Creator ads boost campaign performance and give your marketing a human touch. This post shares best practices and examples of how to use UGC in ads.
There’s a reason why the best brands on social media are using UGC in ads like never before.
Because your satisfied customers are your best billboards.
Food for thought: 83% of consumers crave authentic shopping experiences from brands.
Translation?
Modern consumers need to see products in the hands of real people prior to purchase.
Transferring the effectiveness of user-generated content to your paid ads makes perfect sense. Still, using UGC in ads isn’t as easy as flipping a switch if you’re managing campaigns yourself.
Below we break down how to use UGC in ads with real-world examples of brands doing it right.
The popularity of “real” content in paid campaigns is no coincidence.
Here’s a quick rundown of why brands are shifting to UGC from solely brand-created ads:
All of the above illustrates the power of a people-first marketing strategy.
For this post, we’re going to focus on brands running campaigns on IG and TikTok.
Much like both apps are different in terms of content, the same applies to their ad platforms.
Below are three types of user-generated content ads plus real brand examples to inspire you.
The concept of Spark ads is simple: take an existing video from a creator and transform it into an ad. Below is an example from Kiala Nutrition. The brand netted a staggering 75+ million impressions and 10,000+ conversions from its Spark campaign.
Source: TikTok
It’s no surprise that Spark campaigns are among the most popular types of TikTok ads. The platform cites higher views, engagement rates and conversions for Spark Ads over other types.
UGC ads grew so big on Instagram that the platform went all-in on its suite of branded content tools.
Like Spark ads, branded content ads transform organic content into paid promotions. Creators receive attribution for their content with a “paid partnership” or “sponsored” label.
Source: @tani.coy.rollermama
Chances are you’ve heard the term “whitelisting” pop up in the marketing space.
Whitelisting is the process of accessing a creator’s content to promote it as an ad. Through whitelisting, brands blur the line between branded-created and creator-made assets.
The steps involved in whitelisting vary between TikTok and Instagram. The short of it? Creators provide permission to brands to access their posts. Then, brands set up ads as normal but select a creator's assets as the basis for their campaign.
Below is a snapshot of the ad approval process (from the creator’s POV) on TikTok:
Source: TikTok
Note: both TikTok and Instagram have significantly streamlined the process of whitelisting content through Spark Ads and branded content ads, respectively. Brands used to have to negotiate with creators off-platform to create branded assets to promote. This is similar to hiring a UGC creator.
Brands are spoiled for choice when it comes to where and how to integrate user-generated content in promotions.
That said, make sure to take a step back before jumping head-first into a campaign.
To wrap things up, here are some quick best practices and considerations for using UGC in ads.
Short-form video has taken over social media and ads are no exception.
It’s well-documented that marketers are going all-in on formats such as TikTok and Reels. Heck, 41% of Gen Z prefer to discover products via short-form video.
Here’s a snapshot of the benefits of short-form video as an ad format:
The popularity of UGC video ads speaks for itself. This is particularly true on TikTok which is almost exclusively a short-form video platform. Brands are seeing success with TikTok campaigns featuring creators of all sizes. This rings true with paid and organic content alike.
Source: @hoovervacuums
So much of using UGC in ads is about getting permission through the proper channels. This applies to repurposing or reposting user-generated content but especially when running ads.
If you’re second-guessing whether you own a piece of UGC, ask permission to be safe.
This highlights a big upside of running campaigns via Spark Ads or branded content ads. That is, creators provide on-platform consent to use their content.
Ownership rights should be part of your influencer agreement when working with content creators. This will help you avoid any headaches or even legal issues.
Below is an example of how brands ask permission to promote UGC.
Source: @wanderingmyhome
Comments, DMs and emails are all fair game for asking permission. Many brands use copy-and-paste message templates to collect UGC manually. Here’s a sample:
“Hey there, [@username and/or creator name]! We absolutely love this [content type, ex: photo, Reel]. Would you be okay with [your brand name] sharing it on our digital properties (such as social media and email) for marketing purposes? We’ll tag your account and give you credit for your content. If so, please reply #agree and let us know!”
Many companies also direct customers to a terms and conditions page regarding UGC:
Source: @jetblue
Also, tagging creators in promotional content on your account is a smart move. This is both a courtesy and a way to double-check that they’re cool with being promoted by your brand.
Below is an example of tagged creator content on a brand’s TikTok account. Both Spark Ads and branded content ads allow brands to give attribution to creators.
Source: @ninjakitchen
Note: for more details on permissions and creator consent to promote content, we recommend reviewing the branded content policies of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
The more potential promotional UGC you can earn, the better.
That makes sense, right? Getting more UGC is a long-term goal for most brands.
There’s no “right” way to go about it, though. You can start by monitoring your @mentions and uses of your brand’s hashtag. This uncovers satisfied customers to source authentic content from.
For example, The Pink Stuff has thousands of posts to choose from via their Instagram hashtag.
Thing is, gathering UGC at scale is the tricky part.
Consider the legwork required to individually reach out to influencers to ask for permission to promote their content. This process is time-consuming even with outreach templates.
If you don’t already have customers regularly posting about your brand, you’re stuck playing the waiting game. Only having a handful of UGC posts to promote doesn’t give you many options when running ads.
Again, anything you run as an ad should represent your brand’s best posts. You shouldn’t settle for so-so content if you want to put your ad budget behind it.
That’s why more brands are relying on influencer marketing platforms to scale their UGC. With a platform, brands can earn consistent and guaranteed content from real people.
The boom of UGC in ads isn’t slowing down any time soon.
If anything, creator content is poised to become even more in demand. Consumers rely on recommendations from influencers and creators when researching products.
Hopefully, the examples and tips above can help you brainstorm ways to integrate more UGC into your campaigns.
And if you need help finding people to create content on your brand’s behalf, we can help!
Statusphere’s turn-key influencer marketing platform runs everything from creator matchmaking to fulfillment and tracking campaign results. We specialize in helping brands scale their creator content without having to do the heavy lifting.
Want to learn more about how the process works? Get in touch with one of our consumer-to-consumer marketing specialists to see how we can get more people posting about your brand.
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