UGC vs Influencers: What’s Right For Your Ads Strategy
Have you ever stumbled across a social media post that you didn’t initially realize was an ad? Chances are, you’ve been exposed to User-Generated Content (UGC) and Influencer Marketing without even realizing it.
In today’s digital age, authenticity reigns supreme. UGC and Influencer Marketing serve as two powerful tools for brands to connect with audiences in a genuine and impactful way. From unboxing to day-in-the-life videos, everyday consumers and social media influencers are reshaping the way brands are driving engagement and how they’re perceived.
Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know about UGC and Influencer Marketing:
What Is UGC?
UGC (User-Generated Content) is a style of photography and video typically shot using an iPhone, providing an unpolished, authentic vibe. The results offer a glimpse of what a product or service actually looks like in a real-life situation. Rather than deal with the expenses and hassle of a professional photoshoot, UGC is an affordable and successful method of creating compelling assets for social.
What Is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer Marketing involves partnering with content creators who have strong online presences and loyal audiences of potential customers. Think of influencer marketing as mini celebrity endorsements. This strategy can help you build brand awareness and generate more conversions by reaching a variety of audiences. Users can be more likely to convert if someone they follow and admire endorses the product. Because influencers specialize in crafting digital content, they can produce ads that seamlessly blend in with users’ feeds.
*An important note: Influencers can create UGC-style ads, but not all UGC needs to originate with influencers.
Read Our Other blog: Could Influencers be the key to great marketing?
UGC vs. Influencer Marketing:
UGC is a highly affordable and agile strategy for brands to create engaging content. Influencer marketing, on the other hand, can require more budget depending on the size of the creator.
Although UGC is a relatively simple concept, there are nuances and advanced approaches you can take to optimize results. UGC Creators are individuals who specialize in crafting authentic content that can be used by brands in their paid social strategy. They charge significantly less than influencers; with influencers, you’re paying for exposure and the ability to reach a new audience.
With UGC creators, content is created for your brand, and your brand only — it’s not posted on the creators’ channels. Generally, the brand has full control over what is created based on the brand’s strategy and content goals.
Influencers are valuable to brands because of their online presence. The bigger the following, the higher the cost, but also the higher the chances a product or service is seen by a new audience. Promoting products in their own distinct style that their followers know and love makes influencers’ content easy to engage with.
Influencers generally post the ads they create to their own personal accounts in order to reach their particular audience. With UGC, brands post the content directly to their own feeds in order to build credibility and trust.
Also Read: The Importance Of Images – UGC Vs. Professional Photos
Which Strategy Is Right For You?
UGC
UGC works well for lifestyle products that consumers use daily. By portraying products in a natural setting, the end result feels more organic and native to users’ feeds. This strategy can also help third-party reviews appear more authentic and trustworthy.
UGC — whether created in-house or with an agency like GeistM — gives your business more control over the final output. We work with creators to create engaging content based on clients’ needs and goals. From the script to the final edit, creators work closely with our expert team to ensure the final content piece will resonate with audiences.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is an exceptional strategy for brands trying to break into niche markets. Many influencers focus on one specific topic, like fashion, fitness, food, or wellness. Because their followers share a similar interest, brands can reach audiences that precisely match their desired demographic. When influencers showcase products, consumers can develop a more positive association and intensify their connection with the brand.
Influencers are categorized based on follower count:
- Nano-Influencers:1K–10K followers
- Micro-Influencers: 10K–100K followers
- Macro-Influencers:100K–1M followers
- Mega or Celebrity Influencers:1M+ followers
Each of these groups have their own pros and cons. Nano and micro-influencers tend to have more engaged followings and charge much lower rates. Granted, their reach will be much smaller, but the higher engagement rates will make up for it. A recent study found that micro-influencers generate a 6% engagement rate on Instagram, compared to mega influencers’ 1.97% engagement rate.
Despite their high cost, partnering with macro and mega influencers also has a number of unique benefits. The first one obviously being their massive reach — getting millions of eyes on your product is invaluable for any brand. This can be great for quick sales and even garner earned media attention if the collaboration is large enough.
GeistM Tip: Before partnering with an influencer, always check their engagement rates. Many large creators’ follower counts are not indicative of their actual reach (an account with 1 million followers that only averages a couple of hundred likes on each post is a red flag). So in order to ensure you’re getting your money’s worth, double-check whether their engagement adds up.
Overall, micro-influencers are definitely a more cost-effective option, so we only recommend partnering with macro and mega influencers if you’ve got large budgets or a specific goal in mind.
Key Takeaways:
- UGC is a cost-effective strategy for creating authentic, native content for paid media
- UGC is about creating content for a brand’s platform only — it’s not posted on the creator’s channel
- Anyone can take UGC, but brands can hire UGC creators and agencies for specific needs.
- Influencer marketing allows brands to tap into niche markets and build brand awareness.
- Influencer marketing is about exposing a brand, product, or service to a new or different audience.
- Influencers aim to “influence” their audience to purchase or use a product or service, UGC involves creating content for the brand’s own use — hence the cost difference.
- Micro-influencers offer high engagement rates for lower budgets, while macro and mega influencers provide massive reach.
Why Choose GeistM?
Are you interested in UGC or influencer marketing but don’t know where to start? GeistM is here to help. Our Growth Marketing experts will guide you based on your business and goals. We’ve developed hundreds of marketing strategies across dozens of industries and attained thousands of customers for our clients.
Our in-house creative team excels at creating beautiful UGC that will generate maximum engagement and conversion rates. We also regularly collaborate with UGC creators and influencers to help our clients’ reach specific demographics. With these tailored strategies, we pride ourselves on producing authentic content that drives serious results.
So, instead of struggling to figure this all out yourselves, contact us today!
