UGC ads got good because people stopped believing you
A decade ago, you could ship a glossy product video, slap on a discount, and call it “performance creative.”
Now most people scroll past anything that smells like a brand trying too hard.
UGC ads work because they borrow the only thing audiences still trust at scale - other people. Real customers. Real creators. Real language. It’s modern word of mouth, but packaged into a format that Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok can actually deliver.
If you’re running paid social and your CPMs keep rising, UGC is one of the few levers that still regularly moves CTR and conversion rate. The trick is doing it without turning “authentic” into another ad costume.
What UGC ads are (and what they aren’t)
User-generated content (UGC) is any content created and shared by unpaid contributors - customers, fans, or community members - about a brand, product, or service.
UGC ads are when you take that content (or content made in that style) and use it inside paid advertising.
Think: digital word of mouth that you can scale.
Why UGC matters now
Consumers used to rely on official brand messaging to decide what to buy. Now they’re skeptical. They’d rather see someone like them using the product, messing up, reacting, explaining the pros and cons, and showing what showed up in the box.
UGC tends to feel:
- Authentic
- Unbiased
- Relatable
It’s also cost-effective. Instead of funding a full production machine for every new angle, you can tap your customer base or creator network and keep creative fresh without burning weeks on shoots.
Types of UGC ads (with real use cases)
UGC isn’t one format. It’s a bunch of formats that all share the same vibe - “a person made this, not a brand.”
Text
Text UGC includes comments, forum posts, social replies, and longer form posts. It’s underrated for ads because it’s specific. Specific converts.
Use it for:
- Calling out objections (“I thought it was a scam, but…")
- Quick benefit bullets pulled from real customer language
- Landing page social proof blocks that match your ads
Images
Instagram is a factory for product-in-the-wild photos. These are great for:
- Retargeting ads (“see it on real people”)
- PDP galleries
- Before/after proof (when appropriate and compliant)
Videos
YouTube and TikTok are where UGC video thrives - unboxings, tutorials, reviews, “day in the life,” and reaction style clips.
Use it for:
- Cold traffic hooks (3 seconds to earn attention)
- Demonstrations that reduce uncertainty
- Founder-style explainers that don’t feel like a commercial
Reviews
Reviews on places like Amazon, Yelp, and TripAdvisor heavily influence purchase decisions. Positive reviews boost sales. Negative reviews surface what to fix.
Use them for:
- Ad copy angles (“shipping was fast,” “fit was true to size”)
- Creative briefs (turn top reviews into scripts)
- Competitive positioning (careful, but effective)
Social media posts
Tweets, Facebook posts, Pinterest pins - these can go viral and expand reach fast because they’re already native to the platform.
Use them for:
- Social proof retargeting
- “As seen on” style creative (with permission)
- Community building around a hashtag
Why people create UGC in the first place
If you want more UGC, you need to understand the incentives. Most people aren’t doing it for your brand. They’re doing it for themselves.
Here’s what’s usually happening psychologically:
- Social validation - likes, comments, and shares are a dopamine vending machine
- Sense of belonging - posting makes them feel like part of a group
- Emotional expression - they’re excited, satisfied, annoyed, or surprised and want to say it somewhere
- Influence and expertise - some people want to be “the person” in a niche
If you build campaigns that feed those motivations, UGC shows up. If you just ask nicely, it doesn’t.
The anatomy of high-quality UGC ads
Good UGC ads don’t look “perfect.” They look believable. But believable doesn’t mean sloppy.
High-quality UGC ads usually nail four things:
- Authenticity
- Relevance
- Engagement
- Visual storytelling
1. Authenticity and trustworthiness
This is the whole game.
When the content feels honest - even if it’s not flattering 100 percent of the time - people lean in. When it feels scripted, they bounce.
High-quality UGC keeps the human bits:
- Natural speech
- Real reactions
- Imperfect pacing
- Specific details that a scriptwriter wouldn’t invent
2. Relevance and alignment with brand values
UGC still has to match what your brand stands for.
If you’re a sustainability brand, UGC from eco-conscious customers reinforces your message. If you’re premium, the UGC should still feel premium, even if it’s shot on a phone.
The point isn’t to control creators. It’s to curate what already fits.
3. Engagement and emotional resonance
The best UGC ads make people feel something quickly:
- Relief (“finally found something that works”)
- Confidence (“this looks easy”)
- Curiosity (“wait, how does that work?”)
- Belonging (“people like me use this”)
When it hits emotionally, it gets watched longer, shared more, and remembered.
4. Visuals and storytelling that hold attention
UGC doesn’t need cinema cameras. It needs clarity.
Strong UGC ads typically have:
- A clear hook in the first seconds
- A simple narrative arc (problem - solution - result)
- Proof (demo, close-ups, before/after, screenshots)
- A clean CTA at the end
1. Lack of authenticity and credibility
The fastest way to kill UGC is to fake it.
If people sense the content is staged or manipulated, trust evaporates. And once trust is gone, your CPM doesn’t get cheaper. Your entire funnel just converts worse.
2. Cluttered or irrelevant content
UGC ads fail when they try to do too much:
- Too many talking points
- Random visuals
- Captions that don’t match what’s happening
Simple wins. One idea per ad.
3. Low-quality visuals and weak storytelling
Shaky footage, blurry shots, bad audio, no structure - it’s not “authentic,” it’s just hard to watch.
UGC should feel real, not careless.
Before you run UGC ads: the stuff that can bite you
UGC is powerful, but you don’t get to ignore the basics.
User consent and rights
Creators own their content.
If you want to use someone’s post, video, or review in an ad, get explicit permission. Don’t assume a tag equals consent. Don’t assume “it’s public” means “it’s yours.”
Compliance with advertising standards
If content is sponsored, disclose it. If you’re recreating an experience with actors, disclose it.
The specifics vary by region and platform, but the principle is consistent: don’t mislead.
Ensure UGC fits your brand identity
Not every piece of UGC is good for you, even if it performed well organically.
Vet for:
- Tone (does it match how you want to sound?)
- Claims (are they accurate and compliant?)
- Visual context (does it make your product look legit?)
Keep messaging consistent
UGC should support your message, not contradict it.
If your positioning is “simple and premium,” don’t run UGC that makes the product look complicated or cheap.
How to filter and select the best UGC
When you have a lot of UGC, you need rules.
Good filters include:
- Engagement (did people actually respond to it?)
- Relevance (does it show the product and the outcome?)
- Fit (does it match the campaign goal and audience?)
Handling negative or inappropriate content
Negative UGC will happen. Plan for it.
Options:
- Filter it out of ad usage (obvious)
- Address the complaint privately
- Set community guidelines so people know the boundaries
Benefit 1: Authenticity and trust
Trust is the scarce resource now.
UGC builds credibility because it shows real people having real experiences. Over time, that credibility compounds into loyalty because customers stop feeling like they’re taking a risk.
Benefit 2: Cost-effective content generation
Traditional production gets expensive fast - crews, locations, edits, timelines.
UGC gives you a pipeline of content without rebuilding the wheel every time. That means you can spend more budget on distribution and testing instead of production.
Benefit 3: Higher engagement and conversions
UGC usually gets more likes, shares, and comments than branded creatives because it feels personal.
One widely cited example: Airbnb’s “Live There” campaign featured UGC photos and stories from hosts and guests and reportedly drove a 53% increase in website engagement and a 200% surge in bookings.
Benefit 4: Expanded reach and social proof
When customers post, your brand reaches their network. That’s free distribution.
And the social proof effect is real: seeing other people enjoy a product reduces perceived risk and nudges buyers toward checkout.
Benefit 5: Data insights and customer feedback
UGC is feedback in public.
If you track which UGC angles drive watch time, CTR, and conversion, you learn:
- What customers actually care about
- What objections keep showing up
- What features matter in the real world
That can shape your ads and your product roadmap.
Step 1: Find the right UGC
Start with social listening.
Tools like Mention, Brandwatch, and Hootsuite can help track brand mentions, hashtags, and posts related to your products. But don’t outsource this entirely to software - actually read what people say.
Also:
- Encourage branded hashtags
- Run contests or campaigns that prompt people to post
- Watch your comments and DMs like a hawk
Step 2: Curate and customize
Pick UGC that matches your goal:
- Awareness - strong hook + clear product intro
- Consideration - demo + objections
- Conversion - proof + offer + CTA
Then tailor by platform:
- Instagram favors clean visuals and tighter edits
- TikTok rewards raw, fast pacing and native storytelling
Step 3: Build the ad creative around the UGC
UGC is the star, but the framing matters.
Do:
- Keep the edit clean
- Use captions that match the spoken message
- Add context with minimal copy
- End with a clear CTA
Step 4: Measure and optimize
Track what matters:
- Engagement rate
- CTR
- Conversion rate
- ROAS
Then iterate:
- Test different UGC formats (unboxing vs tutorial vs testimonial)
- Test different hooks
- Test different offers
- A/B test aggressively
Airbnb
Airbnb’s “Live There” campaign used UGC photos and stories from hosts and guests. Reported results: 53% increase in website engagement and 200% surge in bookings.
Why it worked:
- Real experiences beat staged travel commercials
- The content matched the brand promise of local, unique stays
GoPro
GoPro’s #GoProAwards encourages users to submit GoPro-shot videos and images for a chance to win cash rewards.
Why it worked:
- Incentives create volume
- Community participation reinforces the brand’s “adventure” identity
- The product is inherently shareable, so UGC fits naturally
What to learn from both
- Authenticity wins - real people, real stories
- Participation drives loyalty - campaigns that invite users in tend to stick
- Consistency matters - the UGC should reinforce the brand, not wander off
UGC ad strategies by industry (quick ideas that work)
- Food and beverage - prompt customers to share experiences with seasonal hashtags like #FoodieFridays or #TasteOfSummer
- Fashion - run outfit challenges and UGC contests (brands like H&M have done this)
- Travel and hospitality - repost guest content that highlights the experience, not the amenities list
- Tech and electronics - encourage people to share what they made or improved using the product (Apple has leaned into this)
How to get started with UGC ads using EzUGC
Managing UGC manually gets old fast. You end up with a messy folder of clips, unclear permissions, and zero consistency across ads.
EzUGC is built to generate UGC-style video ads quickly, so you can produce more variations, test more angles, and keep creative from going stale. It’s especially useful when you want scale without waiting on creators, inbox threads, and production timelines.
If you’re cost-checking tools, here’s the pricing: EzUGC pricing.
Is it legal to use UGC in ads without explicit permission?
Usually, no. You should obtain explicit permission from the creator before using their content in advertising. Creators own the rights to their content, and using it without consent can create legal problems.
How do I encourage customers to create more UGC?
Give them a reason and a prompt:
- Contests
- Incentives
- Branded hashtags
- Featuring customers on your channels
- Actively engaging in comments and DMs
People post when it benefits them socially, emotionally, or financially.
How do I moderate or filter negative or inappropriate UGC before using it?
Have a moderation plan:
- Filter out content that’s inappropriate or off-brand
- Address negative feedback privately when possible
- Set community guidelines so expectations are clear
The goal is to protect brand safety without pretending criticism doesn’t exist.
How do I measure UGC ad performance?
Track the same core metrics you’d track for any paid social creative:
- Engagement rate
- CTR
- Conversion rate
- ROAS
Then use those results to guide what UGC formats and angles you produce next.
Are there advertising standards I need to follow with UGC?
Yes. Follow relevant platform policies and local regulations, especially around:
- Sponsored content disclosures
- Paid partnerships
- Any recreated experiences using actors
If the content can be interpreted as misleading, you’re taking on risk you don’t need.