User-generated content (UGC) has evolved far beyond selfies and customer reviews. Nowadays, it includes raw, emotionally honest and unpolished UGC videos, such as product reactions, short testimonials, behind-the-scenes stories, and real-time experiences captured by fans, customers, or employees.
Why is this shift happening now? Because audiences crave authenticity. In 2025, brand storytelling is about human-first narratives. And UGC is how brands are making that pivot, bringing real voices, faces, and stories into the spotlight.
UGC is more than just “content from users.” It’s a content strategy built around community, trust, and scalability. Brands are turning to platforms like BrandLens to co-create guided, high-quality video content, without requiring app downloads or complicated production.
Whether you’re a startup looking to build brand awareness or an enterprise aiming to scale storytelling, UGC is your creative unlock.
The Strategic Value of UGC in Content Marketing
UGC marketing strategy isn’t just trending, it’s outperforming traditional branded content across every vertical.
Why it works:
- Trust Factor: 42% of consumers trust user reviews as much as personal recommendations. UGC earns attention by being real.
- Performance Across Channels: From TikTok to email campaigns, UGC fills gaps and lifts engagement metrics.
- Cost Efficiency: It’s cheaper and faster than traditional video shoots, while delivering stronger results.
UGC is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a core asset in content marketing with UGC strategies for companies aiming to grow authentically and efficiently.
Creating High-Impact UGC Videos with BrandLens
Unlike generic collection tools, BrandLens doesn’t just gather UGC; it guides participants through storytelling with on-screen prompts, brand-safe overlays, and AI-driven moderation, turning raw video into high-quality content. Creating scalable, impactful UGC video content is easier than ever with the right platform.
Here’s how it works with BrandLens:
- Create a Campaign: Set up your campaign with custom pages, prompts, and creative scenes.
- Share the Link or QR Code: Distribute via link or QR code. No app or downloads needed. Access is instant.
- Users Record Guided Videos: Participants follow guided prompts to submit videos easily. Prompts keep stories on-brand.
- Videos Auto-Organized & Tagged: Videos appear instantly in your content library. They are automatically organized and tagged by the platform, with AI handling the heavy lifting to streamline scalable UGC collection.
- Publish: Share galleries privately or publicly, and embed anywhere.
Why is Video Content Important?
More consumers now say that reviews with photos or videos (up by 3%) and those that are lengthy and detailed (up by 7%) make them feel more confident about selecting a local business. And more than 75% of US consumers watch video content when researching local businesses, which says so much about the importance of consumer-generated content.
Video conveys emotion, voice, and context that photos or text never could. That’s why it’s the dominant format in UGC content marketing strategy today.
What are the Brandlens’ features?
- App-Free Recording: Frictionless access for users.
- Scene-by-Scene Guidance: Think Canva, but for video co-creation.
- AI Tagging & Moderation: Organize your content as it’s submitted.
- Branded Templates: Maintain consistency across submissions.
Use it for:
- Product tutorials
- Story-driven testimonials
- Employee-generated content, such as introductions and company culture showcases
- Video challenges and interactive campaigns
From fan shout-outs to structured how-tos, BrandLens turns scattered content into authentic content creation that scales.
UGC in Action: Use Cases Across Industries
Let’s look at how UGC for content creators and brands shines in different verticals, with real BrandLens campaign examples:
- Retail & eCommerce
Retailers are using UGC to bridge the gap between in-store interaction and online engagement. Brands like Hershey’s used BrandLens to rethink the gifting experience completely. With QR codes on packaging, customers recorded personal video messages and attached them to Hershey’s Kisses boxes. The result? Gifting became emotional and memorable, and engagement skyrocketed, showcasing how UGC drives product page performance and brand love. This case study is also a great example for consumer-packaged goods.
Other CPG activations include:
- Product Reviews: Real users record testimonial-style clips.
- Unboxings: Customers share first impressions and reactions.
- Challenges: Fun, branded video prompts that go viral.
These strategies reinforce trust and reduce dependence on polished ad content.
- Restaurants
UGC adds flavor to the dining experience by turning restaurant customers into brand storytellers. You can use UGC for:
- First-Bite Reactions: Capture spontaneous joy with instant video prompts.
- Loyalty Content: Diners share why they keep coming back.
- Sample Prompt: “What’s your go-to order and why?” This builds a repository of real voices advocating for the menu.
- Gifting & Flowers
Gifting companies use user-generated content (UGC) to give their products a more meaningful context. For example, Hershey’s personalized gifting lets buyers attach heartfelt videos to chocolate boxes. The famous unboxing and reacting is another emotional storytelling that builds authenticity and encourages repeat purchase behavior, especially during holidays or special occasions.
- Employee Engagement
UGC isn’t just for external marketing. Internal teams use it to foster culture and employee engagement. For example, in the case of Dartmouth Health Campaign, staff members used BrandLends to record appreciation videos for colleagues. These were used for onboarding, milestones, and morale-boosting initiatives, helping HR build a human-centered culture.
- Experiential Events
Capture the magic of in-person events and scale it online. For example, live reaction booths are a great idea for experiential events during which attendees record real-time video reactions at sport or concerts or any other major event. In the case of MasterCard’s Priceless Moments, event attendees recorded real-time reactions at live events, creating authentic brand testimonials, transforming crowd energy into usable marketing assets.
Each story amplifies brand voice with community participation without needing studio time.
How to Build a Scalable UGC Content Strategy
Creating a user-generated content strategy that scales is part creativity, part infrastructure. Here’s how to nail it:
- Define Clear Goals
- Awareness? Testimonials? Internal culture? Each has a different format.
- Example: Predict-the-Score fan contests for sports (like the Champions League).
- Choose the Right Format
- Reactions, interviews, challenges, explainer clips, or unboxings.
- Example: “My Battle Station” videos for esports brands.
- Build a Creative Structure
- Storyboards, text prompts, countdown transitions, overlays.
- BrandLens makes this seamless with guided recording templates.
- Deploy Smartly
- Share links across packaging, receipts, emails, or social posts.
- Automate moderation, rights management, and tagging.
- Track, Optimize, Repeat
- Use BrandLens AI analytics to evaluate video completion rates, reactions, and downstream engagement.
Campaign Tip: Use episodic flows or “Finish the Scene” templates to keep audiences coming back with each new video prompt.
Today’s audiences want connection, not commercials. And UGC delivers that fast, cost-effectively, and at scale. Whether you’re in retail, education, events, or internal communications, integrating authentic content creation into your workflows with BrandLens ensures your brand remains relatable, relevant, and real.
From predict-the-score contests to emotional gifting moments, the future of storytelling is co-created. Ready to upgrade your UGC game? See what BrandLens can do, request a demo today.
