Hey there, I’m Sommer, Creative Director and Partner at The BARK Firm, and today we’re talking about how to build a user generated content marketing strategy or UGC for short. What is it, and should your business actually care about it? Short answer: UGC is content your customers, followers, employees, fans, or community create about your brand, and when you use it strategically, it can be one of the most authentic and effective tools in your marketing arsenal.
Because sometimes the best person to tell people how great your business is…isn’t you.
What Is A User Generated Content Marketing Strategy?
User Generated Content is basically any content created by real people about your business instead of content created by your business.
Think:
- A customer tags your restaurant in a photo of their dinner.
- Someone posts a video from your event.
- A traveler shares photos from their trip and tags your destination.
- A customer leaves a killer Google review.
- A parent shares their experience with your organization.
- Someone posts an unboxing video featuring your product.
- An employee gives people a behind-the-scenes look at your company culture.
That’s UGC.
And it works because it gives your audience something no perfectly designed ad can completely replicate: proof from an actual human being.
Why Does UGC Work So Well?
We spend a lot of time at BARK helping brands figure out what makes them great and how to communicate it.
But here’s the thing.
You telling people you’re great and other people telling people you’re great hit differently.
That’s the power of social proof.
Consumers are constantly being marketed to. They know what an ad looks like. They know when a business is selling them something. And they’ve gotten really, really good at scrolling right past anything that doesn’t feel relevant.
User-generated content interrupts that pattern because it feels more natural.
It’s real customers having real experiences with real businesses.
That authenticity can build trust, increase social media engagement, strengthen brand awareness, and give potential customers another reason to choose you.
So, How Do You Get People to Create UGC?
First things first: give them something worth talking about.
You cannot slap a hashtag on a mediocre customer experience and call it a user-generated content strategy.
Sorry.
The best UGC usually starts with something people genuinely want to share. A great experience. An unexpected detail. An incredible result. A beautiful location. A memorable event. A company doing something worth noticing.
Then make sharing it easy.
Create a branded hashtag. Build photo-worthy moments into your event or physical space. Ask customers to tag you. Encourage reviews. Ask questions on social media. Feature customers or employees. Create contests or campaigns that invite participation.
Most importantly, pay attention.
Your customers may already be creating great content about your business and nobody on your team is doing anything with it.
Which brings me to…
For the Love of…., Don’t Just Repost It and Move On
This is where strategy comes in.
If someone creates a fantastic piece of content about your brand, think bigger than an Instagram Story that disappears tomorrow.
With the appropriate permission, one strong piece of customer-generated content could become:
- A social media post
- A testimonial on your website
- Part of an email campaign
- Paid social creative
- A case study
- Sales collateral
- Video content
- Part of a larger brand campaign
One great customer story can have legs.
We call this working smarter with your content instead of constantly feeding the beast. Because believe me, the content beast is ALWAYS hungry.
But UGC Still Needs a Strategy
Here’s where I put my Creative Director hat firmly back on.
Authentic does not mean anything goes.
Not every photo someone tags you in belongs on your feed. Not every trend makes sense for your business. And not every piece of customer content represents the brand you’re trying to build.
Strong brands curate.
You still need to know who you are, who you’re trying to reach, what you want to be known for, and what kind of experience you want people to associate with your business.
UGC should reinforce that story, not muddy it.
A Few Quick UGC Questions
Is UGC good for social media marketing?
Absolutely. User-generated content can provide authentic, relatable content for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube while encouraging more interaction from your existing audience.
Can UGC help with SEO?
Yep. Reviews, testimonials, social conversations, referral traffic, and customer-created content can all support your larger SEO and content marketing strategy by building brand visibility, engagement, and authority online.
Do I need permission to use someone’s content?
If you’re republishing someone’s content beyond a native social share, especially on your website, in advertising, or in other marketing materials, get permission. And when appropriate, give the creator credit. It’s their content. Don’t be weird about it.
Does UGC work for every kind of business?
Pretty much, but it won’t look the same for everyone. A tourism brand might showcase visitor photos. A nonprofit might share volunteer stories. A professional services firm could highlight testimonials or client successes. A retailer might feature customers using its products.
The strategy changes. The principle doesn’t.
The Bottom Line? Give People Something Worth Talking About.
The strongest brands don’t just talk at their audience.
They create something people want to be part of.
That’s where user-generated content gets really powerful. You’re not simply filling another square on your content calendar. You’re building a community around your brand and letting the people who actually experience your business help tell its story.
And if you’re thinking, This sounds great, but who the heck has time to find it, organize it, get permission, turn it into content, post it, advertise it, measure it, and somehow still run the business?
Well…. We Can Help!
At The BARK Firm, we help businesses refine who they are, tell their story, create consistency, build community, and turn smart ideas into marketing that actually moves the needle.
You do what you do best.
We’ll make sure people know about it.
Ready to put your audience and your marketing to work?
Reach out to The BARK Firm and let us help you.
