What are the best examples of user-generated content?
Last updated · by Ela Diker
The best user-generated content examples come from brands that gave customers a simple, repeatable thing to make: e.l.f.'s #eyeslipsface TikTok challenge, Gymshark66's before-and-after photos, Apple's Shot on iPhone, Aerie's unretouched #AerieREAL images and Starbucks' White Cup Contest. Below are eight examples grouped by format, why each worked, and how to commission similar content.
What are the best user-generated content examples?
The strongest UGC examples have one thing in common. The brand asked for something specific and easy that customers already wanted to make, then gave the best entries a stage. The eight examples below cover the formats brands ask about most: challenges, creator demos, before-and-after posts, hashtag photo campaigns and customer reviews.
We only list results where the brand published them. According to e.l.f.'s October 2019 press release, the #eyeslipsface campaign had been viewed over 1 billion times, and TikTok users had made more than 400,000 videos for it. Its custom video was also the first paid ad to hold TikTok's number one trending hashtag. Most of the other brands did not publish hard numbers, so the notes on why each one worked are more useful than the totals.
Challenge: e.l.f. #eyeslipsface (TikTok, 2019)
e.l.f. commissioned an original song and invited TikTok users to film themselves to it. The lyrics spelled out what the brand name stands for: 'eyes, lips, face'. It worked because the sound did the explaining, and anyone could join without buying anything. Result: over 1 billion views and 400,000+ user videos, and the song was later released as a full-length track.
Creator demo: e.l.f. #elfitup (TikTok, 2022)
e.l.f. used a TikTok hashtag challenge to look for new makeup artists, then announced the winners publicly in March 2022. It worked because every entry was a product demo by design: e.l.f. products applied by someone with real skill. It's a good model for brands that want tutorial-style content and a creator shortlist from the same campaign.
Before and after: Gymshark66 (Instagram and Twitter, 2018)
Gymshark asked followers to post a dated photo on 1 January, then their first and final photos on 7 March, tagged #Gymshark66. The prize was a year's supply of kit. It worked because the 66-day window made progress visible and kept people posting. The UK brand still runs Gymshark66 each year, now built around daily habits.
Hashtag photos: Apple Shot on iPhone
Apple invites iPhone owners to submit photos, and a panel of photographers picks the winners, which then appear on billboards, in Apple stores and online. It worked because every entry backs up the product claim: the camera is good enough for a billboard. After criticism in 2019, Apple agreed to pay winners a licensing fee. That's a reminder to sort out usage rights before you reuse anything.
Real-body photos: Aerie #AerieREAL (2014 onwards)
Aerie launched its spring 2014 campaign with unretouched models of all sizes, then invited customers to share their own photos with #AerieREAL. It worked because the brand set a clear standard (no retouching) that customer photos could also meet, so shopper content sat naturally next to campaign images. For fashion and lingerie brands, it shows how one simple rule makes UGC easier to reuse.
Hashtag contest: Starbucks #WhiteCupContest (2014)
Starbucks asked customers in the US and Canada to draw on its white cup, photograph it and post it with #WhiteCupContest. The winning design became a limited-edition reusable cup. It worked because the product was the canvas, so every entry was a branded photo. And the prize, seeing your own art sold in store, meant more to entrants than a voucher.
Creator footage: GoPro Awards
GoPro runs an always-on awards programme that pays users for photos and clips shot on its cameras and features the best ones on its own channels. It works because the footage is what the product is for, so user clips double as product demos. The lesson for DTC brands: a standing invitation with clear rewards beats a one-off push.
Customer reviews: Bazaarvoice's Influenster community
Influenster, part of Bazaarvoice, sends products to community members in exchange for honest reviews, and brands then show those reviews on product pages and retailer sites. It works because reviews answer questions a product page can't, in shoppers' own words. Seeded reviews are still prompted by a free product, so they have to say so.
What should a good UGC portfolio show a brand?
Within a minute, a good UGC portfolio should show you which formats the creator can shoot, which product categories they know, and evidence that they can follow a brief. When you review one, look past follower counts. You're buying the content, not the creator's audience, so judge the work itself.
Ask for raw versions of two or three pieces without watermarks, plus one video made for a real brief. Check the hook in the first few seconds, the lighting on skin and packaging, whether the audio is clear, and whether the creator shows the product being used rather than just holding it. If you sell supplements or skincare, look for creators who avoid health or results claims they can't back up.
Format range
Look for at least three formats: a talking-head review, a hands-only demo, and a lifestyle or unboxing clip. Range tells you the creator can switch styles when your first ad starts to wear out, so you don't need a new creator for every round of testing.
Category fit
A creator who has shot skincare knows to show texture close up and in daylight. A fashion creator knows to show fit from the side and back. Experience in your category saves a round of reshoots, so give it more weight than general polish or follower numbers.
Hook quality
Watch only the opening of each video. If you can't tell what the product is, or why you'd keep watching, before the point where you'd normally swipe, the hook is weak. Strong portfolios open on a problem, a result or a reaction, not a logo.
Brief evidence
Ask which pieces were made for a paid brief and what that brief asked for. A creator who can show the brief next to the finished video is proving they can hit key messages, length and format. That's the skill you're actually paying for.
What types of UGC can a brand collect or commission?
Most brand UGC falls into six types: written reviews, customer photos, unboxing videos, demos and tutorials, before-and-after content, and testimonials. Organic UGC, which customers post without being asked, is the most trusted but hard to steer. Commissioned UGC from paid creators lets you control the format, hook and length.
Choose the type that answers your buyers' biggest doubt. If fit is the worry, as it often is in fashion, use try-ons and customer photos. Results-led categories like skincare and supplements lean on routines and before-and-after content. Giftable products and subscription boxes suit unboxings. Video types also work across channels: the same demo can run as a paid ad, sit on a product page and go into a welcome email.
Reviews
Written ratings and reviews on product pages and retailer sites. They're the most common type of UGC, and often the last thing shoppers check before they buy. Post-purchase emails and product sampling are the usual ways to get more of them. Reviews from free samples need to say so.
Customer photos
Photos customers post of the product in their own homes, on their own bodies or in their own routines. Fashion and homeware brands use them in product-page galleries because they show fit, scale and colour in real light, which studio shots rarely do.
Unboxing videos
A creator opens the parcel on camera and reacts to the packaging, inserts and first impressions. Unboxings suit giftable products, subscription boxes and brands with strong packaging. Keep them short and get to the product quickly, because long unboxings lose viewers before the payoff.
Demos and tutorials
The product in use, step by step: a makeup look, a supplement mixed into a morning shake, an outfit styled several ways. Demos answer 'how do I use it?' and work on paid social and product pages alike, as e.l.f.'s #elfitup entries showed.
Before and after
A visible change over time, like Gymshark66's first and final photos. This format is powerful for skincare, haircare and fitness, but it's the riskiest one. Results must be real, typical and unretouched, with honest timeframes, or the content can mislead.
Testimonials
A customer or creator talking to camera about a problem they had and what changed. Testimonials work best when they're specific: what the person tried before, how long they used the product, and one honest drawback. Vague praise sounds scripted and gets skipped.
What are good product review examples (and how do brands get more reviews)
What do good UGC ads have in common?
Good UGC ads look like a real customer's post but are built like a performance ad: a hook in the opening line, the product in hand early, one clear benefit and a direct call to action. Brands usually run several versions with different hooks and keep whichever performs best, so commission variations rather than one polished film.
UGC ads are paid, so they have to be disclosed. According to the FTC's Disclosures 101 guidance, a 'material connection' with a brand includes being paid or receiving free or discounted products, and it must be obvious in the post. In the US that means '#ad'; in the UK, label it 'Ad'. Don't rely on a platform's built-in label alone.
Problem, then fix
Open on the frustration ('my foundation always oxidises by lunch'), show the product, then show the result. This is the most reusable UGC ad structure because it matches what people search for, and it works for beauty, supplements and household products.
Reply to a comment
The creator answers a real or typical question on screen, such as 'does it work on curly hair?'. It feels native to TikTok and Reels, deals with objections head-on, and lets you test several questions as separate ads from one shoot.
Unboxing to first use
Start with the parcel, cut quickly to the first application or first taste, and end on a reaction. This suits new launches and gift sets, and gives you footage you can later recut into a shorter version that leads with the hook.
What shoppers say about UGC
- 65% of global shoppers rely on UGC such as ratings, reviews, photos and videos when buying.
- 86% of shoppers engage with creator content before making a buying decision.
- 80% of Gen Z shoppers consider UGC crucial to their purchase decisions.
- 39% of shoppers use social media to discover and research products.
Why do brands use user-generated content?
Brands use user-generated content because shoppers trust other shoppers more than they trust brands. UGC is any content about a product made by customers or independent creators rather than by the brand: reviews, photos, videos and posts. Its job is to answer what buyers really want to know, such as fit, texture, taste and whether the product lasts.
Shopper surveys back this up. In Bazaarvoice's Shopper Experience Index, published in November 2024, 65% of global shoppers said they rely on UGC such as ratings, reviews, photos and videos when buying, and 80% of Gen Z said it was crucial to their decisions. The other benefits are practical: a steady supply of ad creative, product pages that answer objections, and content that is cheaper to refresh than a studio shoot.
What do the best UGC campaigns have in common?
The best UGC campaigns share four habits. They ask for one easy action, make the product part of every entry, offer a reward people actually want, and settle usage rights before reusing anything. e.l.f. gave people a sound, Starbucks gave them a blank cup, and Gymshark gave them a 66-day deadline. Each one removed the 'what do I post?' problem.
What these campaigns avoided matters too. None of them asked for polished production, and none relied on a hashtag alone; each came with a prize, a stage or a story. Small DTC brands can copy that structure without the budget: one clear prompt, a modest prize, and reposting the best entries on your own channels.
One easy action
People should understand the ask in one sentence: 'dance to this sound', 'draw on this cup', 'post a dated photo today'. If your instructions need a paragraph, they belong in a paid creator brief, not a public campaign.
Product in every entry
In the strongest examples, the product is the subject or the tool: the iPhone camera, the Starbucks cup, the GoPro on a helmet. That means every entry advertises the product by default, instead of just carrying a hashtag.
A reward that fits
Billboards for photographers, a printed cup for an artist, a year of kit for a gym-goer. Match the prize to what your audience values. Status and recognition often work better than discounts.
Rights before reuse
A hashtag isn't permission to use someone's photo in an ad. Get written consent, and agree where and for how long you can use the content. Apple's decision to pay Shot on iPhone winners a licensing fee shows why this belongs in the rules from day one.
How do you get UGC like these examples?
There are two ways to get UGC like this: invite customers to post (organic), or brief creators to make it for you (commissioned). Organic campaigns build community but need time and a large customer base. Commissioned UGC gets you usable ads within weeks, and you control the format.
Whichever route you take, treat anything gifted or paid as advertising. Label it 'Ad' in the UK, following the ASA and CMA influencers' guide, and '#ad' in the US. If you'd rather brief vetted creators than wait for organic posts, Collabz fits DTC beauty, supplement, fashion and lifestyle brands that want briefs, usage rights and payments handled in one place.
1. Pick one format
Start from your buyers' biggest doubt and pick the format that answers it: try-ons for fit, demos for 'how do I use it?', before and after for results. One format done well teaches you more than six done thinly.
2. Write a one-line ask
For a public campaign, that means a single sentence and a hashtag. For creators, write a short brief covering the product, audience, key message, must-show moments, length and deadline. Leave the delivery to them, because over-scripted UGC loses the tone that makes it work.
3. Seed or commission
Send the product to customers or creators who already fit your category, or pay creators for a set number of videos. Ask for several hooks per video so you can test variations in paid social without reshooting.
4. Lock rights and labels
Before you repost anything or run it as an ad, get written permission covering channels, paid use and how long you can use it. Make sure the disclosure is in the post itself. Store the consent with the file so your team knows what each piece can be used for.
Sources and further reading
- ASA and CMA, Influencers' guide to making clear that ads are ads — Advertising Standards Authority
- Disclosures 101: New FTC resources for social media influencers — Federal Trade Commission
- Shopper Experience Index Vol. 18 — Bazaarvoice
- e.l.f. Turns Up the Volume on Beauty with Release of 'Eyes. Lips. Face.' Song — e.l.f. Beauty
- Apple highlights best photos shot on iPhone around the world — Apple Newsroom
- Gymshark, 66 Days | Change Your Life, 2018
- PR Newswire, aerie Real Spring 2014 campaign, 2014
Frequently asked questions
Do you need permission to reuse a customer's UGC?
Yes. A tag or hashtag shows interest, not consent, so ask the creator in writing before you repost their content or use it in ads. Agree the channels, whether paid use is included, and how long the permission lasts.
What is the difference between organic and commissioned UGC?
Organic UGC is content customers post on their own, such as reviews and tagged photos. Commissioned UGC is made by creators you brief and pay, so you control the format, hook and usage rights.
Which UGC format should a small brand start with?
Start with the format that answers your buyers' biggest doubt: reviews and customer photos for fit and quality, demos for how-to questions, and before and after for results-led products. Test one format properly before adding others.
Are hashtag campaigns still worth running?
Yes, as long as the hashtag comes with a clear prompt and a reward. The campaigns that worked, from Starbucks' White Cup Contest to Gymshark66, gave people something specific to make and a reason to share it.
Can UGC be used in paid ads?
Yes, as long as the creator has agreed to paid use and the ad clearly discloses any payment or gifted product. Many brands commission creator videos specifically for ads so the rights are agreed from the start.