In plain terms: a UGC creator produces authentic content for brands, videos and photos, that looks like a real customer’s. She is not an influencer, and here is why, with a little glossary so you never confuse them again.
What a UGC creator is
Let me take the time to define this properly, because the term gets thrown around a lot and not always accurately. UGC stands for User Generated Content, that is content created by a user. A UGC creator produces this content for brands, videos and photos designed to look spontaneous, sincere, close to everyday life.
The difference with a classic ad comes down to tone and frame. Here, no cold set nor overly smooth speech, but a real person talking about a product the way she would to a friend. You also hear the term UGC creator everywhere, and the longer user generated content creator, it is exactly the same craft.
UGC or influence, the real difference
This is the most common confusion, so let us clear it up once and for all.
The influencer relies on her fame and her audience. When she posts, it is her name, her community and her face that carry the message. The brand buys, deep down, access to her followers.
The UGC creator works the other way around. The product stays at the centre, and I step back at the service of the message. The brand does not buy my audience, it buys my content, which it then broadcasts wherever it wants, on its own channels or in advertising. So I can create for a brand without ever posting it on my own networks.
A little UGC glossary
- UGC, or User Generated Content: content created by a real person for a brand.
- UGC creator: the person who produces this content.
- Brief: the document that frames the order, messages, tone, what to show and avoid.
- Hook: the first seconds of a video, the ones that hold attention.
- Face cam: direct speech facing the camera.
- Voice-over: a commentary laid over shots, without showing the face.
- Usage rights: what the brand is allowed to do with the content, and for how long.
- Organic and paid: content published naturally, or broadcast as advertising.
What a UGC creator is for
For a brand, the appeal is simple. To obtain, without setting up a heavy shoot, credible and reusable content that speaks to real customers. A professional and reassuring result, easy to fit into a product page, an email, an ad or a social network.
And depending on the needs, the same content can serve in several places, which makes it a rather reasonable investment.
To go further
If you want to see the craft in action, I detailed my formats, my languages and my settings on my page UGC creator. And to understand the discipline’s flagship format, head to the UGC video page.
A question about UGC, or a project in mind? Write to me on the contact page, I love explaining as much as creating.
PS: just remember this, influence sells an audience, UGC sells content. The rest is detail.