Guide to User-Generated Content on YouTube

User-generated content, or UGC, has become an increasingly popular cost-effective, unique marketing strategy that brands and creators are capitalizing on social media. This allows creators and fans to promote a brand’s product via images, videos, blog posts, testimonials, podcasts, etc. 

Whether you realize it or not, you have probably created UGC for a brand yourself! Have you ever posted a picture to social media wearing something from your favorite brand? Or maybe you’ve posted a review of a product you recently tried. These are both examples of UGC. 

One network that has seen plenty of UGC content is YouTube. It’s no surprise that the leading video platform hosts a multitude of creators and brands promoting their products or services. 

In this article, we will cover what user-generated content on YouTube looks like, and how to tap into this market, either as a brand or creator. However, before we get started, if you have never heard of UGC before, take a look at this guide to get familiar: 

What is User-Generated Content on YouTube?

Due to the diversity of content on the platform, there is already a wealth of user-generated content on YouTube. Plus, as we found in our 2023 Social Media Networks Study video content is the #1 content type across just about every social media platform. Think about it, Reels, TikTok videos, YouTube Shorts, and Live videos have taken off. 

YouTube is an extremely compatible platform with UGC considering you can add links and product tags, stream live videos, cross-reference content, and run ads across the platform. Through this, the brand and creators can create a mutually beneficial relationship where the creator promotes the brand’s product via social media content, and gets a payment in return. 

User-Generated Content Benefits 

Let’s review some of the top benefits that can come from either creating UGC content or implementing it into your business strategy. 

Drives sales

Since this has become such a booming topic, is it worth all the hype? Does it actually work? Well, the numbers speak for themselves. In fact, according to a 2020 study by Bazaarvoice, 62% of consumers said they were more likely to buy a product if they were able to view customer photos and videos. 

People tend to hold out on purchasing until they have at least read some reviews. What’s even better is seeing the product in action. Therefore, as a brand, UGC content is a natural way to show off your products. With YouTube’s wide variety of linking, product tagging, and shopping capabilities, this is a great way to drive sales and increase your website’s traffic, and hopefully conversions. 

Creates organic customer relationships 

Due to the reciprocal nature of this partnership, you both leave happy. On one hand, the brand receives quality content, increases its brand exposure, and can land its businesses in a new set of eyes. On the other hand, the creators can build their brands, and receive compensation for their content. If the partnership is a good fit, you can create a long-lasting relationship with your customers. 

Cost-effective 

Unlike other paid marketing strategies, user-generated content can be quite cost-effective. While content deliverables with influencers can be upwards of $5,000 for a dedicated YouTube video, UGC content can be as low as $150 per deliverable. 

However, many UGC content creators will propose their rate, and as a brand, you should respect their creative work and pay them fairly. 

Increase brand exposure 

When working with UGC creators, brands can tap into new audiences and meet clients they might have not with regular advertising and marketing. Each creator has its unique audience, and most of the time that audience is a loyal one. You can then begin to create new relationships with different communities. Then boom, you have just doubled your brand exposure. 

Brand trust and loyalty

By sharing your products or services with your customers, and allowing them to give honest reviews and feedback, you secure to your audience that your brand is one you can trust. This also gives them a sneak peek into using your product or service and gets them excited to try it themselves. 

Who Can Become a YouTube UGC Content Creator? 

You don’t need to have 100k followers on YouTube to get started. Anyone can tap into user-generated content on YouTube. However, you do need an active YouTube account. In case you haven’t gotten started yet, don’t worry. Here is a guide on creating your account and jumpstarting your YouTube channel. 

How to find brands as a UGC content creator

So, you want to become a UGC content creator. Where do you start? First, you need to do some market research and watch other UGC creators to see what brands they are working with, and what content they are creating. Then, you need to decide what your niche will be, so you know what kind of products you can expect. 

When it comes to reaching out to brands, don’t be shy. Create a list of brands you would like to work with and use social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok to do some more digging. 

Try to find contact information, inquiry forms, or direct emails for brand collaborations. Once you have found these contacts, send them an email or DM, depending on what you think is best. This is another way to create contacts for partnerships down the road. 

The last tip I recommend is to follow other UGC creators and learn about their experiences. You can even reach out to them for advice, to share contacts, or to learn how to improve your UGC content. 

How to find UGC creators as a brand 

As a brand, the power is really in your hands. The first place to start finding UGC creators is by looking to see which channels have already mentioned your product or service. You may find that there are already reviews, testimonials, blog posts, and examples of your brand out there. This is an easy way to reach out to these individuals and ask if they are interested in creating more content for your brand. 

User-Generated Content Video Examples 

Although we’ve touched on it, let’s look at some real examples of YouTube user-generated content, and how to best use this platform for brand promotions. 

MAC Cosmetics Lip Pencil Swatches & Review 

In this video, creator Roxanne Latulippe is reviewing MAC Cosmetics lip pencils. This video is not sponsored and doesn’t include an affiliate link, so we know that this is UGC. Even if MAC hasn’t signed her as a UGC content creator, you can see she has linked their accounts inside the description. With over 40k views, I would say it was a success for both parties: 

Adidas Samba: Unboxing & What Size to Buy? 

This video is an unboxing-style video for Adidas Samba’s sneakers. Again this is most likely organic UGC content as this creator didn’t add any links or mentions. However, this is extremely useful for users to see what the product looks like before they buy: 

Metricool vs Buffer Comparison – Which is Better?

This UGC video was created by LORNA Media, and gives a tutorial of our tool! This was a completely organic mention and one of the beauties of UGC. While we didn’t establish a brand partnership, this is UGC at its finest. We are always grateful for our users and happy we can help other creators and social media managers. 

As you can see, UGC content is only going to continue to grow. We hope this post helped you grasp the idea, and get you energized to collaborate with brands or UGC creators. User-generated content on YouTube has a ton of potential for both businesses and creators to grow their brands. 

Of course, growing on social media profiles doesn’t come without managing your accounts, analyzing your data, and creating new quality content. That’s why Metricool is an all-in-one social media management platform, that you can use for completely free. Schedule content a month in advance, manage your social media inboxes and analyze your content’s performance to improve your strategy. 

Anniston Ward , 02 February 2024