GUIDE FOR BRANDS: How to Source UGC Photography

Oh, you put your skincare product on a blue/pink/white background with a water splash effect to emphasize its hydrating and refreshing properties? 

Groundbreaking. 

Taking a picture of your product on a fancy background with some aesthetic elements thrown in is so last year. And, let’s be honest – this kind of approach pretty much makes all the products look the same. 

If you saw an image like this on any of your feeds, you probably wouldn’t even be able to tell which brand it was right away. And, even if you did, you’d probably scroll away, recognizing instantly it was just another ad. 

So, you’ve decided to try out UGC photography. Partnering up with all sorts of creators lets them take the wheel and create content much more diverse than what your team can think of. Good choice – UGC does tend to do better than traditional ads.

 But how do we put this plan in motion? 

Read on, and we’ll give you 5 ideas for getting your hands on UGC photos!

Use & Promote Your Hashtags

You know what hashtags are – the little #’s at the bottom of every post that let the algorithm know what it’s about. If your brand is on social media, you likely use them to boost your reach, but are you adding in branded hashtags as well? 

A well-known best practice is to combine branded and non-branded tags. So, for example, if you want to promote a line of watches, you should include things like #watch or #menswatch. But that’s not enough – in fact, it’ll lead users to a page with 30 million posts and drown yours in an instant.

As you can see, the same goes for other generic hashtags.   

In order to make your brand more recognizable, you should also include some custom hashtags. This can be your brand name or something unique to what you’re doing. 

For example, Red Bull came up with the hashtag #PutACanOnIt to get users to add their drinks to photos. This resulted in a lot of fun, but also in a lot of UGC. 

Check it out:

This is a good idea, but how do I come up with a hashtag users will actually want to use? 

Well, we’re glad you asked! Here are a few tips on creating branded hashtags: 

• Define your goal. Do you want to invite people to share photos of one specific product, or can they share their favorites? Are there any ‘rules’ to the game? Once you have your answers, sit down and see how to best iterate it without making the hashtag needlessly long. 

• Choose a starting point. This can be the name of your brand, a specific product, a tagline, or something completely new. Red Bull never referenced its name in the tag we mentioned, but Coca-Cola did when they did #ShareACoke – this choice is entirely up to you. 

• Promote the hashtag. It can be the cleverest thing in the world, but no one will use it unless they can see it. So, make sure to incorporate it in your posts consistently, but without spamming. 

• Track the hashtag’s performance. You can do this by tracking metrics such as likes, comments, shares, views, and clicks.

Start a Contest

After you’ve decided on a fun hashtag, it’s time to motivate your audience to use it. To do this right, you have to put yourself in your users’ shoes and ask yourself why someone would want to share your brand. 

Your audience is smart – they’ll see through this attempt at generating UGC, and then the campaign will flop, and your reputation will take a hit. It has to be enticing enough that people want to participate. 

A great example is something we’ve already briefly mentioned: #ShareACoke. This campaign was launched over 10 years ago now, but it’s still a memorable one, both for its success and creativity. 

This campaign consisted of custom labels that read things like Share a Coke with… A Princess or Share a Coke with… [Name]. This, naturally, prompted people to buy, gift, and photograph their cans and bottles. Some places even offered access to printers where you could put anything you wanted on the label. 

There was no prize here per se, but who doesn’t want a can of Coke with their name on it? 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYG5fNNr-pt/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CM86vKDnJ6Y/ 

A different approach here is to have a traditional contest – invite your users to share their photos for a chance to win a prize. These prizes range from free products to discounts, and the rules also change based on the campaign. You can ask your audience to create UGC images of a specific collection, a specific product, or anything else you’re trying to promote at the moment.

Build Relationships with Content Creators

No matter which approach you choose, it’s always best if you’re not the only one promoting it. Work with your existing partners or forge new relationships, and have creators work with you on expanding your reach.

 There are several different routes you can take, but the most popular ones are: 

• Paying an influencer to partake in your contest/challenge,
• Asking them to be part of the prize (more on that later),
• Talking about your strategy on their page. 

A good example of this is something Aerie did a while back – they asked their audience to create UGC images for a chance to win a $500 voucher and a chance to meet and hang out with the influencer they worked with. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH0hkCvgiLu/?igshid=YmM0MjE2YWMzOA%3D%3D 

And, hey, we get it – finding influencers to work with isn’t easy. A lot of work has to go into it, but luckily, there are specialized companies to help you find your perfect match!‍

For example, UGC Factory helps DTC brands get more leads, conversions, and sales by finding influencers and producing video ads!

Create Your UGC Photo Library

Before you get started with your hashtags and contests, check if some content already exists out there. If not, go back to the other ideas and start from scratch – it’ll be worth it in the end. 

But, no matter how you find your photos, having a dedicated library just for UGC photography will save you a lot of trouble down the line. This is a folder or space where you save the best photos your users create. 

To get the most out of your library, you should make sure it’s well-organized. You can create sub-folders for specific campaigns, products, or types of images. Be on the lookout for high-quality images where your brand name or product is clearly visible. 

Even if you don’t end up using any of the photos you saved, they can still be useful for drawing inspiration and creating mood boards. 

IMAGE: a screenshot of UGC Factory’s library of content

Getting Permission to Post

Finally, we need to address one of the biggest challenges regarding UGC photography – proper permissions. 

If you just repost or share someone’s post so that it links back to their page, you typically won’t need special permission. But, with other approaches, you might find yourself faced with a complex copyright issue that will take up time and resources. 

So, if you’d rather be safe than sorry, you can implement the following: 

• Consent forms. Any kind of consent form or official agreement will work – it’s just a document that states that the content creator granted you permission to use their work in marketing materials. If this is your first time doing something like this, and you’re feeling a little uncertain, someone from your legal team should be able to help you draft the form. 

• Communication. As with a lot of other aspects of UGC, communication is key. When you’re asking for permission to use someone else’s content, make sure to determine some things in advance, such as requirements, duration, platforms, compensations, and restrictions, to name a few. 

• Compliance. Once you’ve established the ground rules for using that creator’s content, make sure you stick to them. This will help you avoid legal issues regarding intellectual property and copyright.

UGC Photography – Key Takeaways

You already know how many benefits UGC has, and hopefully, this article has given you some ideas on how you can get your hands on that kind of content. Here’s what we talked about: 

• Branded Hashtags – for encouraging users to share content that features your products,
• Contests – for motivating users to participate by offering prizes,
• Collaborating with influencers – using relationships with creators to amplify your reach,
• Creating a UGC library – to make all future campaigns that much easier,

Secure permissions – to avoid legal complications.