Everyone’s talking about UGC. “You need authentic content!” “User-generated is king!” Cool. But nobody tells you how to actually get it, what to do with it, or how to avoid the nightmare scenarios.
Let’s fix that.
Why UGC actually works
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: people don’t trust you. They trust other people.
When your brand says “our product is great,” that’s an ad. When your customer posts “this thing changed my life,” that’s a recommendation from a friend.
The numbers back this up. Content created by actual customers gets 5x higher engagement than brand content. People are 79% more likely to trust it. And it costs basically nothing to acquire.
But—and this is important—only if you do it right.
Getting people to create content
You can’t just ask nicely and hope content appears. You need to make it stupid-easy and give people a reason.
Make it effortless
The easier it is to participate, the more people will do it. Remove every possible friction point:
- One hashtag. Not five. Not “use this one on Instagram and that one on Twitter.” Pick ONE and stick with it.
- Clear instructions. “Post a photo of your setup with #MyWorkspace” beats “Share your thoughts about our productivity-enhancing ecosystem.”
- Examples everywhere. Show people what you’re looking for. Seeing 3-4 examples instantly clarifies what you want.
A coffee shop we worked with simply put “Show us your coffee moment #MorningBrew” on their cups. They got 2,400 posts in the first month. No complicated campaign. Just clear, simple direction.
Give them a reason that isn’t money
Sure, you can run a contest. But that’s not the only motivator. People post because:
- They want to be featured (on your wall, website, or social channels)
- They’re proud of what they created/bought/achieved
- They want to help others make a decision
- They’re part of a community and want to contribute
The best UGC programs tap into multiple motivations. Feature great posts on your website. Thank people publicly. Create a sense that their contribution matters to the community.
Where to find UGC
You’ve got more content than you think. You’re just not collecting it systematically.
Social media (obviously):
Monitor your branded hashtags, mentions, and tags across Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook. Set up alerts so you don’t miss anything.
Reviews and testimonials:
Those 5-star Google reviews? That’s UGC. Testimonials on your site? Also UGC. You’re probably sitting on hundreds of pieces of content already.
Customer service interactions:
When someone emails “This solved my problem!” ask if you can share it. When someone sends a thank-you note, same thing.
Your community:
If you have a Slack group, Discord server, or forum, that’s a goldmine. People are already talking about your product. Just ask permission to share.
The curation part nobody talks about
Here’s where most brands mess up: they either post everything (bad idea) or nothing (worse idea).
What to approve
Good UGC should be:
- Authentic – Real photos, real stories, real people. Overly polished defeats the purpose.
- On-brand – Doesn’t need to be perfect, but should align with your values.
- High enough quality – Blurry, dark photos don’t help anyone. There’s a difference between “authentic” and “bad.”
- Actually showing your product/service – Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised.
What to skip
Auto-reject anything that:
- Contains competitors’ products in the shot
- Has inappropriate content (use your judgment, but err on the safe side)
- Includes people who clearly wouldn’t want to be featured
- Is just… weird in a way that doesn’t help your brand
We built Wand’s moderation queue specifically for this. You can swipe through submissions in seconds and approve/reject with one tap. Makes the whole process about 10x faster.
Getting permission (yes, you need this)
Legal stuff isn’t fun, but it’s necessary. You can’t just grab someone’s Instagram post and use it in an ad without permission.
For social media display:
Generally okay if you’re embedding/displaying the original post with attribution. But even then, it’s better to ask.
For advertising or marketing materials:
You absolutely need explicit permission. DM them, email them, get a yes in writing.
Make asking easy:
We use a simple template: “Hey! We love your post about [product]. Can we feature it on our website/social media? We’ll credit you and link to your profile.”
95% of people say yes. The 5% who don’t? Respect it and move on.
Actually using the content
Collecting UGC is pointless if it sits in a folder. Here’s where to put it:
Product pages:
Real photos of your product being used beat your staged product shots. Add a “Photos from customers” section.
Homepage social proof:
A feed of recent customer posts creates instant credibility. People see “oh, real humans actually use this.”
Event displays:
If you’re at a conference or have a retail space, show UGC on screens. It validates your brand in real-time.
Email campaigns:
Feature customer stories in your newsletters. Way more engaging than another “here’s what’s new” email.
Social media:
Repost great UGC to your own channels. Give credit. Thank them publicly. They’ll usually share your share, doubling your reach.
Real example: How a DTC brand scaled with UGC
A furniture company was spending $50k/month on product photography. Professional, beautiful, expensive.
They launched a simple UGC campaign: “Show us your space with #MyHomeStyle.” Featured the best submissions on their product pages and social media.
Six months later:
- 4,200+ submissions
- Product pages with UGC converted 34% better
- Cost per content piece dropped from $200 to basically zero
- Their Instagram engagement rate doubled
The kicker? The UGC-heavy product pages converted better than the professional shots. Because they looked real.
Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)
Mistake 1: Waiting for perfect content
Perfect is the enemy of good. That slightly imperfect photo of a happy customer beats your staged professional shot.
Mistake 2: Not responding to submissions
When someone tags you or uses your hashtag, acknowledge it. Even a simple like or comment goes a long way. Ignore them and they won’t post again.
Mistake 3: Making it about you
UGC campaigns that scream “LOOK AT OUR BRAND” fail. Make it about the community, the lifestyle, the benefit—not your logo.
Mistake 4: Inconsistent moderation
If you’re going to display UGC live (like on a social wall), you need real-time moderation. We’ve all seen what happens when brands don’t moderate. It’s never pretty.
Mistake 5: No diversity
If all your featured content looks the same (same type of person, same setting, same vibe), you’re excluding most of your audience. Curate for variety.
Building a sustainable UGC engine
One-off campaigns are fine, but the real win is ongoing content creation. Here’s how to build a system:
- Make it part of the product experience – Include your hashtag in packaging, receipts, confirmation emails.
- Feature UGC regularly – Weekly showcases, monthly spotlights, whatever. Just be consistent.
- Create tiers of engagement – Some people will post once. Others will become advocates. Reward the advocates.
- Make submission easy – The fewer clicks/steps between “I want to share” and “I shared,” the better.
- Close the loop – When you feature someone, tell them. Tag them. Thank them. They’ll keep creating.
The metrics that matter
Stop counting how many pieces of UGC you collected. That’s a vanity metric. Instead, track:
- Conversion rate of pages with UGC vs. without
- Engagement rate on UGC posts vs. branded posts
- Cost per content piece (UGC vs. created content)
- Time saved not creating content yourself
- Submission rate over time (is it growing or declining?)
If UGC isn’t improving your actual business metrics, you’re doing it wrong.
What actually matters
At the end of the day, UGC works because it’s real. In a world where every brand is trying to look perfect, real wins.
Your customers have better stories than your marketing team can write. They take more authentic photos than your photographer can stage. They’re more persuasive than your best ad copy.
Your job isn’t to create content. It’s to collect, curate, and showcase the content your community is already creating.
Make it easy. Make it rewarding. Make it visible. The content will follow.
Ready to start collecting? Wand makes it simple to gather, moderate, and display user-generated content from all your social channels. No tech team required. Just connect your accounts and go.