UGC Creators vs Influencers: What’s Best for Your Marketing Strategy?

79% of people say user-generated content (UGC) impacts their buying decisions. And influencer marketing is a $21 billion industry expected to keep growing in 2025.

Both strategies can work wonders—but they’re not the same.

Wondering which one will help you reach your marketing goals? In this guide, we’ll break down the difference between UGC creators and influencers, show you exactly how each benefits your marketing strategy, and reveal why UGC creators are quickly becoming the go-to choice for cost-effective, high-converting content.

By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of which approach fits your business—and actionable ideas to put into play today.

UGC Creator Definition

User-generated content (UGC) comes from

1. real customers who share their experiences organically on their own social media, taking part in brand contests and giveaways (by sharing their experience), etc.
2. UGC creators are hired by brands to produce content that feels just as genuine. These pieces of content are used in the brand’s advertising campaigns, organic social media posts, websites, and even email campaigns.

Some of the most common types of UGC content are

• Unboxing videos
• Testimonial and review videos
• Tutorial reels (how-to-use videos)

The unique advantage of a great UGC creator is that they can create relatable, authentic content based on a UGC script with a specific campaign goal in mind.

A really good piece of UGC content that feels like it’s coming from a genuine customer or brand user; it increases conversion rates by 161% when added to e-commerce product pages!

Influencer Definition

Influencers, on the other hand, are people with a large following on social media. They promote products to their followers, combining their style and niche with relevant brands to make the offer resonate with their audience.

Influencers are ideal for building awareness and tapping into niche markets.

UGC vs Influencers: Which One’s Best for Your Marketing?

Let’s break down how UGC creators and influencers perform across different marketing goals.

Growing a New Brand

Growing a new brand from scratch is hard. Nobody knows you, and without any reviews, testimonials, or customer experience, people don’t trust you.

UGC creators can create relatable, everyday visuals that make your brand feel approachable and credible with a series of UGC videos for your paid campaigns and organic posts.

Influencers, on the other hand, can help you build brand awareness by introducing your brand to their followers. They already have a dedicated audience with relevant marketing channels. They can also help you create hype around your products and help you get your brand-new brand off the ground.

Launching A New Product

Create a buzz around your product with testimonials, reviews, and unboxing videos. Videos of real people unboxing or demonstrating your new product build excitement and trust.

Let UGC creators make videos that showcase how your product solves customer pain points with

• How-To UGC videos: quick, bite-sized videos showing how your product works
• Unboxing videos: showcase your product’s packaging and their first impressions.
• Relatable Testimonials: share a genuine testimonial about how your product has helped them or why they love it

Influencers are great when launching a new product because they can create almost instant visibility of your product with their loyal audiences, increasing awareness much faster than traditional campaigns.

After all, 49% of consumers rely on influencer recommendations when making purchasing decisions. This makes influencers ideal for creating hype around your product during its launch phase. On top of that, influencers can create and post teaser campaigns on their channel and help your brand build anticipation through “sneak peeks” or “first looks.”

Expanding to A New Market

Entering a new market can be challenging—you’re unfamiliar with the language, culture, and what works in local ads or social media.

The best way to successfully position yourself as a relevant player on the market easily and without too much effort is by collaborating with local UGC creators who know the market like the back of their hand and can create relevant, goal-oriented content from the start.

Instead of wasting days on social media, trying to source content creators from your target country, sign up with a UGC platform with access to a wide pool of international creators ready to produce market-specific content—fast and hassle-free. This approach ensures your brand feels authentic from day one.

Once you’re well-established and a serious competitor, begin collaborating with local influencers to cover all the benefits of influencer marketing - especially when you’re launching a new product.

Getting More Sales

UGC content is meant to look authentic and relatable, which builds trust and drives conversions. According to Shopify, ads featuring UGC generate 4x higher click-through rates compared to standard ads. That’s because viewers feel like they’re getting recommendations from real people—not just polished sales pitches.

Diversify your sales strategy by collaborating with influencers who can promote your products directly to their engaged audiences. Offer personalized discount codes or limited-time promotions to create urgency and drive immediate purchases. This approach not only boosts conversions but also tracks sales performance through influencer-specific codes.

To maximize results, build a retargeting funnel using influencer-generated content. Run ads targeting users who interacted with the influencer’s post but didn’t purchase, keeping your product top of mind and encouraging them to complete their purchase. This strategy turns influencer campaigns into a powerful, ongoing sales engine.

Growing Social Media Channels Organically

Repurpose the content you receive from UGC creators to maximize your investment: use it in paid campaigns, add it to your website and product pages, include it in the newsletter, and add it to your social media channels as organic posts.

• UGC drives 28% higher engagement compared to traditional branded content.
• UGC posts are shared 50% more often than branded posts. The relatability of UGC encourages users to tag friends or repost, expanding your content’s reach.
• Stackla found out that 79% of people say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions. Featuring relatable content on your organic channels can nudge potential customers closer to conversion.
• 41% of marketers say UGC helps them reduce content creation costs while still growing their channels.

You can use influencer content on your social media channels in two main ways: organic sharing and paid promotion. For organic use, share influencer posts or stories directly on your Instagram Stories page if they’ve tagged your brand, or repost their content to your feed with permission (always credit the creator). If they create Reels or TikToks, ask for the original files to upload them directly to your brand’s account.

For paid ads, you’ll need content usage rights from the influencer. This can be done through paid partnerships or whitelisting (on Meta platforms), where influencers authorize your brand to run ads using their content or even post directly from their accounts.

Growing an Established Brand

Being an established brand doesn’t mean you can hit pause on marketing. In fact, maintaining sales, brand awareness, and engagement becomes even more important as competitors and consumer expectations evolve.

That’s why top brands rely heavily on UGC creators; they know the value of their content. With long-term collaborations, they consistently receive fresh, authentic content that shows their product in real-life situations. This keeps the brand relevant, relatable, and top-of-mind for consumers.

While UGC creators focus on generating content tailored for specific campaigns (like product launches or promotions), established brands also collaborate with influencers to build deeper relationships with their audience. Influencers help reinforce the brand’s mission, values, and long-term identity, reminding loyal customers why they trust the brand in the first place.

FAQ

Is UGC the same as an influencer?

No, UGC is not the same as an influencer. While UGC creators focus on producing content, influencers rely on their audience to promote brands.

Is UGC more cost-effective than influencers?

UGC creators generally charge less since they’re not leveraging an audience, and their content can be reused.

How powerful is UGC?

UGC is extremely powerful. Over 90% of consumers say they trust UGC to inform their purchase decisions.