs. Them
The Us vs. Them (or comparison videos) is basically a light competition between your brand and counterparts.
Nothing hostile, just friendly enough to engage your audience.
Point out what features make your product different from the competition. Try and ensure that the differences you list are in your brand’s favor.
Comparison videos help viewers decide which product is the right fit for their needs and budget.
We’ve included some tips below to guide the creation of this type of UGC creative:
- Understand what your audience wants and needs
- Avoid belittling the competition
- Highlight the best features
- Show results
- Keep the video interesting and short
- Include clear CTAs
The screenshot of scandalbeauty below is a great example of an Us versus Them video.
The video is a response to a viewer’s comment which confirms that comparison videos spark engagement.
They go on to compare differences between their nail product and a competitor’s.
The comparison led to increased sales or engagement to show the payoff.
Type #5: How To
‘How to’ UGC is a tutorial where creators show how your brand’s product works.
How-to videos also answer: Does it solve the audience’s specific problem?
YouTube searches for how-to videos were said to be increasing at a rate of 70% per year as of 2015.
Also, in North America alone, over 100 million hours of how-to videos had been watched.
That tells you how helpful this type of content can be for people.
Let’s look at an example below from Sophie Barkley.
This how-to UGC was made as a response to her follower showing how they can get those ‘glam waves’.
Videos like this aren’t restricted to a particular niche or industry; just about anyone can use them.
3 Examples of Brands Using UGC on TikTok
We’re showing you these examples to inspire you to start thinking of making UGC a part of your TikTok marketing campaigns.
Plus, we know having a template you can refer back to is always a good idea.
So, here we go:
#1: Hollywood Hair Bar (HHB)
HHB is an eCommerce hair product brand that uses UGC on TikTok. To be more specific, their page has more UGC than brand-created content. Here’s a screenshot of one of them:
This clip features a customer sharing her experience since she started their products with her followers.
From the screenshot, you can see it was a response to someone’s comment.
The video has over 52k views, 800+ likes, and comments from other people asking genuine questions about the product.
Also when we looked at their hashtag (#hollywoodhairbar), it had 1.4 million views.
…now, that’s what we’re talking about. 😌
#2: GoPro
GoPro is a tech company that manufactures action cameras. They’ve got a community of 2.3 million followers on TikTok.
And as you probably guessed, most of their posts are UGC from customers and creators.
The clips show viewers how their products can be used and the benefits of using them like this UGC video below:
The video was originally made by base jumper Jeb Crollis using the GoPro Max as he flew through the cracks.
It has got over 23k views and 2k likes.
#3: Adobe
Adobe needs no introduction. The software company has been our photo editing, design, and go-to pdf app for years.
Well, they’ve got a TikTok account and are doing pretty well too. Their posts are mainly UGC from creators, customers, and even employees.
Here’s an example of their UGC content:
They partnered with a customer/creator Jamey Gannon to create a video promoting the AdobeMAX conference.
The creator, Jamey Gannon, specifically highlighted the video editing and visual effects capabilities of Adobe's Premiere Pro and After Effects software.
He demonstrated how he used these tools to create a captivating and professional-looking promo video for the AdobeMAX conference.
The video has almost 143k views!
A thumbs up to Adobe for using UGC on TikTok on this.
UGC on TikTok - Get Started Now
So, utilizing TikTok UGC is captivating, authentic, and, most importantly, it’s exactly what your customers like.
If you've been waiting for a sign to start your UGC campaign, this is it!
And of course, we'll be here to help you every step of the way.
Book a demo with Insense to discover how we can connect you with the perfect TikTok creators to boost your brand’s engagement.
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