UGC: what it is, how brands use it and how to become a UGC creator

UGC stands for user-generated content: any content about a brand, product or service created by customers and users, not by the company itself. Reviews on e-commerce sites, photos tagging the brand, unboxing videos and testimonials are examples. UGC works because it sounds like the opinion of an ordinary person, not like advertising.

Over time, the format became a profession. A UGC creator is someone who records videos and photos in this spontaneous style at the request of brands, which pay for the content, not for the number of followers of the person who makes it.

What is UGC (user-generated content)?

The term user-generated content became popular in the mid-2000s, when the internet allowed anyone to publish opinions, photos and videos, and brands realized that these posts influenced other people’s buying decisions. Since then, UGC has stopped being just a side effect of social media and has become a marketing strategy.

In practice, UGC works like word of mouth in the digital world: before buying, many people look for what other consumers say about the product. That is why it acts as social proof, showing that other people have already bought, used and approved it.

UGC can appear spontaneously, when a customer posts on their own, or it can be encouraged and even commissioned by the brand. Besides customers, partners, employees and suppliers can also generate content about a business.

Types and examples of UGC

The most common types of UGC are reviews, testimonials, photos and videos of the product in use, unboxings, tutorials, comparisons and posts with campaign hashtags. Each format plays a different role in the buying journey:

UGC, UGC creator and influencer: what is the difference?

Spontaneous UGC is made by customers, unpaid; a UGC creator is paid to create content in this style for the brand to use; and an influencer is paid mainly for the reach and trust of their own audience. The table summarizes the differences:

In practice, the boundaries blur: in influencer marketing, an influencer can produce content in the UGC format, and a UGC creator can grow until they have their own audience. To understand the work of people who produce content in general, see what a digital creator does.

Why does UGC work?

UGC works because people trust the experience of other consumers more than the brand’s own pitch. In Brazil, consumer reviews are the format that weighs most in online buying decisions for 43.5% of people, ahead of short videos (21.5%), according to the study O Mapa da Busca no Brasil 2026, by Optimiza, published by Central do Varejo.

The format also matters. According to Opinion Box, photos showing the product in everyday use build the most trust (70%), and lightly edited videos convey more trust (43%) than heavily produced ones. That is exactly the UGC look.

For psychologist and neuroscientist Gislene Isquierdo, a specialist in communication and public speaking, building connection is one of the foundations of persuasive communication:

“The truth you carry, the look you give, the tone of your voice, that is unique, and that is where you create a lot of connection, so create a lot of value through your truth, through your authenticity, and you will create a lot of value,” the specialist explained in an interview on the Além do FIRE series.

Besides trust, UGC brings other benefits for brands:

• more reach, because each customer who posts takes the brand to their own network of contacts;
• a closer relationship with the target audience, who feel part of the community;
• lower production costs, since part of the content comes from customers themselves;
• ideas and data about what the audience values, useful for adjusting products and messages;
• SEO support, because reviews and questions create new, relevant content on the pages.

On SEO, there is a technical detail worth knowing: since 2019, Google has recommended marking links posted by users in comments and forums with the rel=”ugc” attribute, to indicate that the brand did not place them.

How do brands use UGC?

Brands use UGC mainly as social proof, in campaigns that encourage customers to post, in ads with a spontaneous look, and on product and sales pages. Here are the most common uses:

Customer reviews and photos also work well inside email marketing campaigns, where they add credibility to the offer.

Examples of UGC campaigns

• Coca-Cola: in 2011, the “Share a Coke” campaign, launched in Australia, put people’s names on the packaging, and consumers started photographing and posting the bottles with their own names and those of their friends;
• GoPro: the brand built much of its communication on videos recorded by camera users and encourages submissions with prizes and periodic selections;
• Desinchá: the Brazilian tea brand often reposts customer posts and has created short-video challenges to stimulate spontaneous content.

How to encourage your customers to create UGC

To generate UGC, a brand needs to make it easy, ask for it and recognize those who take part. Some ways to do that:

• ask for reviews after the purchase, by email or message, with a direct link;
• create simple hashtags and challenges with clear rules;
• offer rewards, such as discounts, gifts or a feature on the brand’s profile, always for taking part and not in exchange for a positive review;
• repost and thank publicly those who create content, always with permission;
• open space for questions and answers between customers on the site or in the brand’s community, which strengthens relationship marketing;
• deliver a good experience, because no incentive replaces a product worth recommending.

This approach is also a form of collaborative content creation, where the brand organizes and the audience participates.

Risks and precautions when using UGC

Using UGC requires permission, transparency and moderation. The main precautions are:

• ask for permission before using a customer’s photo, video or testimonial, preferably in writing, and agree on where and for how long the content will be used;
• protect personal data, hiding full names and sensitive information, as required by Brazil’s General Data Protection Law;
• make it clear when content is paid: in Brazil, CONAR advises that advertising made by creators be identified as such, for example with “ad” or “paid partnership”;
• never create fake reviews or ask for positive ratings in exchange for benefits, which deceives consumers;
• respond to criticism respectfully: negative comments show transparency and help improve the product;
• moderate what appears on the site and on social media, to avoid offensive or misleading content.

How to measure UGC results

UGC results are measured by the increase in mentions and interactions organically and by the performance of creatives in ads. The main metrics are:

• number of mentions and content tagging the brand on social media;
• interaction on the brand’s profiles and on posts with UGC, which you can track with social media tools;
• number of shares of the posts;
• conversion rate of pages with customer reviews and photos, compared with pages without them;
• in ads, click-through rate, retention in the first seconds of the video and cost per sale of UGC creatives compared with traditional creatives;
• increase in sales after adopting the strategy.

How to become a UGC creator: step by step

To start as a UGC creator, understand the format, choose niches, prepare simple equipment and build a portfolio; then set prices, look for your first clients and formalize the work. The first four steps below prepare what you deliver, and the last four turn that skill into work.

1. Understand the format and what brands look for

Before recording, watch a lot of UGC videos and notice the pattern: conversational language, phone in hand, the product in real use and a clear message. Brands look for content that feels like a sincere recommendation but has a goal, such as generating clicks or sales.

2. Choose niches you have an affinity with

Start with niches you know and use in your daily life, such as beauty, pets, home, technology, food or education. Picking a micro niche makes your portfolio more consistent and makes it easier to talk to brands.

3. Prepare basic equipment

A phone with a good camera, natural light, a tidy background and clean audio already handle most jobs. A tripod and a simple lavalier microphone improve the result a lot. For editing, apps such as CapCut, InShot and Canva are enough at the start, and this list of video recording apps can help.

4. Learn the structure of a good UGC video

Most UGC videos follow a simple structure: a hook in the first seconds, a problem, a product demonstration and a call to action. Vary the formats (unboxing, tutorial, testimonial, before and after) and study video scripting and copywriting so the content feels spontaneous but is not improvised.

5. Build a portfolio, even without clients

Record three to five videos with products you already have at home, as if they were for real brands, and gather everything in an easy-to-open link. It can be a professional social profile, a page on a design tool or an organized folder. What brands want to see is whether you master the format.

6. Set your prices and usage rights

Build a price list per video, packages and the extra fee for use in ads or for a longer period. See the factors that most influence the price just below, in “How much does a UGC creator earn”. If you need a reference on how to set rates, see this guide on pricing.

7. Find your first clients

Offer your work directly to the brands you already buy from, by email or message, with your portfolio link. Freelance work platforms, creator groups and professional networks also gather opportunities. Make it clear in your bio that you make UGC content. Investing in networking with other creators and marketing professionals also helps you get remembered when an opportunity comes up.

8. Formalize the work

Agree on everything in writing: deliverables, deadlines, number of revisions, where the content will be used and for how long. With frequent work, registering a business according to the rules in your country (in Brazil, for example, opening a CNPJ, as a MEI when the activity qualifies) lets you issue invoices, a common requirement of larger brands.

Is UGC paid? How much does a UGC creator earn?

Yes, a UGC creator is paid for the content they deliver, not for followers. There is no official price table, but 2026 market guides indicate that, in Brazil, beginners usually charge from R$ 150 to R$ 500 per video (Brazilian reais), and more experienced creators from R$ 500 to R$ 1,500 or more, according to Airfluencers. In the international market, the average per video is between US$ 150 and US$ 212, according to Influee.

These values vary a lot and do not guarantee income: they depend on the number of jobs closed, experience and negotiation. The factors that weigh most on price are:

• video complexity, such as length, script and editing;
• usage rights, since content used in paid ads or for longer usually costs more;
• exclusivity, when the brand asks you not to work with competitors for a period;
• volume, because monthly packages with several videos usually have a lower price per video;
• extras, such as versions with different hooks, captions or delivery of the raw footage.

At the start, some creators accept barter (the product in exchange for the video) to build their portfolio. It works as a starting point, but the goal is to start charging as soon as you have good examples to show.

Is it worth becoming a UGC creator? Pros and cons

It is worth it for people who enjoy creating videos, communicate well and are willing to treat the work as a business, with prospecting, deadlines and negotiation. Here are the main pros and cons:

Many creators use UGC as a way in and later move into areas such as social media, video production, creative direction or their own digital business. If you are looking for flexible options, you can also explore other ways to work from home.

How to earn even more money with UGC

People who already master the language of UGC (creating authentic content, recording, editing and communicating on video) have the right skill to teach it to others, and to turn that knowledge into a digital product with recurring sales, instead of relying only on one-off jobs. Some possibilities:

• an online course teaching how to start as a UGC creator, from the first video to the first proposal;
• an ebook with scripts, hooks, proposal templates and a pricing table;
• a mentorship to review portfolios and help beginners close their first clients;
• ready-made templates, such as scripts, contracts and business proposals;
• a community or subscription with new scripts, trends and opportunities every month.

The model makes sense because, unlike a one-off job, a product can be sold many times. A study by FGV ECMI with creators on Hotmart, the all-in-one platform for creators who want to create, sell and scale digital products, showed that those who rely on digital product sales as their main source of income earn an average of R$ 11,959 per month. The same study found that only 4% of content producers receive brand sponsorship.

To get started, the advice of entrepreneur Rodrigo Vinhas applies here too:

“Start in the simplest way: one product, one problem and one solution. Stay in that cycle until you make a little money. Then you start investing in yourself first.”

Another opportunity is to serve people who sell digital products: producers and affiliates use UGC-style videos in ads and sales pages. See how to sell online courses and how to create an ebook to turn what you know into a product.

UGC: from spontaneous content to your next business

UGC is the voice of consumers in favor of brands: it builds trust, reduces costs and works on social media, sales pages and ads. For those who create it, it has become an accessible profession that requires technique, organization and negotiation.

If you already know how to create content that convinces, you can go beyond one-off jobs. On Hotmart, you create your free account and turn what you know about UGC into a course, ebook or mentorship. Create my free account

References

• CENTRAL DO VAREJO. Avaliações de consumidores lideram decisão de compra online (O Mapa da Busca no Brasil 2026, Optimiza). Sep. 2026. Available at: https://centraldovarejo.com.br/avaliacoes-de-consumidores-lideram-decisao-de-compra-online/
• OPINION BOX. UGC: saiba o que é conteúdo gerado pelo usuário e por que sua marca precisa dele (Relatório Consumo e Influência). 2026. Available at: https://blog.opinionbox.com/ugc-conteudo-gerado-pelo-usuario/
• GOOGLE. Evolving “nofollow”: new ways to identify the nature of links. Google Search Central Blog, Sep. 2019. Available at: https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2019/09/evolving-nofollow-new-ways-to-identify.html
• BRASIL. Lei nº 13.709, de 14 de agosto de 2018. Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais. Available at: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2015-2018/2018/lei/l13709.htm
• AIRFLUENCERS. Guia completo de UGC Creator: como começar e quanto ganhar. 2026. Available at: https://airfluencers.com/blog/guia-completo-ugc-creator-2026/
• INFLUEE. UGC Rates 2026: The Ultimate Guide With Real Numbers. Available at: https://influee.co/blog/ugc-price
• FGV ECMI. O impacto socioeconômico dos negócios digitais da Creator Economy no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: FGV, 2023. Available at: https://repositorio.fgv.br/server/api/core/bitstreams/613f93ad-85ef-464f-8ab2-77f9ece69377/content
• CONAR. Guia de Publicidade por Influenciadores Digitais. 2021.