The do’s and don’ts of UGC in paid media
- Jack Carr
- Reading time: 6 minutes
In recent years, paid media has evolved in an important way. The ads that deliver the strongest results aren’t always the most polished or perfectly produced. Instead, it’s the human, slightly messier, slightly more real, creator-led content. The kind that feels right at home in a social feed.
This shift isn’t random, and it’s not going away. Creator content has become a key performance driver across Google, Meta, TikTok and beyond. For anyone focused on efficiency, scalability, and relevance, it’s now an essential part of the mix.
This shift isn’t random, and it’s not going away. Creator content has become a key performance driver across Google, Meta, TikTok and beyond. For anyone focused on efficiency, scalability, and relevance, it’s now an essential part of the mix.
That’s why we’ve created our Do’s and Don’ts for UGC in paid media. We hope it gives you a clear, practical guide to what works.
Creative Strategy
✓ DO’S
- Build volume and variety: Multiple creators, hooks, and angles.
- Strategic Casting: Match creators to customer segments, not brand aspiration.
- Use UGC across the funnel:
- TOF: education, relatability, stopping the scroll
- MOF: proof, reassurance, social validation
- BOF: support conversions alongside DR assets
✗ DONT’S
- Substitution: Replace all performance creative with UGC.
- Hero Scaling: Expect one ‘hero’ creator video to scale indefinitely.
- Production Bias: Assume higher production value = higher performance.
Briefing Creators
✓ DO’S
- Flexible Briefing: Brief with prompts not scripts.
- Core Definitions: Key message, Product truth, and Audience content.
- Encourage creators to: Speak naturally, use their own language, and lean into their lived experience.
✗ DONT’S
- Micromanagement: Overly control tone, wording or delivery.
- Brand Imposition: Force ‘brand voice’ into creator content.
- Aesthetic Priority: Optimise for aesthetics before performance.
Testing & Measurement
✓ DO’S
- Environment: Launch UGC in controlled test environments.
- Defined Testing:
- If it’s your hook, then thumb stop rate
- If it’s your closer, then video completion / CTR
- If it’s your offer, then CVR
- Multi-Source Data: Pull data from automated connectors (Meta/TikTok/Shopify) into dashboards for on-the-fly analysis.
✗ DONT’S
- Premature Scaling: Drop UGC into high-spend ad sets and expect strong performance immediately.
- Gut-Feel Kills: Kill assets based on gut feel or early bias.
- Single-Metric Focus: Judge performance on one metric alone.
Publishing Models
✓ DO’S
- Distribution Mix: Use creator-posted, brand-handle UGC, and pure paid-only creator assets.
- Messenger Choice: Let creators front the message where brand perception really matters.
✗ DONT’S
- Placement Assumption: Assume all UGC must live on the brand or creator accounts.
- Brand Feed Clashes: Over-associate raw creator content with premium brand feeds.
AI & UGC
✓ DO’S
- Leverage AI for: Variations, speed/scaling testing, and product visualisation.
- Augmentation Mindset: Treat AI as augmentation, not as a complete substitution.
✗ DONT’S
- Avatar Deception: Present AI avatars as real customers; you’ll lose trust.
- Testimonial Reliance: Rely on AI talking-head testimonials.
- Short-Termism: Trade short-term CTR for long-term brand trust.
A lot to digest from our Do’s and Don’ts…
To cement the key points you need to take away, here are our Golden Rules and the Common Pitfalls you need to avoid:
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