UGC

UGC as a brand channel is closer to creative production than to influencer marketing. You are buying content to run on your own channels and paid ads, so the creator's audience does not matter and the entire value sits in the footage and the usage rights attached to it. That changes who you hire, what you pay, and how you brief.

The lessons here cover sourcing UGC creators, briefing for ad performance rather than for aesthetics, and pricing usage separately from production. Volume matters more than polish: several variations of hook and angle will outperform one hero video, because the point is to find the version that holds attention in the first three seconds.

Pricing UGC catches brands out because two numbers are being bought at once. The production fee covers the creator's time and the footage. The usage fee covers where you can run it and for how long, and it is the one that gets skipped in a first negotiation and then costs a renegotiation later when the asset performs and you want it in paid ads for another six months. Agree both up front.

Volume is the other lever. A single well-produced video is a bet on one hook working. Ten variations from three creators, briefed against different angles and opening lines, is a test, and the winners can then be put behind spend with some confidence. Brands that commission in batches and rotate results into paid media consistently get more from the channel than those treating each video as a standalone piece of content.