UGC: the number, and what it hides
User-generated content: ads shot to look like a real person's own footage.
Why ugc matters
It reads as native in feeds built for personal video, which is why it consistently outperforms polished brand film in paid social.
What this looks like with real numbers
The same product filmed two ways: a studio-lit hero shot, and someone's kitchen bench with the box half-open under bad lighting. In most paid social feeds the kitchen bench wins, because it matches the format of everything around it.
What it does not tell you
Most 'UGC' in paid media is commissioned rather than volunteered, which makes it a format rather than an endorsement. Where the format's power comes from a specific real person's credibility, generated video cannot substitute for it.
The mistake people actually make
Commissioning polished video and calling it UGC. If it looks made, it competes with advertising instead of competing with the feed.
Questions, answered.
How do you calculate ugc?
Not a metric — a creative format. User-generated content: ads shot to look like a real person's own footage.
What goes wrong with ugc?
Commissioning polished video and calling it UGC. If it looks made, it competes with advertising instead of competing with the feed.
What does ugc not tell me?
Most 'UGC' in paid media is commissioned rather than volunteered, which makes it a format rather than an endorsement. Where the format's power comes from a specific real person's credibility, generated video cannot substitute for it.
Change the creative, not the dashboard
User-generated content: ads shot to look like a real person's own footage.