UGC Videos: Benefits, Types & How to Leverage Them

User-generated content is one of the most effective ways to interact with the public.

But as platforms change, so does the content you create to serve them.

What’s trending now?

UGC videos are trending and don’t seem set to lose their popularity anytime soon.

We know how challenging it can be for a brand to decide if it’s worth implementing a new technique.

So, in this guide, we’ll give you information about:

• What UGC videos are
• Their benefits
• The best platforms for UGC videos
• Examples of UGC videos

Without further ado, let’s explore this fascinating topic together!

What are UGC Videos?

UGC videos feature a brand’s customers and audience using its products or services. 

Such videos are created by customers directly and they’re about the personal story of a customer interacting with a brand. 

Tip: Brands looking for social media videos that convert should also consider working with creators,  influencers, or micro-influencers.

If you want to take advantage of UGC videos, remember that your audience needs triggers to create such content.

Here are some examples of what you can do to boost UGC creation

• Tailor an excellent experience with a product or service
• Show that your brand has shared values and aesthetics with your audience
• Give your audience something in return (e.g., free samples or credit for their next purchase with you)

We’ll discuss all these in more detail in the following sections.

For now, let’s dive into the benefits of UGC videos.

5 Key Benefits of UGC Videos

There are many benefits of UGC videos for brands, but one of the most important is that UGC increases credibility and purchasing intent.

The value of UGC isn’t limited to this though as it helps both creators and audiences get more value. More specifically, UGC:

✅Helps audience members and customers make purchasing decisions by giving them a realistic depiction of a product or service

✅Informs them about product details they’re interested in knowing

✅Increases visibility for creators

Video is a more persuasive, digestible, and eye-catching form of content, which means that you’re much more likely to relate with someone while watching a video than looking at an image.

In fact, customers find visual UGC 85% more influential than photos or videos that a brand itself has created and posted.

Let’s discuss the benefits in detail!

Benefit #1: Authenticity

UGC is authentic content since it isn’t the brand itself that creates it but a content creator or influencer.

According to research, 84% of millennials don’t trust traditional advertising, while 32% of 18- to 34-year-olds claim the ads are untrustworthy.

Today’s customers are far more likely to trust a reputable creator making an authentic recommendation that educates or inspires them than a traditional online ad.

In other words, people desire to follow genuine brands and honesty and transparency are vital when it comes to authenticity.

UGC videos provide honest feedback, as they employ the most effective form of marketing, which is word of mouth!

Customers trust word of mouth 92% more than any other type of advertising.

Fascinating, right?

Building trust around your brand can separate your business from others and make you successful.

Audiences perceive this type of content as a trustworthy resource. For this reason, UGC videos are great for a marketing strategy.

Benefit #2: Brand advocacy

UGC is a great way to turn one-off customers into loyal ones, or else brand advocates.

Far-fetched?

If you think about it, it’s easier to trust content and recommendations from people you already know and that seems to be the case for the majority of people. In fact, only 1% of millennials prefer curated content created by brands. 

That’s why it makes sense for brands to use UGC videos in their content marketing strategy to build a deeper and stronger relationship with both creators and audiences.

More specifically, brands can collaborate with creators or influencers who are recognized in their industry, share common values, and have a loyal and engaged audience.

At the same time, people choose to follow creators based on trust and the value they receive from them.

Over time, connecting with people around values, passions, and interests can create a community.

This is how you make a brand stand out and strengthen its loyal customers.

Benefit #3: Social proof

UGC video content is an effective shortcut in delivering social proof to users.

In other words, UGC acts as proof that a product or service is worth buying and brand credibility simply lies in the UGC video itself. 

UGC videos are persuasive because they create a feeling of belonging, are more natural, and above all, are authentic.

How persuasive are they?

According to research, people who see authentic testimonials and UGC are converting 161% more than people who don’t.

Simply put, people are more likely to convert through UGC rather than with high-quality branded content. 

So, UGC is a fantastic way for small businesses to outdo their competitors and share brand core values with their target audience.

Content pieces such as testimonials and client reviews help businesses create a strong brand identity.

Benefit #4: Engagement

UGC videos are more likely to receive online attention and reach wider audiences.

Videos are outstanding content pieces with a stop-scrolling effect that wins you over.

Especially when it comes from a familiar content creator or an influencer you’ve been following for a long time.

Plus, platforms like TikTok and Instagram promote video content even more with their algorithms.

Along with the significant organic reach, UGC brings 28% more engagement than branded content.

But what about ads and UGC?

UGC increases engagement in ads mentioned by 90% of brands that use the Facebook feed for their ads.

The reason is that potential customers feel more connected when ads include content from real users.

UGC videos allow your audience to associate with your brand and engage more naturally so it’s just as efficient for organic growth as for ad campaigns.

Just imagine the possibilities if combined with influencer marketing. 😉

Benefit #5: Influencer social licensing (aka whitelisting)

Another great benefit of UGC is the fact that brands can get permission to run ads on the UGC of their creators.

In simple words, a brand can get a UGC creator’s video on TikTok and use it as a sponsored ad.

That way, they’ll receive even more exposure for an authentic piece of content. 

Working with creators and influencers to create UGC can bring real growth to a brand ad campaign.

Some expected benefits of this strategy are:

• Increase in engagement
• Reach new audiences
• Less expensive campaigns

When it comes to social licensing, it’s essential to find the right influencers who have the trust of their audience and will be relevant to your brand industry.

Insense can help you in your journey by matching your brand with the right creators for effective social media collaborations. You are just 2 steps away:

• Sign up to access our dashboard
• Generate a brief explaining what you need for your next social media UGC campaign

Let’s find out more about the social media platforms where UGC videos are booming right now!

What are the Best Platforms for UGC Videos?

We’ve already talked about user-generated content videos and how they’re becoming prominent parts of brands’ marketing strategies.

So how do you get started?

You need to identify the most appropriate social media channels for UGC videos and keep in mind that some platforms inherently love sharing videos and promote them big time.

Brands can use such platforms to easily connect with their target audience and collaborate with creators and influencers for great UGC that converts.

While all these platforms are different, they do have a lot in common, which means that video content can be repurposed and used across different channels with just minor adjustments.

Overall, it’s important to leverage as many channels as possible to increase brand awareness and reach wide and diverse audiences.

The following options will help you decide on the right channels for your brand.

Platform #1: TikTok

User-generated videos reign on TikTok.

TikTok brought a new approach to audience engagement with brands by boosting video content creation with powerful TikTok features that allow, among other things,  brands to use an organic UGC video created by their audience or creators as sponsored ads.

Since TikTok users love the app and spend an average of 95 minutes on the platform daily, the power of the platform is undeniable. On that note, you’ve probably heard of the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt campaign. This hashtag has collected the WHOPPING number of 32 billion views.

The statistics indicate that users feel more connected to brands they can interact with on TikTok so you better be using the platform to source and distribute engaging UGC videos soon.

Platform #2: Instagram

Instagram is a leading social media platform with both traditional content and user-generated content.

Even though Instagram initially emphasized branded content and structured posts it’s also adopted the innovation of TikTok and created Instagram Reels.

Reels on Instagram are short videos of up to 60 seconds for educational and entertainment purposes.

What’s more,  the algorithm promotes Reels and significantly increases their reach.

So what makes Instagram a good platform for UGC except for the fact that it’s an established platform with more than 1 billion users?

Instagram has features that make it UGC-friendly, like branded hashtags and the ability for brands to re-share tagged stories of their audience. 

Companies like GoPro are well known for their community-building strategies through social media posts and branded hashtags on Instagram.

In a nutshell, if you want to connect more deeply with your target audience and create a community around your brand, you should definitely consider UGC videos on Instagram.

Platform #3: YouTube

Youtube is a well-known video platform that brought the term “creator” to the forefront.

Youtube creators are different from those on other platforms because of the length of their video content and the overall platform approach. 

Still, YouTube remains a great platform for a creator or brand to connect with its audience and user-generated content is favored on YouTube.

In numbers, 32% of YouTube videos fall under the people and blogs category.

People use YouTube videos to make decisions following other people's guidance. You may have watched reviews,  tutorials, or unboxing videos on YouTube channels before purchasing a product or signing up with a service. 

On YouTube, UGC videos receive 10x more views than quality content produced by brands.

Platform #4: Amazon ads

This one might surprise you as we aren’t dealing with a typical social platform. However, UGC videos are very beneficial for brands using Amazon ads.

How does this work?

To have a profitable Amazon store or ecommerce business in general, you’ll need to present the benefits of your products to convince potential buyers.

And here’s where UGC videos come in.

You can have creators make UGC videos for your Amazon listings or use videos from existing customers (after asking for permission from them of course!) that will provide value to potential buyers by showing:

• Your product features
• The problems your product solves
• Reviews of people who have used your product in the past

This method can be even more efficient if combined with digital marketing campaigns, such as TikTok ads and influencer marketing.

Trust us! UGC campaigns are always a good idea to raise product awareness and web traffic on your ecommerce site.

And now for the fun part; it’s time to get some inspiration.

3 UGC Video Examples to Inspire You

Before we wrap up, we want to present some content examples of brands that have taken good advantage of UGC videos.

Example #1: Away

Away is a business that sells suitcases, bags, and accessories to make every journey hassle-free.

In a UGC video posted on Instagram, a man is trying Michael Jackson’s anti-gravity lean move with the support of his suitcases.

How seamless does that look?

This original UGC video has a fun vibe without being promotional or salesy. 

The way the brand reposted the video using a funny caption allowed the audience to engage with it.

Example #2: Gymshark

Gymshark is a clothing brand focusing on men’s and women’s fitness wear.

This TikTok video depicts the reaction when you catch your gym partner training with someone else.

It’s a dramatized approach that ends up being very funny.

The best part? 

The video features well-known fitness creators who have over 200k followers on TikTok which, as you can imagine, means huge awareness for Gymshark.

In this example, there isn’t any particular advertising method. All that exists is product placement.

Example #3: Daniel Wellington

Daniel Wellington is a Swedish brand selling watches and jewelry in more than 25 countries.

In this UGC video, we have an ASMR creator who interacts with her followers while wearing a Daniel Wellington watch.

Even though the creator doesn’t talk about the watch, she shows her trust and preference and probably makes viewers wanna know more about what she’s wearing.

Key takeaways about the examples of UGC videos we featured in this post? 

All three: 

• Engage with users in a direct and funny way
• Feel natural and not salesy at all
• Are created by creators who are relatable and have a niche following.

Let’s wrap this up!

Now Over to You

Now you have all the knowledge you need about the value of UGC videos and how to use them.

Without a doubt, it’s a technique that can bring results and engagement.

We’re sure you’ll want to add UGC videos to your brand marketing strategy.

Are you ready to get started? We’re by your side all the way through!

You can book a demo with a member of our team who’ll guide you step by step.

Thanks for reading!