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What is UGC content?
UGC content is any photo, video or review created by customers or fans rather than by the brand itself. Brands repost it with permission, show it on product pages, or commission creators to make content in the same style. In advertising, "UGC" usually means short, phone-shot videos of a person talking about a product.
Also answers: What is UGC in marketing?
Common types of UGC
- Reviews and ratings on product pages and marketplaces.
- Photos and videos customers post on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, often tagging the brand.
- Testimonials collected by email or survey.
- Commissioned creator content made in the same casual style for the brand to use.
How marketers use it
In marketing, UGC does two jobs. First, it's social proof: shoppers trust what other people say about a product more than what the brand says about itself, so reviews and customer photos appear on product pages, in emails and on social. Second, it's raw material for ads. Short, phone-shot videos of a person talking about a product are the most common format in paid social today, whether they come from real customers or paid creators.
Permission and honesty
Customer-made content isn't free to use just because it's public. The person who made a video or photo owns the copyright, which the U.S. Copyright Office says exists from the moment the work is created. Get written permission before you repost it or put it in an ad, and keep a record of what was agreed. If you paid or gifted product for the content, the FTC's endorsement guidance expects that connection to be disclosed. Never edit a review to change what it says.
ScrollStop Labs scripts and produces UGC-style video ads with AI presenters for DTC brands. You can see spec examples, with the hook behind each one, on our work page.
Sources
- U.S. Copyright Office: Copyright in General (FAQ)
- FTC: FTC's Endorsement Guides, What People Are Asking