Becoming a Top UGC Content Creator in 2023: Build Yourself on Social Media

Introduction to User-Generated Content

UGC has taken the online market by storm. User-generated content is any type of content such as videos, text, images, audio, or testimonials that are created by users of a brand. This is a highly effective marketing tool for brands as it provides them with additional promotional material by unpaid contributors.

As the digital market has become more saturated, it is even more crucial for brands to provide valuable and relatable content to their viewers. Having user-generated content is one guaranteed successful way to go about providing relatable content to leave a lasting positive impression on your consumers. About 86% of brands and retailers claim that UGC improves the performance of their ads and the overall impression of their marketing content by offering an authentic perspective. Although this is a useful tool for brands as it decreases their marketing efforts, it has also given individuals the opportunity to utilize media platforms and grow their reach by creating relatable content. To know how this benefits both the brand and the creator, we have to know exactly what being a user-generated creator entails in 2023. 

Understanding What a User-Generated Creator is

A user-generated creator is an individual who covers a variety of creative content types that showcase a business or products on various media platforms. In recent years, providing authentic content has become a prominent trend amongst brands in the digital realm, all driven by the increased consumer demand for authenticity. User-generated creators contribute to a brand’s legitimacy and diversity of their online content when providing their creative insights to their audiences. In other words, they are driven by their genuine interest in a product or experience and want to share their relatable point of view.

Furthermore, creators may also receive incentives from brands, for aiding in promotional activities. These incentives can be financial, or they can come in the form of free products or services for the creator. UGC creators are similar to content creators in that they focus on indulging in one or a few niches, such as travel, beauty, fashion, or sport. However, content creators have a more professional role and produce carefully curated content for brands, while UGC creators are regular users who create material organically to try to build a community by sharing their creativity and real-time assessments.

How are UGC creators and influencers different?

These two titles are quite often confused with one another, even though they have significant differences. It is important to differentiate both to avoid confusing brands when you pitch yourself to them. UGC creators and influencers produce engaging brand content that focuses on specific niches. As we know it, a lot of influencers and UGC creators build communities and communication through personal expression and relatability. Due to this, they influence a lot of their viewers' purchase decisions and feelings towards a brand's products and image.

Nevertheless, one of the main differences between both is their strategic roles in marketing campaigns and their relationship to the brand they are engaging with. Brands typically seek out influencers to reach a larger audience or a targeted audience, but they need to pay for the influencer's promotional efforts. You can only imagine the substantial cost a brand would need to cover to obtain a celebrity's endorsement for their product or service. Since influencers are aware that their following can drive a large amount of sales for a brand, they charge more.

On the other hand, collaborating with a UGC creator is cheaper since they are only paid for the content creation itself rather than the content, follower count, and reach, as is the case with an influencer. When UGC creators partner with brands, they create authentic content that is posted on the brand's social media platforms, therefore the brand does not necessarily need access to the creator's audience. 

In short words, influencers leverage their personal brand to promote your brand's products, while UGC creators create relatable content, hence contributing to your brand's image, identity, and marketing strategy. Considering UGC creators are only paid for content, brands can count on receiving high-quality material that is captivating enough for their marketing campaign. What makes UGC even more valuable to a brand is that research shows a more positive attitude and a general preference towards UGC content rather than influencer content. Research shows that 85% of users prefer to see brands share content from existing customers. 

How to Start Working as a Great UGC Creator

Identify your Niche

Firstly, choose an area or niche you are interested in and would like to provide content for. Look into how this niche is being explored and shared on different platforms. Study the kind of content being created for that specific area of interest. For example, if you are passionate about fashion and want to create videos or images about this topic, then it's a good start to studying fashion trends. Look at a variety of styles worn at events or by celebrities. Then you can explore how fashion is being expressed in the digital world by different individuals such as influencers, other UGC creators, and so on.

There are many niches you can explore such as travel, sport, beauty, wellness, fashion, lifestyle, gadgets, home decor, etc… Some UGC creators like to specialize in just one, but today, many tend to create content that ventures into diverse topics. Once you have identified your niche and got an idea of the content type you plan to create for it, then you can move on to the next step.

Choose Your UGC media channel

Select a platform or multiple where you will be sharing content related to the niche(s) you chose in step 1. Now, you can consider the various types of content being utilized on each channel. For example, TikTok and YouTube specialize in different video formats, while Instagram specializes in both images and videos. On the other hand, if the content you plan to provide is more text-related, then you may look into platforms such as X otherwise known as Twitter.

Build your UGC Marketing Strategy

In this step, you should clearly define your objectives by outlining the type of content you want to produce, your posting frequency, and the themes or styles you want to explore. Have a clear understanding of your market and define your audience. With a clear target, you will be able to adjust your content to tailor it to the needs of your target audience. Then you will select a media channel where these targeted users are most active. After you have done so, you can begin to post and encourage users to interact with your content by adding compelling elements such as giveaways, challenges, or contests. To keep track of your progress, you can measure engagement metrics and make changes to your strategy based on the feedback you have received.

Produce Captivating Content

You will want to produce high-quality content that will easily captivate your users and showcase your capability to brands. Diversify your content by leveraging a variety of formats such as text, images, or videos. Decide whether you'd like to create short-form reels on Instagram or short-form videos on TikTok. Perhaps the content type you wish to provide requires more in-depth video explanations that can only be posted on platforms like YouTube or other streaming channels that support long video formats.

When aiming to produce amazing content, you can invest in equipment for better audio and camera quality, along with good lighting, props, and a backdrop. If you cannot invest in equipment just yet, make sure to practice your editing skills to make your content more engaging. Although you can edit your videos outside each platform, sometimes there is no need to use another app, and you can utilize the editing options provided by your chosen platform. At the end of the day, practice makes perfect. If you are required to talk in your videos, then it will be useful to practice memorizing scripts. Alternatively, if you'd like to post high-quality pictures of products, then learn the basics of photography and the best techniques for capturing the perfect shot.

Once you have done all of this, you can begin to build your User-generated content portfolio for brands by creating unboxing, reviews or testimonials, and “how to” content.

Use Appropriate hashtags

To make yourself visible, you need to utilize the right hashtags that will target the audience of your niche. However, it depends on what the goal of your post is. For example, for your content to be discoverable to brands rather than to other UGC creators, avoid using hashtags that have the keywords “#UGC” or “#UGCcreator”, instead you should implement hashtags that are industry or product-related. If you want to have a distinctive outreach strategy to pull brands to you, then it may be useful to apply hashtags such as “e-commerce” or “Shopify”. This will make your content category clearer for the social media algorithm, which will in return place your content on relevant feeds or FYPs.

Furthermore, if you'd like to learn how to pitch yourself to brands as a User-generated content creator, then please have a look at this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R47k7mSIQRA

Leveraging New Online Trends and Challenges

Staying Updated with Current Content Trends

This is a crucial step to achieve success in this field. As a UGC creator, you want to create captivating content that is relevant to your niche. To know what your audience is presently most interested in regarding your specific niche, you will need to study the current trends within that industry. This can be done by browsing social media channels, discovering other UGC creators within a similar field and studying their content, reading blogs and forums, or exploring the top content under relevant hashtags.

As a UGC creator, customers are the main focus of their content, therefore, keeping up with trends is key in delivering engaging material that will build a connection and generate a positive response.

Participating in Viral Challenges and Hashtag Campaigns

When working in this field, you will need to participate in viral challenges and hashtag campaigns as a way of propelling your content to larger audiences. When these trends occur, they gain widespread attention and receive a lot of engagement. To do this, you must constantly stay informed on the latest trends, especially those aligned with your niche. Add your creative touch whenever you attempt to participate in these viral challenges, since you will be aiming to gain the attention of potential clients, you should make your personal style known.

Moreover, ensure that what you put out is quality content and don't be afraid to engage or interact with users by responding to comments, replying with another post to a comment, liking comments, and so on. Make sure that you participate in these viral challenges and hashtag campaigns ON TIME. If you'd like to capitalize on the momentum of these trends, then you must participate in a timely manner while it is still popular.

How much do online platforms offer UGC Creators?

Your rates will depend on the experience you have acquired and your portfolio. The pay of a UGC creator varies and is not a fixed price. The prices of different types of UGC campaigns vary based on the engagement rates, the quality of content, and the viewer size of a UGC creator. Some third-party platforms calculate how much you should charge per social media channel based on combined UGC creator rates. However, it is important to remember that you decide the price of your content. For example, if there are any expenses you need to cover for a specific campaign, then you will charge what will cover the cost of these expenses and on top of that give you profit. UGC creators can charge around 5k a month to $100 per post, depending on the quality of their content and their engagement levels.

As a UGC creator, make sure to check out average UGC rates online for a specific content form or niche. The more reach you have and the higher the quality of your content, the more you can charge.

Recently, TikTok has been running a UGC program that pays creators monthly to create ads for brands. This was launched this year, but was only officially announced in June. To be a part of this, you must be eligible for it. Some requirements are having a minimum of 50 followers, having a U.S. account, being at least 18 years old, and abiding by TikTok's community guidelines for content creation. Once you meet these requirements, you will be considered for the creative challenge. How much you are paid relies on factors such as qualified video views, clicks, and conversions. Since it is a fairly new program, there is not much information on it. Nevertheless, a source that is a part of the program, claims that creators are making up to $34,000 a month for brands such as Uber Eats, Alibaba, and TikTok.

Why are brands incentivized to work with UGC Creators?

1. Increases Brand Awareness and Conversions

Through social proof, brands can successfully drive conversions and increase their brand awareness. This type of content is quickly spreading across social media channels, thus introducing your brand to new audiences and expanding its digital presence. When harnessing the power of authentic customer engagement, brands are able to make their potential customers more confident in their purchasing decisions, especially since research suggests 77% are more inclined to purchase products with UGC. In fact, when UGC is included, web conversions increase by 29%!

UGC content easily generates a ripple effect across different social media platforms, as many individuals enjoy sharing their personal experience with a product or service as a way of connecting to a community with similar interests. The popularity of this content solely relies on the ability of creators to resonate with their viewers by painting your product in a more authentic light. Your brand reaches greater audiences and acquires an increased conversion rate due to customers' personal interactions with your goods becoming a testament to your brand's credibility.

2. Makes the Brand more Trustworthy

Prioritizing trust is of utmost importance for all brands today. For this reason alone, qualities such as authenticity, reliability, and relatability are all taken into account during the production of content. You can ask yourself as well. When you shop today, would you find brand content or content from a UGC creator more believable? You will most likely answer the latter, and that's because independent creators are the perfect advocates for displaying products authentically and realistically. As a matter of fact, 84% of users are more likely to trust a brand that features UGC in their marketing campaigns, while 60% believe UGC is the most authentic form of marketing. These types of marketing campaigns will eliminate the hesitancy in a potential customer by gaining their trust when displaying the reliability of your brand.

3. It is cost-effective

This method is one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing for all brands. It costs little to nothing for online businesses to apply this tool. Your followers create this type of content for little to no monetary compensation, which reduces the cost of production significantly for your brand and increases the volume of content being provided.

Creators create unpaid content for your brand for reasons such as wanting to share their own experience and connect with people, to express their creativity, or for personal branding.

4. Humanizes the Purchase Process

User-generated creators provide customers with authentic content by sharing genuine reviews, engaging in discussions with customers, displaying products in a very real manner, creating relatable content, and overall, fostering trust. This humanizes the purchase process by combining real experiences and raw perspectives into a customer's journey. In fact, 70% of people claim that UGC is highly impactful regarding their purchasing decisions. All of this can be attributed to the human touch UGC content brings in comparison to the more staged and robotic feel of content created directly by brands.

Frequently Asked Questions? (FAQ)

• How do brands find UGC creators?
  Brands discover UGC creators through hashtags, social media platforms, and digital communities or forums related to a specific niche. They then look to see if their creator's content aligns with their aesthetic and values. What brands consider when determining this, is the creator's connection with their followers, their levels of engagement, positive feedback, and the quality of the content they produce.
• How do I find clients for UGC?
  Similar to the question above, you make sure to leverage all of your social media channels by diversifying your content and targeting niche-specific communities. Try to be a part of networking events or any virtual freelance marketplace. Sometimes directly reaching out is the best way to go about it. There are plenty of helpful videos and articles online that go into more depth on how to pitch your content to a brand. There are also, third-party platforms that specialize in discovering brands that UGC creators can work with.
• Where do I find UGC creators to work with?
  As mentioned in the article, you can apply hashtags to your posts, such as “UGC” or “UGCcreator” that will specifically show your content to other UGC creators. If you are a brand and are looking to discover UGC creators, then you can search these tags and discover valuable content that is accurate to your search. Furthermore, you can explore influencer databases or virtual communities relevant to the type of content you provide. Otherwise, as mentioned previously, you can sign up to third-party platforms as a brand and get connected with UGC creators.
• Do UGC creators get free products?
  Yes, UGC creator may often get free products for their promotional efforts, depending on their partnership agreement with a brand. Often times, in order to incentivise UGC creators, brands will send them free products in order to receive quality content.
• Is it hard to become a UGC creator?
  This varies depending on the niche you have chosen, as well as the platform you will share it on and the audience you have targeted. Beginning this position is fairly easy, since it doesn't necessarily require a lot of followers or high engagement levels at the very start.
  However, while you do not necessarily need to be a professional at this job, you will still have to dedicate a lot of hours to learning and practising skills that will make your content and your generated content strategy better. Building a viewer base and maintaining constant content will take time and patience. Although you may not require an audience to start with since your content will be posted on the brand's profile, having a larger following or user base will make your account more discoverable to brands. 

‍