TikTok UGC: How User-Generated Content Drives Engagement

In today's digital landscape, user-generated content (UGC) emerges as a powerful force on TikTok, echoing the traditional impact of word-of-mouth marketing. For brands aiming to enhance their presence and build a lasting image, engaging authentically with the TikTok community through UGC can significantly boost brand awareness and establish an emotional connection. Emphasizing authenticity and leveraging TikTok trends are key strategies. This approach resonates well with Gen Z and millennials, who value genuine interactions and short-form content.

To effectively integrate TikTok UGC into your marketing goals, consider tactics such as branded hashtags and contests. These methods can foster organic reach and brand loyalty while enhancing your brand perception in a dynamic social media environment. Encouraging your audience to participate in content creation not only strengthens the community but also amplifies the reach of your brand, creating a robust marketing funnel that supports long-term success.

Seven Strategies to Obtain TikTok User-Generated Content

1. Connect with Creators You Respect

Engage with TikTok creators whose content resonates with you. Propose collaboration ideas that align with your brand goals. While top creators may be challenging to contact due to their substantial following, a well-crafted outreach message highlighting mutual benefits can pave the way for new opportunities. Successful partnerships like Charli D'Amelio's with Dunkin demonstrate the power of creator collaborations. If past collaborations have proven successful, consider re-engaging those creators for future projects. This not only ensures content quality but also strengthens ongoing professional relationships.

2. Utilize Influencer Discovery Tools for UGC Creators

Leverage specialized influencer search tools to discover new creators who can contribute UGC for your brand. These tools allow you to filter creators by parameters such as location and audience demographics, enabling you to find suitable candidates efficiently. Platforms like Okgrow provide access to a vast creator database and offer detailed profile analyses to ensure alignment with your brand's values. Always remember to formalize partnerships with a contract that outlines deliverables and expectations.

3. Host Competitions or Set Up Creative Challenges

Interactive contests and challenges foster active engagement and encourage followers to create content for your brand. Clearly define your goals, whether it's boosting brand recognition or gaining new followers, and establish specific guidelines to steer participant submissions. The "Doritos Triangle Tryouts" challenge, for example, generated significant engagement and brand visibility through a simple dance-off challenge. By aligning your challenge with brand objectives, you can effectively amplify your presence and generate quality user content.

4. Introduce a Unique Brand Hashtag

Creating a memorable brand hashtag can drive user-generated content by encouraging customers to share their experiences. Integrate this hashtag across multiple platforms—website, emails, and packaging—to enhance its visibility. Running promotional events incentivizing hashtag usage can further boost engagement. For instance, the #MyCalvins campaign effectively expanded Calvin Klein's digital footprint. Ensure you seek permission from content creators before sharing their posts under your brand hashtag to respect and maintain professional relationships.

5. Request Feedback from Customers Post-Purchase

Encourage customers to create and share content about their purchase by reaching out after they’ve bought your product. Provide them with ideas on what to capture, such as a photo or testimonial. Highlighting customer-created content on your official channels not only acknowledges their contribution but also incentivizes further participation. Zenni Optical successfully does this by featuring customer photos tagged with #LoveMyZennies, increasing interaction and community engagement.

6. Offer Complimentary Products

Distributing free products to relevant creators, or product seeding, supports authentic brand promotion. Use this method to build organic relationships without expecting immediate returns. Brands like Gymshark have successfully used this approach to create brand ambassadors and promote product recognition across social media platforms. Always obtain creator consent before using their shared content to ensure a respectful and mutually beneficial promotion.

7. Explore the TikTok Creator Platform

Engage with the TikTok Creator Marketplace to directly connect with prominent creators. This platform facilitates tailored campaign types that cater to different marketing needs. By collaborating with creators through the Marketplace, you can efficiently streamline communication and ensure that your brand message is authentically conveyed. This strategy can be particularly useful for brands looking to expand their reach and enhance their online presence through meaningful collaborations with influencers.

How to Monitor User-Driven Content on TikTok

1. Utilize Custom Hashtags

Custom hashtags serve as an effective tool for both expanding brand visibility and keeping track of all related posts and discussions around your brand. By simply searching these custom hashtags on platforms such as TikTok, you can find all the content shared by your audience, including videos and reviews. This practice not only shows you what type of material your community is producing but also provides insights into their engagement levels and ways to interact back more deeply. For instance, companies like Hello Fresh use hashtags like #HelloFreshPics to gather all user-generated content, showing how customers experience their products.

2. Choose Which Metrics to Track

With all user-driven content in one location, the next step involves deciding which performance indicators are most critical for your objectives. Key metrics include:

• Views: Count how often the TikTok content is viewed by users.
• Interactions: Track the total activity involving a TikTok, including visits to profiles, clicks on call-to-action buttons, likes, comments, and shares.
• Engagement Rate: Evaluate overall user interaction using the formula: Engagement Rate = Interactions ÷ Views.

Your chosen metrics should align with your ultimate goals. For instance, if the purpose of generating TikTok user-driven content is to leverage it in advertising, the priority might be less on views and engagements and more on how the content supports the advertisement strategy.

Four Techniques to Transform TikTok UGC

1. Share on Different Social Accounts

A straightforward method to reuse UGC involves distributing it across various social media channels. These platforms offer multiple opportunities to showcase your content:

• Transform TikToks into Instagram Reels
• Share Instagram posts on Facebook
• Convert Tweets into Instagram posts
• Present Instagram visuals on Pinterest

When redistributing content, ensure it fits the new platform's style and requirements. Content meant for Instagram might need adjusting to suit Pinterest's preferences. Key points to remember include:

• Adjust image and video dimensions according to the platform's specifications
• Revise captions and modify tags and hashtags as needed

For example, Peach and Lily adapted a TikTok from creator Jordyn Wood into an Instagram Reel, ensuring it met Instagram's standards.

Pro Tip: Clearly describe in your influencer guidelines what type of content you need and which platform it's intended for. A template for influencer briefs can provide valuable guidance.

2. Incorporate UGC in Targeted Advertisements

Incorporating UGC in Spark Ads can significantly enhance their effectiveness. Ads featuring user-generated content are often more memorable, achieving a higher click-through rate and increased engagement.

TikTok’s Spark Ads feature leverages organic content for ad campaigns, maintaining the organic look while allowing brands to include a call-to-action linking to specific pages or forms. This approach boosts content visibility and uses existing engagement data for better campaign performance.

When deciding which posts to promote, choose those already performing well. This ensures that the content resonates with the audience and has a greater potential for success when promoted.

Additionally, consider using UGC in advertisements on other social platforms. Highlighting real people using your products, as seen in Weekday’s Instagram ads, can create a relatable and authentic image.

3. Use UGC in Your Promotional Emails

Incorporating UGC in email campaigns can significantly enhance click-through rates. By featuring user-generated visuals, you facilitate genuine engagement that prompts recipients to take action.

A great example is Vieve, a makeup brand that effectively includes UGC in its emails. These emails not only showcase the creators behind the content but also highlight the products shown, encouraging subscribers to make purchases.

This strategy not only strengthens the credibility of your products but also builds a connection between the brand and its audience, as consumers often trust peer-generated content more than direct brand messages.

4. Feature UGC on Product Demonstration Pages

Displaying user-generated content on product pages provides a realistic view of how products appear in real-world usage. Consumers prefer testimonials and reviews from other users, which can greatly influence their purchasing decisions.

Brands such as Crate & Barrel have successfully integrated UGC into their product pages by including posts that feature actual customers using their products, complete with creator credits.

Similarly, Converse includes "Looks from the Converse Community" on their product pages. This showcases how consumers style their purchases, further engaging potential buyers and providing them with styling ideas, thus enhancing the overall shopping experience.

Four Illustrations of User-Generated Content on TikTok

1. Natural

The skincare brand Natural made a notable impact with the launch of its eco-friendly deodorant line. By engaging with user-generated content creators, Natural amplified the introduction of this new product line. Partnering with the UGC platform minisocial, the brand worked alongside 50 micro-influencers in the lifestyle and beauty sectors. This collaboration yielded over 100 licensed UGC elements, with posts creating an earned media value of $10,793. Natural regularly showcases UGC on TikTok, featuring product usage, skincare routines, and more, strengthening its presence in the market.

2. DrinkPop

DrinkPop, known for its prebiotic sodas, achieved viral success through its TikTok influencer marketing efforts. Since 2020, the brand's strategy has been centered around sharing engaging content rather than direct sales promotions. They've embraced a brand ambassador program, bringing on partners to develop quality UGC. The hashtag #DrinkPopPartner is widely recognized, boasting 894.8 million views, and hosts an extensive collection of user content related to the brand on TikTok.

3. Sweatwear

The athletic apparel brand Sweatwear is renowned for its focus on customer highlights and UGC on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. The introduction of the #SweatLife hashtag encouraged loyal customers to share images of themselves sporting Sweatwear clothing. This branded hashtag has driven significant brand recognition, with millions of UGC shared online. Sweatwear also features creator content on its main social media accounts, enhancing community engagement and brand visibility.

4. ActionCam

ActionCam, a leader in adventure-ready video cameras, promotes the creation and sharing of user videos via the #ActionCam hashtag. This tag has gained massive traction, amassing 18.6 billion views on TikTok and 49 million posts on Instagram. Users highlight their travel, outdoor exploits, and adventures captured with ActionCam devices. Such widespread user-generated content demonstrates the durability and exceptional quality of ActionCam products, establishing a robust brand image across social media platforms.

Harness the Potential of TikTok User Content Now

Unlock the potential of user-created content to elevate your brand's visibility and sales on TikTok. Don't hesitate to break away from conventional methods; embrace new and diverse approaches. Engage in experiments, followed by careful analysis and refinement.

User-generated content isn't limited to direct-to-consumer brands. There's an opportunity for B2B and SaaS companies to feature content made by customers or team members, showcasing their experiences with your product.