Definition: User-generated content (UGC) is any content about a brand made by people outside it, such as customers’ photos, videos, reviews and posts, rather than by the brand itself.
Also called: UGC, customer content, UGC creators
Updated October 11, 2026
Organic UGC is what customers post on their own: an unboxing video, a tagged photo, a review. Paid UGC comes from creators a brand hires to make videos in a customer’s style, usually for ads or the brand’s own accounts. Both look like real people talking, which is why they often feel more credible than polished brand posts.
Make it easy for customers to share and easy for you to find what they post.
A post that tags you still belongs to the person who made it. Ask for permission before reposting, credit them by handle, and keep a record of the yes. If you gave the creator anything, such as payment or free products, the FTC’s Endorsement Guides say the connection should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, and that even an incentive with no financial value can matter. The FTC also warns against asking only happy customers for reviews.
A running-shoe shop asks customers to post their first run in new shoes with #FirstMilesLeeds. Each week it messages two people for permission, reposts their photos with credit, and adds the best ones to a story highlight. Anyone who received a free pair gets the gift noted in the caption.
A hashtag is a word or phrase written after the # symbol, with no spaces, that turns into a clickable link grouping public posts on the same topic.
Influencer marketing is a brand partnering with creators, by paying them or giving them products, to promote the brand to the creator’s own audience in the creator’s own voice.
Community management is the work of building and looking after a brand’s audience on social media by replying to comments and messages, moderating conversations and starting discussions, so followers feel heard and keep coming back.
Social commerce is selling products directly through social media platforms, where people can discover a product in a post or video and view details or buy it without searching for it elsewhere.
A collab post is a single Instagram post or reel co-authored by two or more accounts, which appears on every collaborator’s profile and is shown to each of their audiences.
Write once, tailor each version yourself or with optional AI, and schedule to 6 networks from one calendar.