The Rise of Consumer-Generated Content material (UGC)

Historical past of UGC

Lately, with the rise of social media, UGC has change into much more common with manufacturers as a solution to get genuine promoting at a discount. Manufacturers have been utilizing UGC on their very own social media or of their promoting campaigns for a few years, however solely just lately did UGC change into a viable and profitable profession choice for creators.

As smartphones change into extra common and superior, folks at residence are in a position to create high quality content material for a a lot decrease value, interesting to manufacturers.

Methodology

The info proven on this report was gathered by means of a survey carried out in late 2023. We surveyed over 1,000 UGC creators, asking them questions on their following on social media, estimated income, and extra. To seek out these creators we used NeoReach’s inner instruments to seek out UGC creators on Instagram and TikTok of all sizes.

To know the trade, we requested creators what industries they have a tendency to work with, and the way a lot cash they estimate they’ve made out of UGC. We additionally needed to know what a piece week seems like for UGC creators, and what number of really make user-generated content material full-time. Along with the statistics we requested for, we requested creators to inform us their opinions on the way forward for UGC and the way their expertise working in UGC has been.

UGC Evaluation

On this report, we’ll have a look at who UGC creators are and the way being a UGC creator works. Diving into the income, hours, and social media, this report will give a transparent understanding of UGC in at present’s world. It should additionally give a glimpse into the opinions of UGC and what the long run may convey.

Viewers Demographics

For this report, 96% of the creators we surveyed had been feminine, whereas 4% had been male, displaying how ladies closely dominate the UGC area.

We additionally see that the majority respondents had been between the ages of 25-34, making up practically 51% of the creators. The second hottest age group was 18-24, taking on 37%. There are solely lower than 11% of respondents above the age of 35, displaying that for now, UGC is a youthful lady’s recreation.

Social Media

Understanding social media and the way it’s used is essential to understanding UGC creators. Not solely do they publish their very own content material, however they’re used to study extra concerning the enterprise.

On this part, we’ll discover every platforms’ hottest UGC creators. We may even look into follower counts and the way creators used social media earlier than beginning UGC.

High Social Media Platforms for UGC Creators: TikTok and Instagram Lead the Method

We will see that TikTok is the most well-liked social media platform for UGC creators, with 54% of creators utilizing it as their major social media for UGC content material. After that, Instagram is the first social media for greater than 42% of respondents. Greater than 67% of creators additionally mentioned they put up UGC on their very own private accounts, whereas 13% mentioned they don’t.

Followers on Every Social Media

We will see what number of surveyed creators use the large 4 social media platforms – Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. Nearly 100% of creators use Instagram in a roundabout way, displaying that it’s clearly the most well-liked platform basically, even when it isn’t the primary alternative for UGC. TikTok is utilized by nearly 97% of creators, making it a detailed second. Twitter and YouTube are much less common with lower than 50% of creators posting on these platforms.

Social Media Earlier than UGC

With this chart, we see which social media platforms creators had been making content material for earlier than beginning UGC. 67% of creators made content material on Instagram earlier than UGC, making it the commonest alternative. Greater than 8% of creators blogged earlier than beginning UGC, being extra common than platforms like Twitter and Twitch. Fb was additionally a preferred alternative with 21% of creators utilizing it to put up content material earlier than beginning UGC. Solely 4% of creators mentioned that they didn’t make any social media content material earlier than diving into UGC.

Which Platforms Drive Creators into UGC

When requested what received creators into UGC, we seen that many creators had been influenced by different UGC creators on social media.

We noticed that 36.33% of creators talked about TikTok as a purpose they began doing UGC, 20.84% talked about Instagram. The least generally talked about was YouTube, with solely 4.4% of creators mentioning it in how they had been impressed to start UGC.

Working in UGC

Working in UGC has change into a brand new pattern for savvy creators who wish to use their abilities in creating content material to make a dwelling. As UGC is a quite new enterprise for creators, many are left figuring it out for themselves and figuring out their very own working hours and who they work for. We are going to have a look at what it’s like for creators working in UGC. This consists of how lengthy creators have been doing it, and whether or not or not they think about themselves full or part-time creators. We may even have a look at the industries and variety of manufacturers creators are likely to work with.

How Lengthy Creators Have Labored in UGC

Our survey highlights the infancy of the UGC trade, with 59% of creators doing UGC for lower than 1 yr. 21% of creators have been in UGC for 1-2 years, whereas 12.4% have been for 2-3 years. Solely 4% of creators have finished UGC for greater than 4 years.

Trade Progress

Consumer-generated content material (UGC) has been an choice for a number of years, however just lately, it is seen a swift upswing in recognition. This surge has led to a 145% rise within the variety of UGC creators during the last yr.

Posts Per Month

With this chart, we are able to see how usually creators put up and the way lengthy they’ve labored in UGC. Whereas creators which have been in UGC for 1-2 years common essentially the most posts per thirty days, with a median of 71, it’s creators which have been doing UGC for 3-4 years which have the very best median, with nearly 12 posts per thirty days. Creators in UGC for greater than 4 years appear to put up the least quantity of content material on a month-to-month foundation.

Right here we are able to see that full-time UGC creators put up considerably extra usually than part-time employees, on common. Nevertheless, when trying on the median variety of posts per thirty days, we are able to see it’s really so much nearer, with a median of 10 posts per thirty days for full-time and 5 posts per thirty days for part-time.

We will see most creators work 6-10 hours per week, particularly part-time creators. Most full-time creators work 21-40 hours per week, adopted by 11-20 hours.

Full Time vs Half Time Creators

Right here we are able to see that nearly two thirds of creators think about themselves part-time creators. This normally implies that UGC will not be their essential or solely supply of revenue. With UGC being a brand new, and quite saturated market, it is smart that many creators should not ready or prepared to do it full-time but.

Posts Per Month for Full-time vs. Half-time

Right here we are able to see that full-time UGC creators put up considerably extra usually than part-time employees, on common. Nevertheless, when trying on the median variety of posts per thirty days, we are able to see it’s really so much nearer, with a median of 10 posts per thirty days for full-time and 5 posts per thirty days for part-time.

Hours Per Week For Full/Half Time Creators

We will see most creators work 6-10 hours per week, particularly part-time creators. Most full-time creators work 21-40 hours per week, adopted by 11-20 hours.

How Many Manufacturers Creators Labored With

We additionally requested creators what number of manufacturers they’ve labored with throughout their UGC profession. We noticed that 67% of creators have labored with greater than 6+ manufacturers. This exhibits that creators try to have a various portfolio, or that manufacturers don’t usually work with the identical creators. Solely 107 of the sampled creators have labored with only one model, representing 10.3% of the pattern.

How Many Creators Have Labored With Every Trade

We requested creators for the first industries that they make content material for, and right here we are able to see the highest 10 industries that had been talked about. With nearly 300 creators mentioning Magnificence, we are able to infer that it’s the hottest trade within the UGC area proper now. Being talked about by nearly 100 creators, Style is the subsequent hottest trade. 21 creators responded that they work with a mixture of all industries, and wouldn’t have one which takes priority.

Income & Compensation

With UGC being comparatively new, it’s also vital to grasp how a lot UGC creators are incomes from their work. This info can be utilized by creators and types as a information for the trade customary and if UGC is true for them.

Complete Earnings & Common Annual Earnings

We requested creators to inform us their estimated earnings from UGC up to now, in addition to their estimated annual earnings. Whereas the typical estimated whole earnings was $12.3k, the median whole earnings was $1,000. Which means most creators have made round that a lot, with just a few creators making way more. In whole, the creators we surveyed have earned an estimated $5.7M from UGC.

We will additionally see that the median annual earnings had been $1,500. For a lot of creators that haven’t been doing UGC for a full yr, this might be their predicted earnings for the yr. It may additionally come from the extra skilled creators and their estimated earnings from the previous yr.

When Creators First Obtained Paid For UGC

On this chart, we are able to see most UGC creators first acquired cost for his or her UGC work in 2022, adopted carefully by 2023 up to now. Nearly 60% of creators first received paid within the final two years, as soon as once more displaying how new UGC is.

Right here we are able to see how lengthy it took for creators to receives a commission for the primary time after beginning UGC. It took most creators lower than one yr to receives a commission for his or her content material, quite than being gifted merchandise. It may be some time till creators receives a commission for his or her content material in the event that they must construct their portfolio and relationships with manufacturers.

Gifted Compensation

Many UGC creators are compensated with gifted merchandise as an alternative of a financial cost. For manufacturers, this could be a way more cost-effective solution to get user-generated content material. For creators simply getting began, this can be a solution to get into the enterprise and accumulate extra merchandise and content material for his or her portfolio. 

All through this report, we famous the creators that had talked about solely receiving gifted merchandise as compensation. We discovered that the follower depend of those creators, averaged 6.1K for TikTok and 5.2K for Instagram.

We additionally discovered that greater than 76% of the creators which have solely acquired items from manufacturers have been working in UGC for lower than a yr. In the meantime, solely 2.4% have been in UGC for greater than 4 years. Whereas some creators could want this to plain cost, most creators settle for gifted compensation solely firstly of their careers.

What Creators Consider UGC

As part of the survey, we additionally requested creators their opinions on UGC and the way they really feel about working in UGC. As UGC is a brand new enterprise, you will need to hear from creators straight, as they’re seemingly essentially the most educated. On this report, we have a look at how creators answered questions concerning the hardest and greatest components of UGC, how UGC creators differ from different creators, and extra. 

Hardest A part of Being a UGC Creator

When requested what the toughest a part of being a UGC creator was, 57% of creators talked about reaching out to manufacturers and 18% mentioned figuring out charges. We will see with this knowledge that creators clearly have essentially the most bother with the enterprise side of UGC, quite than the content material.

Finest A part of Being a UGC Creator

We additionally requested creators their favourite components of being a UGC Creator. 32% of creators mentioned they loved making the content material essentially the most, whereas 24% of creators talked about not needing an enormous social following and with the ability to be impartial.

Why Manufacturers Use UGC

Within the survey, we requested creators why they assume manufacturers use UGC over influencers or different conventional advertising and marketing methods. 66% of creators mentioned that manufacturers select them to extend their model authenticity. UGC is commonly considered extra genuine because it comes from common folks as an alternative of celebrities or massive influencers.

13% of respondents mentioned they consider UGC is chosen as a result of decrease value and the upper conversion charges that UGC provides, whereas 4% mentioned that UGC can attain a youthful viewers.

How UGC Creators Differ from Different Creators

We requested creators how they assume UGC creators differ from different creators on the web. As soon as once more, most UGC creators talked about how there’s extra belief and authenticity from UGC creators than influencers. One other common response was that UGC creators don’t want a big following to achieve success, which is important to influencers with the intention to get sponsorships and different alternatives. 7.8% of creators we surveyed additionally talked about that UGC creators have extra of a possibility to be artistic of their work than influencers. Influencers usually have a extra strict set of pointers for his or her sponsored content material from the model, whereas UGC creators can have extra free reign over their content material.

The Way forward for UGC

When requested their opinion on the way forward for UGC, 60% of creators mentioned that they consider UGC will proceed to develop. Some creators additionally talked about that the trade will change into oversaturated and that creators will have to be very expert to achieve success.

Quotes From Creators

Let’s hear it from the creators themselves. We requested creators what their understanding of UGC creators is, one of the best a part of being a creator, their struggles, objectives, and what they assume the way forward for the creator financial system is. Right here’s a few of their ideas.

Quote #1

Most of the time folks in your fast circle could make you’re feeling like its “just a few little factor you do” and in flip I believe many individuals let that maintain them again as an alternative of being cringe and going for it.

Quote #2

Quote #3

Quote #4

Quote #5

Quote #6

UGC vs Conventional

Whereas each make content material for manufacturers, there are key variations between UGC and Conventional creators. UGC creators make content material, to be posted and owned by manufacturers, that seems genuine and relatable. In the meantime, influencers, or conventional creators, are likely to put up sponsored content material to their very own massive, devoted viewers. 

UGC Advertising

Consumer-generated content material (UGC) creators are paid by manufacturers to create social media content material to be posted to manufacturers’ accounts, or utilized in any manner manufacturers see match. This content material doesn’t essentially must be posted on the creators’ social media, and the creator doesn’t have to have any social following to be concerned in UGC. When a creator makes UGC for a model, these images or movies are owned by the corporate and can be utilized with out crediting the creator. 

Whereas UGC is commonly thought-about to be extra genuine than conventional influencer advertising and marketing, it’s also the cheaper choice for manufacturers. For now, UGC appears a a lot much less profitable profession alternative than being an influencer, with UGC creators making considerably lower than influencers from sponsored content material. 

Conventional Influencer Advertising

When a model sponsors an influencer, they’re paid to put up images or movies to their very own social media channels. Influencers proceed to personal their sponsored content material and types don’t at all times put up it to their very own channels. Manufacturers can select which influencers they sponsor primarily based on the scale and demographics of their viewers and who they’re making an attempt to succeed in.

As influencers have grown in recognition, audiences have much less belief in them and their sponsored content material. Conventional influencer advertising and marketing may also change into a really expensive choice relying on the influencer. Because the trade has now been round for a few years, influencers have change into extra snug asking for extra money, offered they’ve the wanted viewers.

Comparability

The most important comparability between UGC creators and influencers is the possession and objective of their branded content material. UGC creators enter a partnership with a model and can create images and movies that will probably be owned by the corporate for their very own use. This content material can be utilized in conventional commercials or on the model’s social media accounts and doesn’t essentially have to look on the creator’s accounts. 

When an influencer enters a partnership with a model, the sponsored content material will seem on the influencer’s accounts and will probably be owned by the influencer. These influencers are sometimes chosen for his or her viewers measurement or demographics.

One other vital issue within the alternative between an influencer and a UGC creator is what the model is making an attempt to realize with this content material. If the model needs to extend consciousness, an influencer is a significantly better alternative as they’ll expose the model to their viewers. Nevertheless, if a model needs to extend conversions inside its current viewers, it may select to make use of UGC for an genuine commercial. 

There’s additionally an enormous distinction between the worth for UGC and an influencer paid commercial. As UGC is a more recent idea, many creators have decrease charges and usually tend to settle for gifted compensation. Most influencers have greater charges and are in a position to cost extra if they’ve a bigger viewers or greater engagement. 

Key Takeaways

From this report, we are able to collect many conclusions concerning the present state of UGC. We will see that almost all of UGC seems on Instagram and TikTok and tends to be made for Magnificence manufacturers. UGC is a comparatively new enterprise, with most creators doing it for lower than one yr and are solely part-time. For creators, UGC has not change into as worthwhile as different income sources, with the median annual revenue being solely $1,500. 

When requested, UGC creators tended to say they take pleasure in creating the content material and the independence UGC permits, whereas they battle with speaking to manufacturers and figuring out their charges. The consensus of creators was that UGC and its creators have extra authenticity in comparison with conventional commercials and influencer advertising and marketing, making it a enterprise that’s going to proceed to develop.

Future Predictions

Based mostly on the info on this report, we are able to make a couple of predictions on how the UGC trade will proceed by means of 2024. From the entire new creators getting into the UGC trade within the final yr, we are able to count on this to proceed all through 2024. With this, nevertheless, we are able to additionally count on the area to change into very saturated making it more durable for all creators to seek out work.

As creators get extra expertise in UGC, we are able to count on charges to extend, however to not the place of influencer sponsorships. UGC will stay a less expensive choice for manufacturers, one which they’ll seemingly proceed to make the most of increasingly. We don’t count on manufacturers to utterly exchange influencer paid adverts with UGC, however they’ll as an alternative use them for various functions. UGC will probably be used when manufacturers want genuine commercials meant to enhance conversions, whereas they’ll proceed influencer sponsorships to lift consciousness.

Editor’s Word

Previously few years, Consumer-generated content material has grown exponentially, and with it the power for folks to make a profession out of making content material with out having an enormous viewers. On this report, we investigated the UGC area and its creators, with the intention to give readability for manufacturers and different creators. We checked out how creators really feel concerning the present and future state of the UGC trade, and the way they assume UGC compares to conventional influencer promoting. We additionally checked out who’s participating in UGC and what the profession seems like proper now. 

With all the info proven on this report, manufacturers and creators could make extra knowledgeable selections about UGC and whether or not they wish to put it to use for themselves. Whereas it’s a cheaper, extra genuine advertising and marketing alternative for manufacturers, it’s also one other income supply and artistic outlet for creators.

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