Crowdsourcing isn’t just another buzzword. It’s becoming a key part of how modern brands communicate. At its heart, it means inviting your audience, customers, and creators beyond your team to help shape your content. Think along the lines of customer videos, social challenges, or collaborative stories. In a time when polished ads often feel disconnected, people crave content that’s real and relatable.
That’s why user-generated content (UGC), influencer collaborations, and community-led storytelling are taking center stage. According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust content from peers over traditional advertising. And Edelman’s Trust Barometer reinforces that authenticity is now a top currency in brand value.
More and more brands are jumping on board for crowdsourced content marketing, using everything from product testimonials to creative challenges to build trust and stay agile, all while tapping into the creativity of their communities through collaborative content creation.
BrandLens is making this easy. As a video co-creation platform, we allow brands to gather video content using simple, guided prompts: no apps or complicated setups needed. Whether you’re launching a new product or running a community campaign, BrandLens turns everyday users into powerful content creators.
Benefit 1: Access to Diverse Perspectives and Creativity
One of the best parts of crowdsourcing is the diversity it brings. It’s one of the most valuable UGC strategy benefits. Your internal team might know your product inside out, but it’s your customers who bring their own flavor: unique experiences, different backgrounds, and fresh takes that resonate with wider audiences.
Harvard Business Review pointed out that diverse teams make smarter decisions and spark more creativity. That applies directly to content as well. The result? More vibrant, inclusive storytelling.
In retail and eCommerce, shoppers can share styling tips or unboxing moments that feel more authentic than scripted ads. At events, creators can document their experiences from their own cultural lens. This is widely used in experiential marketing agencies. Influencer campaigns come alive with contributions that feel natural, not forced.
With BrandLens, brands can set up prompts like “What’s in Your Bag?” or “Complete This Video” to inspire creative responses and uncover stories they’d never script in-house. This makes collaborative content creation not only possible but also powerful.
In fact, this video co-creation guide breaks down how brands and consumers can team up to create content together, while this article dives into why people actually want to be part of the process.
Benefit 2: Enhanced Authenticity and Trust
UGC consistently outperforms traditional media when it comes to trust. A staggering 92% of people say they trust it more, according to Nielsen. Edelman’s research also shows that peer voices carry more weight than CEOs or brand reps.
This trust-building works across the board:
- Law firms use real testimonials to showcase client success stories.
- Online stores add customer videos directly on product detail pages (PDPs).
- Service providers feature clips from happy clients to highlight quality and dependability.
BrandLens helps guide contributors with on-screen prompts that make the recording process simple and comfortable, while still keeping the content authentic and unscripted.
More and more brands are waking up to the fact that raw, unpolished user-generated content is what’s going viral these days. It’s not just about looking real, it’s about being real. Consumer-generated content (CGC) is quickly becoming a cornerstone for building trust. Just take a look at these legal testimonials; they’re packed with genuine, unscripted success stories that resonate far more than any polished ad ever could.
Benefit 3: Scalable Content Production
Content teams are constantly being asked to do more, faster. But high-quality production eats up time and budget. Video crowdsourcing changes the game for marketing.
By activating fans, customers, and even employees, brands can collect meaningful content quickly and affordably. The Content Marketing Institute highlights this as a major trend scaling creative output by engaging the crowd.
Here’s how that might look:
- Travel and hospitality brands are gathering vacation clips from real guests.
- Companies are asking for employee engagement, like sharing onboarding stories or internal kudos.
- Brands running community campaigns with repeatable formats like “React to This” or “Be a Commentator.”
BrandLens takes all those raw videos and organizes them into ready-to-use branded assets in no time.
This article on employee-generated content shows how team members can step up as authentic, impactful storytellers from within the organization.
Benefit 4: Stronger Community Engagement and Loyalty
What happens when your audience helps shape your story? They become part of it. And that’s how loyalty starts to deepen. This is one of the biggest co-created content advantages.
Psychologists say participation builds ownership and emotional connection. Sprout Social even found that community-driven engagement leads to more meaningful relationships and lasting loyalty.
Real-world examples:
- Influencer marketing agencies are inviting fans to join duet challenges.
- Media brands like sports and entertainment are remixing fan reactions into official content.
- Retailers are showcasing customer hacks and style tips.
BrandLens prompts like “What makes you a fan?” or “Tell us your story with a certain brand” spark these interactions naturally, turning casual followers into passionate participants.
You can explore why participation drives loyalty and how collaborative content builds trust by checking out these insightful reads.
Benefit 5: Future-Proofing Your Content Strategy
Marketing will keep evolving, but the need for real, flexible, and relatable content isn’t going anywhere. Crowdsourcing helps brands stay agile and relevant in a shifting landscape.
With the rise of micro-influencers, AI tools, and short-form video, content strategies need to move fast. Crowdsourcing gives brands the flexibility to experiment, adapt, and deliver without missing a beat.
Wistia’s Video Marketing in 2025 predicts that user-first videos will outperform polished campaigns on both engagement and retention. Nielsen agrees—real, peer-made content is what audiences trust the most.
eCommerce is already embracing this with shoppable videos created by users themselves. And with a tool like BrandLens, you can keep up as trends shift, without losing that personal touch.
eCommerce brands are already tapping into UGC to power shoppable video experiences that boost conversions. At the same time, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies are turning to user-submitted reviews, recipe demos, and lifestyle content to keep their products front and center in a noisy marketplace.
Curious how UGC stacks up against automated content? This side-by-side comparison lays it all out. And if you’re diving deeper into the creator economy, this piece unpacks what UGC really means beyond just influencers.
Case Study Spotlight: UNICEF and the Power of Real Stories
To see the impact of crowdsourced content in action, take a look at the recent collaboration between UNICEF and BrandLens. In honor of National Breastfeeding Month, UNICEF set out to create a campaign that went beyond the usual educational brochures—and instead, focused on the real-life stories of parents.
What They Did:
- UNICEF launched a video co-creation campaign using BrandLens.
- Parents were invited to share their breastfeeding journeys—both the highs and the challenges.
- The experience was made simple and accessible with mobile-friendly prompts and no app required.
The Results:
- A powerful library of heartfelt, diverse video stories was created.
- The content felt genuine and deeply human, resonating with a wide audience.
- Emotional connection led to increased shares, organic engagement, and positive sentiment across UNICEF’s social channels.
Why It Mattered:
- The campaign did more than just inform—it amplified underrepresented voices and fostered a sense of community and solidarity among parents.
- It opened the door to honest conversations around maternal health, helping to normalize and destigmatize the topic.
- Most importantly, it built trust, a critical component of effective public health messaging.
How BrandLens Helped:
- Simplified the collection of UGC with easy, guided prompts.
- Enabled UNICEF to curate and repurpose authentic stories into a meaningful educational resource.
- Provided a scalable, flexible solution for community-powered storytelling.
This case highlights how video crowdsourcing isn’t just for commercial brands. It’s a powerful tool for any organization looking to make a real impact through authentic, human-driven content.
Let’s wrap it all up. Crowdsourcing isn’t a short-term trick but a smart, sustainable strategy. From building trust and boosting creativity to scaling quickly and future-proofing your efforts, the benefits are clear.
Platforms like BrandLens take the guesswork out of the process, giving brands the tools to work with their communities in meaningful, scalable ways. Whether you’re collecting reviews, running a challenge, or telling a shared story, it’s easier than ever to create content that connects.
With BrandLens, you can keep up with evolving formats while staying flexible, fast, and most importantly, authentic.See how BrandLens can amplify your crowdsourced content strategy. Book a Demo today.
