UGC is a format, not a strategy

“We need more UGC” has become one of the most common requests in eCommerce marketing. It’s easy to see why. Ads featuring real people talking about a product often outperform polished brand creative, especially on social platforms where people are used to seeing content from other people.

But UGC is a format, not a strategy. A creator holding a product and saying it’s great is still a weak ad if there’s no clear reason to buy behind it. The brands that get real results from creator content treat it with the same rigour as any other creative.

Why it works when it works

Creator content performs for a few specific reasons:

• It looks native. It blends into the feed instead of announcing itself as an ad.
• It borrows trust. A real person describing a real experience is more credible than a brand describing itself.
• It shows the product in use. Demonstration is one of the most persuasive things an ad can do.
• It speaks the customer’s language. Creators naturally use the phrases people actually say, not the ones marketers write.

When an ad has none of these, because it’s scripted to death or feels like a reluctant testimonial, it’s just a cheaper version of a brand ad.

Brief the idea, not the script

The most common mistake is over-scripting. Brands send creators a page of lines to read, and the result looks exactly like someone reading lines.

We brief creators on:

• Who the ad is for, and the situation they’re in.
• The one message the ad needs to land.
• The proof that makes it believable, such as a demonstration, a comparison or a result they can show.
• A few possible openings they can adapt to their own voice.
• What not to say, including claims the brand can’t make.

Then we let them talk. The best creator content often comes from the second or third take, after they’ve relaxed into the product.

Ask for raw material, not finished ads

A single creator session can feed a lot of ads, if you ask for the right pieces. We request:

• Several different hooks for the opening seconds.
• The core demonstration from a few angles.
• Reactions and close-ups.
• B-roll of the product in a real setting.
• A couple of complete takes from start to finish.

Our editors then assemble multiple ads from these parts, testing different openings and structures. It’s more efficient than commissioning one finished video at a time, and it gives us far more to learn from.

Choose creators for fit, not followers

For paid ads, a creator’s audience size barely matters. What matters is whether they look and sound like someone the target customer would trust, and whether they can talk naturally on camera. Some of our most effective creators have small followings and simply communicate well.

We keep a bench of creators across ages, styles and settings, so we can match the face to the message rather than forcing one person to speak to every audience.

Get the rights right

Before running creator content as ads, we agree on usage rights in writing: where the content can run, for how long, and whether it can be edited or run through the creator’s own account. Clear agreements avoid awkward conversations later and keep good creator relationships intact.

The bigger picture

UGC is a powerful tool, but it works best as part of a creative mix that also includes product demonstrations, founder stories, comparisons and strong static ads. Each format reaches people differently. The strategy is knowing what each ad needs to say, and choosing the format that says it best.