That's why influencer marketing has grown so fast and why user-generated content (UGC) has the opportunity to become a powerful tool for brands. When someone outside the brand creates authentic content about a product, it feels more real and relatable, says the agency.

Now combine that with influencer marketing, and individuals can have a mix that boosts credibility and engagement in a way polished brand campaigns rarely can. Famesters offers its advice on how brands can put UGC to work through influencer partnerships, adds the agency.

What UGC Really is and Why it Matters

UGC, or user-generated content, is simply any piece of content — photos, videos, reviews, or even memes — that comes from real people, not the brand itself. Think of someone sharing a picture of their morning coffee with a favorite mug, or recording a quick video about how they styled a new jacket. These posts don't feel like intrusive ads, and that's exactly why they work: they feel natural, says the agency.

There are different types of UGC that play into influencer marketing:

  • Content From Everyday Users: Reviews, unboxing videos, selfies with products, or funny TikToks. Ordinary people showing their experience.
  • Content Created by Influencers Themselves: Influencers may film product demos, tutorials, or daily-use videos. While this looks polished, it still feels more personal than brand ads.
  • Influencers Curating UGC: Instead of always creating from scratch, influencers can highlight or react to content made by their audience. For example, a fitness influencer might share transformation photos submitted by followers using a certain protein brand.
  • Campaign-Driven UGC: Challenges, hashtags and contests where audiences are prompted to join in. For instance, a clothing brand asking people to post their "day-to-night" outfits with a hashtag.

The power of UGC is that it multiplies a brand's reach and trust. Influencers showcase a product, and their audience adds their own content around it. For brands, this means a ripple of authentic stories that feel less like advertising and more like genuine recommendations, says the agency.

The benefits stack up quickly. UGC builds trust because it comes from real voices. It adds variety. Hundreds of different perspectives instead of one scripted campaign. It saves creative resources, because every new customer story is another piece of content a brand can feature (with permission). And it keeps engagement high, since people love seeing peers, not just models, using a product in everyday life, adds the agency.

For brands, UGC is like having a living, breathing marketing library constantly being updated by the people who actually use their product. When influencers guide and amplify this process, the brand not only talks to its audience, but lets the audience talk back, says the agency.

Use UGC to Build Social Proof

Brands are realising that influencer marketing brings in better-quality customers. In fact, the Influencer Marketing Report released by Famesters agency, says that 83.8% of companies believe customers gained from influencer campaigns are higher quality compared to other marketing channels. This is where UGC fits in to convince people that the brand has already won over real users, making it easier for others to follow, says the agency.

The magic happens when influencers don't just post about a brand but inspire their audience to create content too. That's when UGC and influencer marketing start feeding each other. When UGC comes through an influencer's community, it works like social proof multiplied. One campaign can spark hundreds or even thousands of posts from fans, each one adding to the pool of authentic, relatable content, adds the agency.

For brands, this becomes a constant stream of videos, photos and reviews they can reuse across their own channels if they acquire the rights to this content. And engagement rates soar because people are not just watching but participating, says the agency.

Take beauty brand REFY and their campaigns. They took UGC to another level by involving their community directly in campaigns. They hosted pop-up studios in LA and London, inviting influencers of all backgrounds to test a new product and become part of the launch, adds the agency.

In the end people used the products and shared it across their socials giving REFY a ton of relatable UGS of their brand being used by real people. This approach consistently goes viral, making every move a marketing success and giving the brand content for their future campaigns, says the agency.

Blend UGC Into Paid Campaigns for More Reach

Influencers don't have to start from scratch for every campaign. 37.1% of brands choose influencers mainly for their content production skills, which includes the ability to remix and spotlight existing UGC. For instance, a beauty influencer might feature a compilation of everyday customers using a skincare product, adding their commentary on why it works. It's less polished than a TV commercial, but it feels more authentic, says the agency.

54.3% of brands say they measure influencer success by reach and impressions. But the reach of UGC doesn't have to stop at the influencer's page. UGC-driven influencer posts can be turned into ads, banners, or even website testimonials. The relatability of this content means it performs better in paid campaigns than studio-produced assets, adds the agency.

That stays true for any sector brands are working in. For instance, Mobile Apps Report by Famesters shows that campaigns where creators co-design the script can see CPIs 50-70% lower and day-30 retention 25-30% higher compared to using a generic brief. Many UA teams now use influencer-generated content and UGC not just as posts but as assets for their paid campaigns, says the agency.

Instead of buying a slot on an influencer's feed, brands pay for the video rights and then run that content in TikTok Spark Ads, Meta Advantage+, or even app store listings. This keeps creative fresh, slashes CPI and ensures a steady stream of authentic-looking ads that feel like peer recommendations. For apps battling rising CPMs, this approach is both cheaper and faster than waiting on new studio shoots, while still delivering install growth, adds the agency.

Opera GX x Famesters

An example of how UGC and paid campaigns can work together is the Opera GX project with Famesters. Opera GX wanted to reach gamers, build awareness and strengthen loyalty. The campaign's goals were clear: engage passionate PC gamers and even tech enthusiasts, expand reach, boost engagement and lower CPM in Tier 1 countries, says the agency.

To achieve this, Famesters used their AI-driven analytical tools with the aim to identify not only gaming influencers but also creators from the Science and Tech niche, an audience Opera had never tapped into before, adds the agency.

The results aim to speak for themselves: Opera GX widened its coverage and lowered CPM compared to industry benchmark. More than 200 influencers took part, producing 317 videos that reached over 61-million views. Names like LilAggy, Dante Ravioli and Bigpuffer contributed videos that drew hundreds of thousands to millions of views, says the agency. 

The execution went beyond just influencer posts. Famesters also purchased the intellectual property rights to a successful and high-quality UGC. These videos were transferred to Opera, giving the brand full ownership. With these rights, Opera GX repurposed the most engaging clips for future ad campaigns. Instead of paying just for a one-off post, Opera aimed to have valuable ad-ready content to power paid campaigns long after the original collaboration, adds the agency.

Encourage Community Participation Through Influencers

UGC doesn't just appear on its own. The best influencer campaigns are set up to invite it. A clear, catchy hashtag makes it easy for people to join in. Calls to action should be simple too, things like "post your look with #MyDenimLook", or "share a 15-second video showing your results", says the agency. 

Adding incentives helps: people are far more likely to post if they know they might be featured on the brand's page or win a prize. And then there are challenges and trends. Partnering with influencers to launch a challenge or jump on a trend that naturally fits the brand product can spark hundreds of posts from their audience, adds the agency.

Influencers can do more than post, they can rally their communities. When influencers invite followers to share their own photos, videos, or stories with a product, participation skyrockets, says the agency.

That's why long-term partnerships can make it easier for influencers to build community-driven content challenges. 63.2% of brands now prefer long-term partnerships with influencers, because their audience sees them as genuinely connected to the brand, adds the agency.

The smartest brands go beyond counting clicks. They read comments, track repeat purchases and analyse how UGC influences brand sentiment over time. That's how they know which campaigns are not just creating noise but actually converting followers into loyal customers, says the agency.

The main takeaway: UGC keeps marketing human. People are tired of ads that feel scripted. What they want to see is how real people use products, what they say about them and how those products fit into everyday life. That's why UGC can work so well, because it carries the honesty that traditional campaigns often lack, adds the agency.

For brands, this isn't just about riding a trend. UGC can save money, fuels creativity and give individuals a stream of content they can use again and again. When paired with influencers, it can do even more, says the agency.

It can spread the word faster and inspires communities to talk back, creating a loop of trust and engagement. And with content rights secured, the best posts don't disappear after a week, they keep working in ads, emails and product pages for months or even years, adds the agency.

In short, UGC has the capability to provide the kind of proof and authenticity that helps brands grow stronger connections, lower acquisition costs and stay relevant in the long run, concludes the agency.

For more information, visit www.famesters.com. You can also follow Famesters on LinkedIn, Facebook, or on X.

*Image courtesy of contributor