While UGC is a great opportunity for most brands and may look like lower-quality creative, it still takes thoughtful planning to drive results. This is where the UGC Brief comes into play.

This blog will walk through my process of briefing paid media ad creatives using our UGC brief template.

Define Your Campaign Objectives

The first step of building a UGC brief is deciding what your core marketing goals are. For most people reading this article, it will be conversions. Now go one level further, do you want conversions for a specific product line or service? Are you hoping to push a specific marketing narrative, or reach a specific audience demographic? All of these questions will dictate the creator you select and the way you brief them.

Know Your Audience

Keep one thing in mind when you begin working with a new UGC creator: they are a contractor with other clients, and they do not know your brand or customer base as you do. Share details about your audience’s demographics, preferences, and pain points with the creator. Does your audience respond to rational or emotional marketing messaging? Providing this insight will help the creator tailor their content to speak directly to your audience’s needs and desires, making it more impactful.

Outline Key Brand Messaging

The brief should communicate your brand’s values, voice, and tone. If your brand is playful, energetic, formal, and professional, the UGC creator must reflect this in their content. Share examples of past successful UGC or branded content to give the creator an idea of what works. Also, include any specific messages or themes you want conveyed whether it’s focusing on sustainability, innovation, or customer satisfaction.

Set Clear Guidelines for Content Creation

Providing clear and specific guidelines will help creators stay aligned with your vision. Here are some aspects to include:

• Format: Indicate the type of content you need, such as videos, photos, or written reviews.
• Style: Give creative direction on the visual aesthetics, whether bright, minimalistic, or high-energy. I suggest filters or editing styles.
• Length: Specify the ideal video duration or word count for written content.
• Platforms & Placements: Let the creator know which paid media channels and placements you prioritize. They’ll use this information to guide how they frame their video shots to ensure nothing is lost when cropping down from 9×16 to 1×1.

Outline the Shot List

A shot list is an important tool for guiding creators in capturing key moments that align with your campaign’s goals. Here’s what to include:

• Key Shots: Detail specific moments you want to be featured, like product demonstrations or unboxing videos.
• Angles and Framing: Depending on the platform, specify preferred camera angles, such as close-ups or wide shots, and whether the video should be filmed in portrait or landscape mode.
• Lighting and Background: Provide recommendations for lighting (e.g., natural light) and suggest clean or branded backgrounds to ensure the content looks polished.
• Action Steps: If the content requires specific actions, like using the product, outline the steps clearly.

Encourage Authenticity and Creativity

This section may sound like it counters the rest of the article, but it’s here for a reason. There are times when fresh ideas can be added to the video during production. If your UGC creator has some marketing background, they may think of things that need to be added to or removed from the script as they shoot. It’s a classic case of an idea not looking the way you originally pictured it in your head.

Provide Key Information and Details

As I mentioned in a previous section, the creator you’re working with is likely working with other brands simultaneously. Don’t rush the brief and skip details they may need on your product or service. You can’t expect them to know it already or “just get it.”

Set Deadlines and Submission Processes

1. Set clear deadlines for drafts and final content submissions to keep your campaign on track.
2. Outline the approval process and designate a point of contact for any questions the creator might have.
3. To avoid any confusion, be clear about how the content should be submitted, whether through Google Drive, email, or another platform.

If you want to create UGC content for your brand that drives profitable conversions, give your creators a healthy balance of direction and creative freedom.

The post How to Brief UGC Creators? appeared first on Tricky Enough.

Specialists claim that UGC is an improved version of studio photography. Why? These assets are 2-in-1. UGC can be used as both a product photo and a review. Users would share their product experience with the world if they weren’t happy with it.

We’ve now identified the source of UGC’s fascination. Let’s start our search for the greatest benefits user-generated content offers brands. Deeper reasonings such as brand advocacy stimulation and a more powerful tool for decision-making will be revealed.

What is User Generated Content?

Let’s first define user-generated content before we get to the 7 top benefits. UGC is the sum of all images and videos that customers create for free to promote a brand or product.

UGC, which is organic content, is often at an amateur level, is by nature. It appeals to social users, as there are many consumers who prefer products over brands.

1. UGC simplifies purchasing decisions at a glance

Are you aware of any marketing department that has ever admitted a small flaw in their product? That’s what I thought.

Many questions can discourage consumers from shopping online. They cannot be certain about the colors and sizing of clothing, as well as how gadgets work for their specific purposes, and any other details that are important to them.

Studio photography allows you to alter colors provided that the settings are set up with edge sharpness in place. The product is the only visible prop. It doesn’t emphasize the size. Publishers often forget to consider many details when making decisions at the end of this process.

UGC, on the other hand, focuses more on the immediate needs of users. Users don’t use templates. They simply take spontaneous photos. Sometimes these photos are candid. Sometimes, these photos capture details that producers would never have thought of.

As such, information-packed concepts ensue. Before and after photos of skin treatment or training at the gym. A variety of raw ingredients can be transformed into delicious kitchen appliances. Cosmetics that make exotic vacations more Instagram-worthy Other visual concepts that marketing teams would pay a lot to stage.

These factors are added to the fact UGC isn’t controlled by a brand. You get a curious audience who has just discovered reliable, visual, and enjoyable product reviews. UGC convinces 84% of consumers to click the “Add To Cart” button. It is unaltered, non-promotional, and easy to understand.

2. UGC Increases Credibility Levels

Trust is one of the greatest benefits of user-generated material. It is easy for people to relate to other people like them. Customers are more likely to be satisfied than a brand. They want to achieve that goal by finding the product that makes their lives happy.

UGC conveys different feelings about a product. The product is not the only thing. They take the item’s central position instead.

UGC allows consumers to identify someone who is similar to them and has overcome similar problems using the same asset. Consumers can easily replicate the solution by purchasing the same tool.

3. Millennials as the Target Audience

UGC communicates with the most active shoppers, Millennials, also effectively. They were the ones who changed the tone of TV ads. The old persuasive ads are replaced by lively, humorous scenarios. Products are not advertised in traditional ways. Instead, they appear as suggestions or brief apparitions.

These ads can be great for brand awareness. The Rema 1000 commercial shows how product suggestions can energize the whole scenario. Advertisers didn’t reveal any competitive advantage in highlighting the traditional door locking system instead of an AI one in their attempt to highlight it.

However, millennials value real product reviews from real people when making a purchase decision. According to studies, 86% of millennials rate a brand’s trustworthiness based on the number of UGC generated.

4. UGC is better at converting leads than professional imagery

There are many reasons consumers feel compelled to try a product after seeing it on social media. No one can read their minds. But, the numbers speak volumes about UGC’s impact on their minds.

UGC does a better job than any other studio content at increasing conversion rates by 85%. Users who have seen UGC are 85% more likely than users who have encountered branded content to purchase the product online.

5. Best of UGC for a Budget

Your product might end up on a customer’s social wall if it makes them happy. UGC can be a source for curated content as long as brands encourage user-generated content.

Brands are advised to set up perfect conditions that allow for easy tracking of pictures. Use a brand hashtag that you have never used before. Create a campaign that includes a unique CTA asking for product photos in exchange for a chance at winning a prize. Organize a product launch party with memorable backdrops and instagrammable nooks.

User-generated content offers endless visual possibilities that can be used to supplement a social media marketing strategy for the days ahead. Brands don’t need to spend marketing budgets on expensive photoshoots. Instead, they can ask customers to send pictures of their satisfaction.

6. Enjoy a Diverse Nature

Many people believe that UGC cannot go where studio photography can. But it can. It is possible for social media content to leave the same platform it was created. You can choose the destination: online store, social media ads banners, website banners, or social feeds.

You can use UGC to imbue other marketing channels with the same effect as social users. Advertising, social schedule and even street billboards gain an instant personality that attracts customers.

You can transfer the 95% higher conversion rate to your website. To turn your UGC into an easily shoppable gallery, use Product Lead Visible Commerce. This collection can be embedded on your website, adding value to your selling proposition.

7. UGC Encourages Brand Advocacy

Red Bull shows how users can give back to businesses when they place them in the spotlight. It is actually one of the few companies that place brand advocacy at the center of its social media marketing.

Every activation that a RedBull Ambassador deploys, the #wingsteam hashtag is used. Wing Team players give out Red Bull cans to consumers, but not by giving them away for free. An airdrop operation that was delivered to college campuses was one of the most memorable activations.

UGC can be used as a marketing tool to convert customers into active and loyal brand advocates. These users not only restock with the same brand but also encourage others.

Interact with your customers to spark a movement. Encourage happy clients to comment and regram posts.

Turn their efforts into contests with unique hashtags, or turn them into weekly or monthly contests. Your brand’s visibility is enhanced if your advocates are larger.

The Final Word

These are the 7 benefits of user-generated content. These insights will help you to create your first UGC wave. You can’t go wrong with UGC. The improved conversion rates are enough to make this worthwhile.

The post 7 Benefits of User Generated Content – What’s In It for Your Brand? appeared first on Tricky Enough.