How to use user-generated content in video marketing

User-generated content (UGC) is video made by your customers, fans or community rather than by your brand. To use it in video marketing, invite it with a clear brief or challenge, collect it with written permission, then feature it in your social feeds, website, ads and longer films, often mixed with professionally shot footage.

What counts as user-generated video?

User-generated video is any video about your brand, product or service made by people outside your organisation. Common types include:

• Reviews and unboxings filmed by customers.
• How-I-use-it clips showing the product in real life.
• Responses to a challenge or prompt you set, often under a hashtag.
• Event footage shot by attendees on their phones.
• Creator content made by influencers or customers you've commissioned. Strictly this is paid content rather than organic UGC, and it has to be labelled as such (more on that below).

Why does user-generated video work?

User-generated video works because it comes from someone other than the brand. A customer showing how they use your product is more believable than an advert saying the same thing, because the viewer knows the customer isn't being paid to say it (or, if they are, it's labelled).

It has other practical advantages:

• Volume. A community can produce far more footage than a marketing team, which helps feed social channels that need a steady stream of content.
• Real-life context. UGC shows your product in real homes, offices and situations, which polished footage often can't.
• Community. Featuring customers' content makes them feel part of the brand, and encourages others to join in.

It isn't free, though. Running a campaign, reviewing submissions, getting permissions and editing the best clips into something usable all take time.

How do you encourage customers to make videos?

You encourage customers to make videos by asking clearly and making it easy. A few approaches that work:

• Set a simple prompt or challenge. Tell people exactly what to film, how long it should be and where to post it. A specific idea ("show us your setup in 15 seconds") gets more and better entries than "share your story".
• Use a dedicated hashtag so you can find submissions and people can see each other's.
• Offer recognition or a prize. Being featured on your channels is often reward enough. If you run a competition, publish clear terms.
• Ask at the right moment. Just after purchase, after a good support experience or at an event, when people are most engaged.
• Show examples. Share a few good entries early to show what you're looking for.

How can you use UGC in your video marketing?

Once you have good footage, there are several ways to use it:

• Social media. Reshare the best clips, with credit, as part of your regular content.
• Product pages and websites. Short real-customer clips next to the product answer "what is it like in real life?".
• Paid ads. UGC-style clips often fit naturally into social feeds. You'll need explicit permission to use someone's content in advertising.
• Compilations and highlight reels. Several customer clips edited together around one theme can be stronger than any single one.
• Mixed with professional footage. A brand film or ad can combine customer clips with professionally shot scenes, interviews and graphics. The UGC adds credibility, and the professional footage adds structure and polish.
• Live events and launches. Showing community clips on screen at an event or during a livestream rewards contributors in front of their peers.

A well-known example is Apple's "Shot on iPhone" campaign, which began in 2015 by putting customers' own photos on billboards and then added short films shot by iPhone users to TV and online advertising.

Do you need permission to use customer videos?

Yes. The person who filmed a video owns the copyright in it, under Ireland's Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000. The fact that it's posted publicly, or tags your brand, doesn't give you the right to reuse it, and platform terms that let you reshare within the app don't usually cover using it in your own ads or on your website.

Before you use someone's video:

• Get permission in writing, saying where and for how long you'll use it (social, website, paid ads).
• Check who else is in it. People who can be identified in the footage may also need to agree, especially for advertising. Be particularly careful with children.
• Check the music. Many clips use tracks that are licensed only for use on the platform where they were posted. You'll usually need to replace the music in a clip you reuse elsewhere.
• Credit the creator where you share it, unless they've asked not to be named.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. For a large campaign, especially one involving paid ads or competitions, get your terms checked.

Do you need to label user-generated or influencer content?

If you've paid for content, given free products or otherwise influenced what someone posts, it's advertising and must be labelled. In Ireland, joint guidance from the CCPC and the ASAI says commercial content should be clearly labelled "#Ad" in a way that's instantly obvious to viewers. Gifted products the brand hasn't otherwise influenced can be labelled "#gifted".

Genuinely organic content that a customer posted unprompted doesn't need labelling by them. But once you reuse it in your own advertising, it's your ad.

What makes a UGC campaign go wrong?

The most common problems are:

• No permission. Reusing someone's video without asking can damage the goodwill you were trying to build, and create legal problems.
• No brief. Vague requests produce footage you can't use.
• Poor sound or framing. Phone footage is fine, but unusable audio isn't. Give contributors a few simple tips (film in the orientation you ask for, face the light, find a quiet spot).
• Off-brand or risky content. Review everything before you share it, including what's in the background.
• Forgetting the contributors. Thank people, credit them and show them where their content ended up.

How does UGC fit with professional video?

UGC works best alongside professionally made video, not instead of it. Customer clips bring credibility and volume. A professionally produced film brings a clear story, consistent quality and footage you fully own. Many campaigns use a professional film as the centrepiece and UGC to keep the conversation going around it.

For the professionally made side, our guide to video testimonials covers filming real customers properly, and our post on turning one video into ten pieces of content shows how to get more from each shoot. If you're planning a campaign, see our brand films and advertising work or get a ballpark figure from our instant quote calculator.