What is UGC content, in plain words

UGC (user-generated content) is content created by users: reviews, photos and short videos in which an ordinary person shows a product in their own words and their own setting. In marketing, the term also covers commissioned videos in the same style, filmed by UGC creators on a brand's assignment. The value of the format is trust: the viewer sees not an ad but the experience of someone like them.

What the term means

UGC stands for user-generated content, meaning content created by users. Originally the term covered everything people publish themselves: posts, comments, photos of purchases, reviews and social media videos. The brand neither commissioned nor controlled any of it.

With the rise of short video, the term has broadened. In advertising, UGC now most often describes a style: a video shot on a phone, in the first person, without studio lighting or a voice-over. The product is shown the way an ordinary customer would show it to a friend. So when a brand says “we need UGC”, it usually does not mean hunting for random reviews; it means producing videos in this style.

Genuine UGC versus commissioned UGC-style content

It helps to tell these two kinds of content apart, because they serve different purposes and follow different rules.

Organic UGC

This is what customers publish on their own: a review with photos on a marketplace, an unboxing on a personal account, a mention in Stories. It is free and as honest as it gets, but you cannot order it on a schedule, and its quality and delivery are unpredictable. You may use someone else's video in your advertising only with the author's permission.

Commissioned UGC

These are user-style videos that creators film to a brand's brief. The brand sets the product, the key message and the call to action, and the creator translates them into the language of their audience. This kind of content can be planned, tested and released regularly. If a video runs as an advertisement, check the advertising disclosure rules in your market and follow them: in Russia, for example, online ads must be labelled. It is best to confirm the details with a lawyer.

Why UGC works

UGC has several strengths that are hard to get from classic advertising:

• Trust. The viewer sees the person on screen as a peer rather than a salesperson, so they find it easier to believe in the product's benefits.
• Native feel. The video looks like an ordinary post in the TikTok, Reels or Shorts feed and does not trigger the reflex to scroll past an ad.
• Speed and volume. A short phone video is faster to shoot than a studio production, so you can test more ideas in the same time.
• Variety. Different creators show the product to different audiences: a student, a young mum, a man in his forties. This makes it easier to find who responds most strongly.

The format has limits too. A single video rarely solves the problem: results come from a series that shows which scripts and creators work. That is why brands that need a constant stream move from one-off orders to a system such as a UGC content factory.

The main UGC video formats

Formats repeat from niche to niche. The most common are:

• Unboxing: a person opens a parcel and shares a first impression. Works well for marketplace products.
• Review: a calm walkthrough of the product's features, with the product in hand.
• Review after use: “I've been using this for a month, here's what changed”. The impression must be honest.
• Problem and solution: it opens with a pain point the viewer recognises, then shows the product that solves it.
• Everyday demonstration: the product in a real situation, such as in the kitchen, at the gym or on the road.
• Comparison: “before and after”, or the product next to a familiar alternative, without putting competitors down.
• How-to: how to use it, how to assemble it, how to pick the right size. This kind of video answers questions before purchase.

For apps and services, there are also screen recordings with the person's reaction and “how I solved this in five minutes” scripts. Marketplaces are a separate topic, with listing videos and external traffic; they are covered in detail in UGC for Wildberries.

What a UGC creator is and how they differ from a blogger

A UGC creator is someone who films user-style videos about products on brands' assignments. They do not need a large following: what counts is looking natural on camera, holding attention in the first seconds and showing the product clearly.

A blogger or influencer primarily sells access to their audience and the trust it places in them. The brand pays for a post by a specific person. A UGC creator sells content-making skills: the video can go live on their account, on the brand's account or in an ad account. That leads to different priorities:

• for a blogger, reach, engagement and audience fit with the brand matter most;
• for a creator, delivery, filming quality, speed and willingness to work from a script matter most;
• a blogger usually delivers a one-off spike, while creators working together deliver a regular stream of videos for testing.

Where a brand can get UGC

There are several options, and each has its own management cost:

1. Collect organic customer reviews. Free, but slow and with no control over delivery.
2. Order videos from creators directly or through marketplaces for freelancers. Good for testing a hypothesis, but searching, briefing, revisions and tracking fall on the brand's team.
3. Work with a UGC agency. The agency handles selection and production, usually in the form of video packages.
4. Build a content factory: a team of creators, scriptwriters and managers releases videos every day and is accountable for publishing rhythm and reporting.

A detailed comparison of these models by volume, speed, control and rights is in agency, freelancer or content factory, and what makes up the budget is explained in how much a UGC video costs.

Common misconceptions about UGC

• “UGC is cheap and fast.” A single video is indeed quicker to shoot than a studio production, but results come from a tested series, and that takes scripts, management and tracking.
• “The simpler the video, the better.” A simple delivery does not mean no structure: a strong UGC video rests on a hook, a demonstration and a clear call to action.
• “One successful video is enough.” Videos burn out: audiences get used to them and algorithms stop pushing them. You need a constant stream of new scripts.
• “UGC only works for cosmetics and clothing.” The format is also used for home goods, food, education, services and apps: anywhere the product can be shown in real life.

Understanding these limits helps set the right expectations: UGC is not a magic button but a tool that works when it is regular and measured.

How to brief a UGC creator

A third of UGC quality depends on the creator, and two thirds on how clearly the brand sets the task. A good brief fits on one page and answers a few questions:

• What the product is and how it differs from the familiar alternative. One main idea beats five benefits at once.
• Who the buyer is: age, the situation in which they need the product, and the doubts that stop them from buying.
• Which format is needed: unboxing, review, testimonial, “problem and solution”, how-to.
• What must appear on camera and what must not: for example, competitors, unverified claims, medical promises.
• Where the video leads: a marketplace listing, a website, an app, and which call to action is needed at the end.
• Technical limits: vertical video, approximate length, whether subtitles and several opening variants are needed.

Leave the creator freedom over wording and delivery. If you script every comma, the video turns into an ad read from a sheet of paper and loses UGC's main advantage: naturalness. It is better to provide the key ideas and an example of a successful video, and to trust the person on camera with the phrasing.

Agree separately on revisions and rights: how many revisions are included, where the video will be published, and whether it can be used in ads and on listings. These questions are easier to settle before the shoot than to argue about afterwards.

How to tell whether UGC is delivering results

Views are only the first signal. To assess UGC, agree on metrics in advance: completion rate and retention in the first seconds, clicks, visits to the listing or website, add-to-carts and orders. For short video, it helps to track cost per view (CPV) and cost per thousand impressions (CPM) if the videos are promoted with paid ads.

Compare not individual videos but scripts and creators across a series. That shows which combinations are worth scaling and which should be replaced. In the JEEKSSHIRE 24 model, reporting shows creators, videos, reach, activity, sales, clicks and CPV by period, and you can explore everything the service offers on the UGC content factory page.