User-generated content (UGC) is any content created not by the brand itself, but by its loyal fans, customers, influencers, brand ambassadors, or the wider audience. Your consumers take part of the work off your hands by producing content that highlights your products or services. At its best, UGC gives you a steady stream of fresh material to share, helping you grow brand awareness, attract new customers, and foster a genuine community around your business. After all, word of mouth is famously one of the best ways to reach new customers, and today this also works online with users recommending your products to others.

Why should you use UGC in your consumer businesses?

• Build trust through authenticity and social proof 

Audiences have had enough of typical ads: 74% of people said they are tired of social media ads. Instead, they want to see real people sharing their real experiences with a product or service. That’s where user-generated content comes in. UGC is built on authenticity, which 86% of consumers believe is important to support a brand. Unlike polished sales pitches, UGC feels genuine because it comes from everyday users. 

The numbers back this up: people are 3.1x more likely to say UGC is authentic compared to brand-made content, and 5.9x more likely to say that user-generated content is the most authentic compared to influencer content. With endless choices available on the internet, users don’t waste time on brands they don’t trust. UGC doubles as social proof with users openly sharing their honest feedback and showing new customers that your product is trusted by those who bought it.

• Increase brand awareness 

When your customers post about your product, their followers see it and instantly expand your brand’s visibility beyond your own channels. On platforms like TikTok and Instagram, personal profiles and authentic content often outperform brand accounts, generating more engagement and organic reach. This means new potential customers can stumble upon your product naturally in their feeds. In fact, 81% of TikTok users say the platform introduced them to something they didn’t know they liked, and 80% of Instagram users say the app helps them decide whether to buy.

One famous example of UGC is Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke campaign: by printing names on bottles, Coca-Cola inspired people to share photos with their Coke on social media. With success: The hashtag #ShareACoke has now surpassed a billion impressions, and the campaign increased Coca-Cola’s revenue in 2014 by 11% compared to 2013. 

• Save money with an endless stream of content 

For many organizations, producing consistent, high-quality content is a constant challenge, especially with small teams and limited resources. When done right, UGC provides a consistent flow of user-made photos, videos, and reviews, saving brands from spending hundreds of thousands on TV commercials or polished social media campaigns. It also takes pressure off your marketing team, freeing them to focus on strategy instead of nonstop content creation.

• Increase your conversion rates and drive sales 

Word-of-mouth is one of the most effective deciding factors in sales, and UGC brings that influence online. In a survey by Nosto, 79% of people said that UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions. A glowing review or authentic testimonial video can be the final nudge that convinces an undecided customer to hit “buy.”

• Learn from your audience 

UGC is a goldmine of feedback, offering direct insight into how customers experience your brand. It shows what people value about your product, how they talk about it, and how they use it in their daily lives. You can take this language to refine your marketing copy, lean into the voice of happy customers, and even spot opportunities for product improvements. UGC gives you an insight into what frustrates your customers about your product or what features they wish existed. This is the kind of real-world experience you won’t find in a focus group. 

UGC offers a window into consumer feedback, both good and bad. This helps to quickly identify and respond to unsolicited crises or PR issues, minimizing the impact on brand reputation.

The Different Types of UGC (on TikTok)

TikTok thrives on creativity, authenticity, and community participation, making it the perfect platform for user-generated content (UGC). From viral challenges to lifestyle videos, UGC comes in many forms, each helping brands connect with audiences in a more engaging and relatable way. Let’s explore the most popular types of TikTok UGC and how they work.

• Product reviews and ratings 

Product ratings and reviews are the most common and often the most impactful form of UGC. In fact, nine out of ten consumers say they consider reviews before buying. They’re everywhere, from e-commerce sites to platforms like Yelp and Google Maps, and you can also showcase them directly on your own website and in marketing materials. Depending on your industry, certain platforms carry extra weight.

On TikTok this is the form of UGC where users showcase, test, or explain products in short videos. These posts are effective because they provide social proof—audiences trust real users more than advertisements. They may include “before and after” skincare routines, unboxing experiences for tech gadgets, or step-by-step tutorials. For instance, beauty brands often see users creating makeup tutorials featuring their products, which not only boosts credibility but also introduces the product to new audiences in an authentic and relatable way.

Example of a product review from TikTok #cleantok

• Visual UGC 

Visual UGC is the go-to content on social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram. Photos and videos provide real proof that customers are enjoying your product, whether it’s someone’s skin improving after using a new cleanser or their pet playing with a new toy. With the “TikTokification” of social media, audiences are used to engaging with visual-first content, which is not only more engaging but also more likely to go viral. Encouraging users to share their own experiences can create a community-driven ecosystem of content around your brand.

A great example is GoPro, which invites users to capture and share their most exhilarating moments, from extreme sports to epic travels. Many of these videos have gone viral, showcasing the product's durability and versatility, including Felix Baumgartner’s freefall from the stratosphere.

• Hashtag Challenges

Hashtag challenges are campaigns where brands or creators encourage users to produce content around a specific branded or trending hashtag. They work because they turn content creation into a participatory, community-driven experience, often leading to viral moments. Users enjoy showing off their creativity, and the hashtag aggregates thousands of contributions in one searchable feed.

A classic example is Guess’s #InMyDenim challenge, which invited users to share outfit transformations in short, stylish videos. The campaign generated massive engagement, with thousands of authentic user-generated posts highlighting the brand.

Duets and Stitches

Duets and stitches allow TikTok users to interact directly with existing content. In a duet, a user can appear side-by-side with an original video, while a stitch lets them integrate part of another video into their own. This works well because it encourages engagement, collaboration, and amplification of content while giving users creative freedom.

For example, a fitness brand might post a workout tutorial, and users can duet it to demonstrate their own versions of the exercises, effectively creating thousands of user-driven variations while promoting the brand organically.

Existing UGC creators are another category of influencers who can become loyal advocates for your brand. User-generated content (UGC) in the form of reviews, testimonials, or collaborations showcases real-life experiences and increases trust. UGC allows brands to use more community-driven content that feels less like traditional advertising and more like a conversation among friends. It's a powerful medium, as 79% of consumers shared that UGC impacts their purchasing decisions.

So, to find the right influencers for your consumer brand, you must monitor UGC to find the right spokespeople for your products. Exolyt is essentially a UGC-focused tool. It captures the essence of UGC on a brand or topic and allows users to explore related content and insights holistically.

Here's how you can listen and monitor UGC for boosting influencing marketing on TikTok.

Set goals and define core metrics 

Before you dive into social listening, you want to clearly define what you want to achieve. Would you like to increase brand awareness, identify influencers, or explore new trends in your content? Once you have defined your goals, you want to measure the right metrics. Some important metrics can include: 

• Brand mentions 
• Real-time trends 
• Consumer insights 
• Competitive standing 

Discover the core metrics critical for building a TikTok Social Listening strategy.

Gather and data analyze data regularly 

Get clear on how often you want to analyze the data and schedule data analysis in your calendar to make it part of your work routine. When reviewing the data, you want to look at the recurring themes, influencers, and users your audience enjoys and how the sentiment towards your brand changes. If you plan a product launch or a huge campaign, schedule extra time for social listening to ensure you can handle any feedback or potential backlash. 

Combine TikTok social listening data with other data points 

Social listening data is powerful, but combining it with further quantitative data can teach you more about your ideal audience. How does your audience interact on other social media channels or your website? But remember that social media platforms have their own logic: What works on one channel may not work on others. 

Create actionable insights 

Data is only as good as the insights you can derive from it. Actionable insights are processed data sets that prescribe meaningful action based on data analysis. Actionable data points may include insights on:

• How will you improve your product?
• What kind of marketing campaigns or ads do you want to run?
• How can you improve customer service based on the data?

For example, when you find out that a large portion of your audience on TikTok is from France, but you currently do not offer any French customer service, an actionable insight can be to discuss with the customer service team how the French audience can be better served.

Download our quick demo to discover how to 'Dig deeper into TikTok trends for capturing actionable insights beyond conventional analytics'.

Collaborate with other departments and showcase your work 

The biggest challenge for many in-house social listening professionals is the lack of understanding from decision-makers. As a social listening pro, it is part of your job to educate the rest of the company on how you can support them, whether customer support, sales, product management, or communications. 

We recommend scheduling regular meetings with some of these teams to discuss findings and share what you learned. When you have clear reports and can show the effects social listening has on customer advocacy and customer retention, you can help business leaders see the benefit of social media listening. 

TikTok social listening is a game-changer for brands wanting to turn their customers into advocates and stay ahead of trends. You can craft highly personalised, engaging content that resonates with your audience by leveraging insights on customer sentiments, market opportunities, cultural shifts, and competitor strategies. 

TikTok’s unique blend of short-form videos and a highly engaged user base provides an ideal platform for authentically connecting with your customers, turning loyal followers into passionate advocates, and aligning with emerging trends in real-time.