Back in the early days of social media, many of us with a social media account were UGC creators. UGC is user generated [00:01:00] content. And that's just when a user on social media posts content and tags a brand.

Think that perfect soy flat white from your favourite barista tagged on Insta. That's UGC. A gorgeous new pair of shoes that you've been coveting. Finally got in and tagged the brand and posted to social UGC. Living your hashtag best life on a girl's weekend at a cute getaway with the BNB tagged. That's UGC.

Every time a post is published on socials with a brand tagged, it's UGC and brands love it. And why wouldn't they? It's free advertising, isn't it?

What is a UGC creator? What are the differences between UGC creators and influencers? Because they're not the same. We'll take a look also at how brands work with UGC creators. And I'll wrap it all up with some tips for UGC creators, whether you're currently in the space or looking to become a UGC creator.

Just like we said at the top of the episode, that girl's weekend away, an awesome pair of shoes. That beautiful, beautiful coffee that I'm craving right now from your favorite barista. When we really like a brand's product, we love to jump on socials and share a photo or video of us talking about the product, the service, or the experience.

Someone has just bought a really cute dress. They've done a Get Ready With Me video styling the dress and they are totally rocking the look. They post the content online, the brand is tagged and they see that content. Hurrah. The brand sees the content and the person who posted the content is sending out that really positive brand message to their audience and generally to social media.

We'll talk about some statistics a little bit later on in the episode, but this is just a really soft introduction as to why brands love UGC content. And of course, we've got that really great trust piece that's been created through the content being posted online, on behalf of the brand. But then the brand also has the opportunity to have their social team get in touch with that person and ask for permission to repurpose or repost the content.

Amazing. Brand engagement increases by around 28 to 30 percent when customers are exposed to a nice mix of brand content and UGC content. Millennials spend around 30 percent of their daily media consumption on UGC, which is massively higher than traditional media. And lastly, UGC videos on YouTube receive about 10 times more views than brand produced video.

We want to get into the, like the juicy stuff. So what is a UGC creator? We we've spoken about regular peeps posting branded content online, but what actually does a UGC creator do? They are actually engaged by brands, so paid by brands to create the content that looks like it was created by the average peep.

branded content onto their channel, tag a brand and get on with their life. Great. UGC creators are paid by brands to produce that raw, unpolished content. What then are the differences between UGC creators There's two primary differences, and that is the content distribution and the content production.

And UGC creators don't post on their own channels. Whereas influencers are used by brands to reach a wider audience. In other words, UGC creators don't usually have a large audience or following, but influencers do. Like everything, there are some exceptions to this. Some UGC creators have actually built quite a nice following, and may also be successfully securing brand work.

This means that. They'll usually shoot on an iPhone and maybe edit with CapCut or something really quick and easy on the go. UGC creators aren't out there using really fancy equipment and advanced post production for their content. This is an intentional... and a mechanism to make the content grab your attention.

Let's talk now about how brands work with UGC creators. We spoke earlier about how UGC content performs quite well for brands on social media because viewers or customers or consumers see that content and engage quite well with it. It feels organic and authentic. So brands look for UGC creators to pay to create UGC style content that blends into users' feeds.

The difference is that this content is not usually published on the UGC creators channels. If you're listening in as a UGC creator or thinking about becoming one, I'm going to wrap up today's episode with some challenges and opportunities for you to consider. The UGC market is quite saturated. It is not overly saturated.

probably a thousand times before. In fact, consider if you should even be approaching brands at all. Just like our very own influencer cancel culture, brands are becoming increasingly happy to clap back from fatigue arising from the constant. inundation of creator pitches. Cultivate your aesthetic and portfolio and find the right ways to approach brands.

Moving into some Positive things, there are changing brand budgets. This is really good stuff. Working with UGC creators is cheaper for brands and it can significantly increase their return on ad spend. So with these changing brand budgets, brands are more likely to consider working with a UGC creator because really they're going to get more for their money.

Yes, good stuff. And we're going to wrap up today's episode with continued positive thoughts. Professional UGC creators rise above. I said that the UGC creator market is saturated. But it is not saturated with experienced and professional UGC creators. Build your distinct aesthetic. Build your portfolio.

So there is opportunity for you to build a successful career as a UGC creator when you do stick with it. and put in that effort. Bring your big creative personality forward. Learn the tips and tricks that are going to make you really successful and have longevity in your chosen profession. Social media is a critical part of a brand's marketing strategy.