There is something inherently powerful about seeing your average Joe rave about a product or service. Without a scripted, commercialized feel, someone reviewing a product, simply using their phone, can feel significantly more authentic and genuine than a million-dollar-budget, highly produced ad.
UGC takes full advantage of this rationale by allowing real customers to speak freely about the product. What’s more, by looking directly into the camera, stars of UGC content have a way of speaking directly to the audience in a manner that third-person ads can’t.
Pros of UGC
For starters, UGC is extremely cost effective. If you have non-camera-shy friends, family, or colleagues, source them to review a product, specifically asking them to touch upon all of its key value props.
Next, UGC can easily be edited and altered. Customer surveys or video feedback might show that the value props professional actors mention don’t actually hit home. This isn’t a problem with UGC, however. Simply, rewrite the script and encourage your video stars to say the most compelling lines on the fly.
Finally, UGC can work in all stages of the funnel. Shifting UGC content to address remarketing-, acquisition-, or retention-focused audiences is easy. Instead of editing the dialogue to address fresh value props, instruct your talent to speak to the funnel stage itself.
For example, if you are running UGC for remarketing, you’ll want your talent to address anything that may be preventing the buyer from purchasing. To do this, you should instruct the speaker to note the product’s durability or the justification for the price tag. Alternatively, for retention, have your talent cross-sell other products in tandem with the hero product the remarketing audience has already purchased.
Cons of UGC
While there are myriad benefits to UGC, a few disadvantages are worth mentioning. For one, it lacks a premium feel, as it is relatively lower-quality production. Oftentimes, brands don’t want a gritty, organic feel. Since they are filmed on phones, UGC ads can’t always depict a premium product to its maximum potential.
Then, there’s the inability to showcase in-depth product detail. More studio-produced ios database shoots can really showcase the harder-to-communicate attributes of a product through a visual experience. Take, for example, this cinematic award-winning Spongellé ad, which celebrates the body wash-infused scrub’s aroma by leveraging a custom score to choreography and scent-affiliated production design.
While UGC does a wonderful job highlighting customer satisfaction, it may fall flat when you try to show unique color palettes, lifestyle aesthetics, and other psychological showcases that rely on 4K or 1080P visuals.
Best Practices for UGC
test hooks and specific value prop messaging to identify what best resonates with your audience.
We also recommend capturing an abundance of footage so your editor can cut and draw from a large bank to get the best frames.
Finally, be sure to write scripts for talent to riff off of and maintain a degree of creative control by teaching your more-amateur stars basic acting techniques to make your content as engaging and convincing as possible.