UGC and influencer marketing are two of the most talked-about strategies in digital marketing right now. The brands winning big know exactly when to use each and how to combine them for maximum impact.
If you’re not clear on the difference or the right approach for your brand, you could be missing out on serious growth. But don’t worry. In this guide, we’ll break down:
P.S. Not sure if your next campaign needs UGC creators, influencers, or both? inBeat Agency designs strategies that combine authentic content with targeted reach. They source vetted creators, manage partnerships, and optimize campaigns for results.
UGC definition: Authentic brand-related content from real customers or professional UGC creators, used on brand-owned channels.
Influencer marketing definition: Content from creators with established audiences, posted on their own platforms to promote brands.
Cost: UGC creators are generally more affordable since payment is for content creation only, while influencers charge for both content and audience reach.
Control: Brands have higher creative control with UGC creators, while influencers keep creative freedom to maintain authenticity.
Reach: UGC reach depends on brand distribution through ads, social channels or websites, while influencers reach their existing followers directly.
Measurement: UGC success is tracked through brand analytics such as CTR and conversions, influencer campaigns through impressions, engagement and tracked codes.
Best for UGC: Building trust, generating peer recommendations, creating evergreen assets, supporting SEO and conversions, working within limited budgets.
Best for influencers: Driving rapid awareness, entering new markets, leveraging niche authority, promoting time-sensitive offers, amplifying events.
Combination strategy: Use influencers to spark awareness and inspire organic UGC, then repurpose both types of content across paid ads, email, and social channels to fill the funnel from awareness to conversion.
User-generated content (UGC) is any authentic content that features a brand but is created outside the company’s in-house marketing team.
It usually comes in two forms.
The first meaning of UGC is organic content from real users, things like customer reviews, social media posts, or destination reviews shared without a brand request. The second UGC meaning is assets from professional UGC creators.These content creators work with brands to produce authentic photos, videos, or social media posts that align with the brand’s values and style. And yes, sometimes they’ll be following a creative brief.
For example, haircare brand Prose works with UGC creators to produce authentic content for its social feeds, while still encouraging real customers to share their own product experiences.
Now that we’ve covered what UGC is and where it comes from, let’s look at why brands rely on it and the benefits it can deliver.
UGC feels more genuine than polished brand-created content or even influencer content. Social media posts from real users or UGC creators often show products in real-life situations, which builds social proof. That social proof builds stronger credibility and can lift your engagement rate across social platforms.
In fact, about 92% of consumers place more trust in user-generated content than in traditional ads. What’s more, 86% of them trust UGC over influencer content.
Working with UGC creators or sourcing content from real users can cost far less than high-end influencer campaigns. You can repurpose this authentic content across multiple marketing channels, from Instagram Story ads to retargeting ads, without heavy creative costs.
In many cases, UGC-based ads achieve up to four times higher click-through rates and 50% lower cost-per-click compared to standard ads.
Featuring customer reviews, photos, or stories can turn satisfied users into brand advocates. 84% of people are more likely to trust a brand that uses UGC, and 79% say it influences their purchasing decisions. That kind of connection strengthens your community and word-of-mouth reach.
UGC can improve site functionality and visibility. Search engines value authentic content and frequent updates, whether that’s customer reviews on product pages or fresh videos from content creators. UGC can also support your marketing funnel by improving keyword coverage and helping with conversion tracking.
In fact, campaigns with UGC see a 29% lift in web conversions, and including user-generated content in e-commerce product pages can increase conversions by 161%.
UGC creators can become more than just content suppliers; they can be part of your brainstorming process. You can bring them into discussions about how to promote your app, what features to highlight, or what messaging will resonate with your target audience.
Asking for and implementing their ideas helps extend your marketing team’s capabilities and unlocks valuable insights from people who understand what engages real users.
While UGC can be a powerful asset, it also comes with challenges brands need to manage carefully. Let’s see what you might face.
When content comes from real users or UGC creators, you can’t always control lighting, editing style, or overall production value.
Even with a creative brief, some submissions may not align with your brand standards or the quality you expect for paid media campaigns and marketing channels. The best approach is to provide clear brand guidelines and sample references to guide content creation.
Here’s a good example of an arguably not-so-good TikTok clip:
As you can see, the creator keeps dropping his mic, and the background is cluttered. Besides, the creator seems to have trouble getting dressed in the Gymshark Onyx that he’s promoting.
Of course, a certain degree of disconcertedness/ timidity can be intentional and even appealing in some scenarios. This approach can humanize the creator, but only if it’s done right.
Not all social media posts or customer reviews will work in your favor. Some might highlight product issues, misunderstand your messaging, or feel off-brand. If these gain traction on social platforms, they can impact brand awareness and audience perception in ways you didn’t intend.
Relying on organic UGC means content flow can be unpredictable. You might see a surge of social media posts after a product launch, followed by weeks of silence.
This inconsistency can disrupt your content strategy, audience reach, and the momentum of your marketing funnel. A simple fix is to mix organic submissions with planned content from UGC creators to maintain steady output.
UGC needs constant oversight to maintain quality and protect your content rights. This includes reviewing submissions, approving what goes live, and ensuring alignment with brand guidelines. Without this active moderation, off-brand material could appear in your brand channels or social feeds.
Influencer marketing is a digital marketing strategy where brands collaborate with individuals who have built strong credibility, audience reach, and influence on social platforms. These influencers share branded content directly with their followers, engaging in real conversations and building relationships that go beyond a single campaign.
Unlike UGC creators, who produce authentic-looking content for brands to use on their own marketing channels without posting it themselves, influencers promote products through their personal social feeds.
For example, New Balance partnered with inBeat Agency to work with athlete influencers across different California cities to create videos and photos promoting new in-store products. Each influencer had a strong local community, which aligned perfectly with the brand’s identity and values.
Now you must be wondering why do brands continue to work with influencers year after year? Let’s break down the key advantages.
Influencers let you scale brand awareness and still connect with niche audiences. Mega or celebrity influencers create global awareness, while macro and micro influencers can target specific audience demographics.
Research shows nano‑influencers (1K–10K followers) deliver average engagement around 2.7%, while micro‑influencers (10K–50K followers) bring in about 1.8%. That’s significantly higher than macro or celebrity tiers. So, if you’re chasing authentic engagement alongside reach, these smaller creators hit the sweet spot.
Most influencers are experienced content creators who know how to produce polished videos, photos, and social media posts that fit your brand guidelines.
Whether it’s an Instagram Story demo, a TikTok challenge, or a YouTube product review, influencer content often matches the quality of brand-created content. And it has the added benefit of personal authenticity (if done right).
Working with niche influencers builds trust fast. Around 63% of shoppers are more likely to buy when a trusted influencer recommends something. When influencers, from beauty creators to tech reviewers, offer genuine endorsements, their social proof can deepen long-term loyalty and positively affect conversion rate.
Influencer marketing works for both one-off promotions and ongoing media campaigns. You can run small-scale collaborations with nano influencers for local reach or launch multi-platform campaigns with macro and celebrity influencers for broader impact.
This flexibility allows you to adjust content production, budget, and audience reach based on campaign goals.
While influencer marketing can be highly effective, it also comes with challenges brands need to keep in mind.
Mega or celebrity influencers can deliver huge audience reach, but their rates are out of range for smaller budgets. Campaign costs can climb quickly, especially when factoring in content rights and paid media. We suggest balancing your influencer mix with macro or micro influencers who can still deliver strong engagement rates at a lower cost.
For example, Hurom mixes smaller influencers like Tami Vargas, with 49.300 followers at the time of this writing:
With larger influencers like spiritual coach Diana K. Levy:
If an influencer’s style, audience demographics, or values don’t align with your brand, the content can feel forced. This hurts both engagement rate and conversion rate. The best fix is to vet potential partners carefully, review their past influencer content, and ensure they genuinely use or value your product.
One-off influencer campaigns can create quick spikes in brand awareness but may not lead to long-term customer loyalty. A better approach is to build ongoing relationships or brand ambassadorships, so the influencer becomes a consistent advocate in your marketing funnel.
As we pointed out above, Hurom works with a network of global ambassadors who continuously create influencer content. This keeps them visible across different social platforms year-round.
Some influencers inflate numbers with fake followers or automated engagement, which can skew campaign results. This wastes budget and affects conversion tracking accuracy.
The fix? Tap into trusted influencer marketing tools that alert you to red flags. Tools like HypeAuditor or Impulze.ai analyze engagement rate vs. follower growth, detect bots, and flag suspicious spikes so you only partner with genuine creators.
UGC and influencer marketing may both use content creators, but their roles, methods, and impact are quite different.
UGC comes from real users sharing organically or from UGC creators hired to produce authentic-looking content. UGC creators usually don’t post it on their own feeds; instead, brands use it on their marketing channels, paid media, or product pages.
Influencers, in contrast, share branded posts directly with their followers, actively engage in the comments, and integrate promotions into their personal content strategy.
UGC creators are generally more affordable because they’re paid for content production instead of audience reach.
Whereas influencer rates factor in their follower count, engagement rate, and niche authority. This means macro and mega influencers can command a much higher price.
For launches or awareness pushes, influencers may require larger budgets, while UGC creators can deliver high-converting assets at scale for less.
With UGC from real users, brands have little control over the style, messaging, or quality; it’s authentic but unpredictable. However, with UGC creators, you usually have more say through creative briefs, brand guidelines, and full content rights.
Influencers, on the other hand, maintain more creative freedom to keep their voice authentic for their audience. This means influencer content might feel less scripted, but you’ll need to trust their delivery and tone.
UGC creators provide assets that you can place across your own marketing channels. This allows precise targeting through paid ads, landing pages, packaging, or in-store displays.
Influencers have a built-in audience and distribute content directly to their followers. This lets you tap into niche markets quickly, whether that’s beauty influencers for skincare, tech reviewers for gadgets, or chefs for kitchen products.
As Brittany Garlin, Forbes Councils Member, explains, this distinction is also tied to their follower requirements:
“Unlike traditional influencers who build up a large following before working with brands, UGC creators don't require tons of followers. Basically, UGC creators are like freelance influencers who specialize in creating UGC-inspired material that is paid for by brands to be shared on the brand's own channels.”
UGC performance is tracked through your brand’s analytics. You can see how it affects click-through rates, conversions, or dwell time across your funnel.
In contrast, influencer marketing is measured by post impressions, engagement rate, discount code redemptions, and UTM tracking. Influencers are often better for brand awareness and relationship marketing. UGC is often used to fill specific content gaps in the marketing funnel and increase conversion rate.
UGC marketing works when you need content that feels authentic and can be used across multiple marketing channels.
Choose UGC marketing when:
When to Choose Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing works best when you want to tap into an influencer’s existing audience and credibility to drive awareness, trust, or sales.
Choose influencer marketing when:
UGC and influencer marketing work best when they complement each other. Start by using influencers to spark conversation and generate fresh content from their followers. For example, an influencer’s TikTok challenge or Instagram Story can inspire real users to share their own posts.
Once you collect this customer-generated content, amplify it through influencer campaigns. Ask influencers to feature top UGC in their social media posts, adding their personal commentary for credibility.
For cross-channel promotion, repurpose UGC and influencer content across paid media, email marketing, and brand-owned social feeds. Use UGC for retargeting ads to convert warm audiences, and leverage influencer content for brand awareness campaigns on platforms where they already have high engagement rates. This mix ensures consistent messaging, maximizes reach, and keeps your marketing funnel full at every stage.
UGC and influencer marketing are both powerful tools, but they work best when used with a clear strategy. Understanding their differences, strengths, and how they complement each other will help you choose the right mix for your brand’s goals.
Key takeaways
If you want to scale your brand with campaigns that combine UGC creators, influencers, and data-driven paid media, inBeat Agency can make it happen. We curate top-performing creators, design measurable strategies, and ensure every asset aligns with your brand’s tone and goals.
Book a free strategy call now and see how the right mix can grow your brand.
Is influencer marketing considered UGC?
Not exactly. Influencer marketing involves creators sharing branded content on their own channels to their audience. UGC is any brand-related content made outside the in-house team, including posts from real users and UGC creators. While influencer content can be repurposed as UGC for brand-owned channels, the two strategies are distinct in purpose and distribution.
What is the difference between UGC creators and influencers?
UGC creators make authentic-looking content for brands to use on their own marketing channels. They usually do not post it themselves. Influencers post directly to their audience and mix branded content with their personal feed. Influencers earn a living through brand collaborations. UGC creators focus on producing assets that follow brand guidelines and meet campaign goals.
Is influencer marketing better than traditional marketing?
Yes, it can be more effective for certain goals. Influencer marketing offers targeted reach, high engagement, and credibility from trusted personalities. Traditional marketing can reach larger, more general audiences but may lack the personal connection social media creators provide. The better choice depends on your campaign objectives, target audience, and budget.
Is UGC more cost-effective than influencer marketing?
In most cases, yes. UGC creators are paid for content production, not for audience reach, which makes it more affordable. You can use their content across multiple marketing channels without paying for ongoing distribution. In contrast, influencer marketing often involves higher costs because you’re paying for both the content and access to the influencer’s established audience.
How do I encourage customers to create UGC?
Make it easy and rewarding. Use branded hashtags, run social media challenges, and highlight customer posts on your brand’s channels. Offer incentives like discount codes or product giveaways. The goal is to create a positive experience that motivates real users to share their stories, reviews, and visuals featuring your products.
