If you want to know how to get user generated content, the short answer is: make it easy for real customers to share, ask them at the right moment, get written permission before you reuse anything, and pay UGC creators when you need volume for ads. The catch is that the moment you repost a customer’s photo in your own marketing, it becomes your advert, with UK advertising and consumer law attached.
This guide covers the seven steps we use, a permission request template you can copy, the rules from the ASA and the CMA, and what paid UGC actually costs in 2026.
The short version
- Trust is the point. UK adults trust customers like them (82%) far more than a brand’s CEO (45%) or influencers (37%).
- Most UGC is prompted. Packaging, post purchase emails and simple challenges produce far more than waiting for luck.
- Permission first, always. The person who took the photo owns the copyright, so get consent in writing before you reuse it.
- Reposting makes it your ad. Once UGC is “adopted and incorporated” into your marketing, the CAP Code applies, and incentivised reviews must be labelled.
- Paid UGC is cheap but needs a licence. Marketplace payouts average about $154 a video, but paid ad usage should be written into the deal.
What is user generated content?
User generated content (UGC) is any photo, video, review or post about your brand made by people who are not your staff or agency: customers, fans and, increasingly, paid UGC creators who make content in a customer’s style for your channels. It matters because people believe it. In Edelman’s 2025 UK brand trust research, customers like me and customer reviews sit near the top of the trust ladder, well above brand spokespeople.
UK adults who trust each source to give accurate information about a brand
That gap is why UGC sits alongside creator marketing rather than replacing it. Creators bring reach. Customers bring proof.
The four kinds of UGC (and what each needs)
Before you ask for anything, decide which kind of content you are after. Each comes with different rights and labelling duties.
| Type of UGC | How you get it | Rights you need | Label needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organic posts, tags and reviews | Customers share unprompted; you find it through tags, mentions and review platforms | Written permission before you reuse it anywhere | Not while it stays on their account; yes once you adopt it in your marketing |
| Prompted UGC | Packaging prompts, post purchase emails, branded hashtags, challenges | Permission per piece, or contest terms that grant a clear licence | Treat reused posts as your ad; follow CAP Code rules |
| Incentivised UGC and reviews | Discounts, free product, prize draws or event invites in return for content | Permission or licence in writing | Yes: incentivised reviews must be clearly labelled |
| Paid UGC creators | You brief and pay a creator to make content for your channels and ads | Usage licence in the contract (term, channels, paid use) | Ad label if posted on the creator's own account |
Advertain guidance based on the CAP Code, the CMA fake reviews guidance and CDPA 1988 s.11. Not legal advice.
How to get user generated content in 7 steps
1. Decide what the content is for
Product page photos, paid social ads, organic posts and reviews all need different things. Ads need vertical video with a clear opening; product pages need honest photos in real homes; reviews need volume and recency. Write down the jobs, the formats (9:16 video, square photo, written review) and how many pieces you need a month. This stops you collecting hundreds of posts you can never use.
2. Build sharing into the product experience
Most brands wait for UGC to arrive. The brands that get it design moments worth filming: a reveal in the packaging, an insert card with your handle and hashtag, a post purchase email timed for when the product has been used, not when it ships. Keep one branded hashtag and one handle so you can actually find what people post. If you run a physical space, give people a spot worth photographing.
3. Ask directly with a simple brief or challenge
Open requests (“share your photos!”) underperform specific ones (“show us your first brew”). The classic campaigns all gave people a clear creative task:
- Starbucks White Cup Contest (2014): customers decorated cups and posted with #WhiteCupContest. It drew more than 4,000 entries, and the winning design was sold on Starbucks’ online store (FastCasual).
- Apple Shot on iPhone 6 (2015): a world gallery featured 77 photographers across 70 cities and 24 countries (iMore), and the campaign won the Outdoor Grand Prix at Cannes Lions (MacRumors).
- GoPro Awards: launched in 2015 with $500 per selected photo, $1,000 per raw clip and $5,000 per edited clip, up to $5 million a year (Tubefilter). Its 2018 Million Dollar Challenge drew more than 25,000 submissions, and 56 creators from 22 countries each took home $17,857.14 (Shorty Awards entry).
- LEGO Ideas: fans submit set designs, and an idea that reaches 10,000 supporters goes into LEGO review and may be produced (LEGO).
Notice the common thread: a clear prompt, a reason to take part and visible rewards for the best entries. For more prompts you can borrow, see our behind the scenes content ideas.
4. Get permission in writing before you reuse anything
Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 11, “the author of a work is the first owner of any copyright in it” (legislation.gov.uk). A customer’s photo belongs to the customer, not to you, even if they tagged you. Ask in a comment or message, get a clear yes, and file it against the asset. Platform tools help: Instagram Collabs put both accounts on one post with a shared view count and comment thread (TechCrunch), and TikTok Spark Ads let you promote an organic post once the creator generates an authorisation code from the video’s ad settings (TikTok Ads Manager help). A platform code covers the ad on that platform. It is not a licence to use the video elsewhere.
5. Stay inside the ASA and CMA rules
Organic posts on a customer’s own account are not your advert. But the ASA says UGC most commonly falls under the CAP Code when content is “adopted and incorporated” into a marketer’s own marketing (ASA), and its earlier online remit guidance says the same applies when a brand actively promotes it (ASA). Once you repost it, put it in an ad or on a product page, you are responsible for any claims it makes.
Reviews carry extra risk. Since 6 April 2025 the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act bans fake reviews and reviews that conceal they were incentivised, and the CMA can fine up to 10% of global turnover without going to court (CMS). The CMA lists incentives as including “monetary payments, discounts, invitations to events, free products, free stays, or any other form of reward”. After reviewing more than 100 businesses it found 54 that could be failing to comply, and in March 2026 it opened investigations into five companies (CMA). CAP Code rule 3.45 is equally direct: marketing must make clear where consumer reviews have been incentivised (ASA).
“Businesses must have measures in place to prevent fake reviews from appearing on their sites.” Competition and Markets Authority, 2026
Our ASA influencer guidelines cover labelling in more detail.
6. Pay UGC creators when you need volume
Organic UGC is slow and uneven. When you need ten ad variations by Friday, paid UGC creators fill the gap. Prices are lower than most brands expect, according to marketplace data:
- Collabstr’s 2026 report (2025 marketplace data) puts the average UGC payout at $154 and the average UGC campaign at $197, and UGC grew from 15% to 35% of all campaigns on the platform (Collabstr, vendor).
- Billo lists videos from $99 each (Billo, vendor), and Influee says usage rights or raw footage usually add 30% to 50% of the base rate (Influee, vendor, no method published).
The fee is rarely the problem. The licence is. Agree channels, term and paid usage in writing, using our influencer contract template, and check rates against our UK influencer pricing guide.
7. Put it to work and measure it
UGC earns its keep in three places: product pages, organic social and paid ads. On paid, platforms report that creator and customer style content outperforms polished ads, though these are their own numbers. Meta says partnership ads deliver on average 19% lower cost per acquisition and 13% higher click through rates (EMARKETER), and TikTok reports Spark Ads drove a 134% higher completion rate than standard in feed ads in a 2022 internal test (TikTok). Test UGC against your brand made ads on the same audience and budget, and judge on cost per result, not likes. Feed the winners into your repurposing workflow.
How to get user generated content for free
Free UGC is real, but it costs time. The reliable routes are post purchase emails with a direct ask, a visible hashtag and handle on packaging, a monthly feature of the best customer post (recognition is a reward people value), a community or loyalty group with first look access, and replying to every tag so people learn you notice. Remember that discounts and free products count as incentives under the CMA guidance, so content you reward needs to be labelled when it appears as a review.
Copy and paste permission request template
| Part of the message | What to write |
|---|---|
| Thanks | "We love this photo of your [product]. Thank you for sharing it." |
| The ask | "Could we feature it on our [Instagram, website product page, paid ads]?" |
| The terms | "We will credit you as @handle. Usage: [channels] for [12 months]. Read the full terms here: [link]." |
| The incentive (if any) | "As a thank you we would like to send you [reward]." State it up front so any label is honest. |
| Clear consent | "Reply #YesBrandName to agree." Screenshot and file the reply against the asset. |
Advertain template. Save the reply, the date and the agreed terms in your asset library. For paid creators use a proper contract instead.
UGC checklist before you publish
- We know which job this content is for (ad, product page, organic post or review).
- We have written permission, saved with the date, handle and agreed channels and term.
- Paid creators have a contract that covers paid usage and whitelisting.
- Any incentive is disclosed, and incentivised reviews are clearly labelled.
- Claims in the content are true and we can back them up, because it is now our ad.
- Identifiable people in the shot agreed to appear, including anyone in the background.
- No third party music, logos or characters we do not have rights to.
- The creator is credited, and we have a plan to test it against brand made content.
We use this process across brand and creator work, including content for Formula E that reached 7M+ views across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. See our work or talk to us about building a UGC engine for your brand.
Frequently asked questions
What is user generated content?
Photos, videos, reviews and posts about a brand made by customers, fans or independent creators rather than the brand or its agency. Paid UGC creators make content in that style to order.
Is user generated content paid?
It can be either. Organic UGC is unpaid; paid UGC creators charge per video, with marketplace payouts averaging about $154 in Collabstr’s 2026 report. Any reward for a review, including free products, must be disclosed.
Can I repost customer content without permission?
No. The customer owns the copyright in their photo or video, so you need their permission. Once you repost it in your own marketing, it also counts as your advert under the CAP Code.
Is user generated content earned media?
Organic posts customers share on their own accounts are earned media. When you repost them on your channels they become owned media, and when you put spend behind them they become paid.
How do you get user generated content on Instagram?
Give people a reason and a hashtag, ask in post purchase emails, feature the best posts, use Collabs to co publish, and request permission in a comment or message before you reshare or run anything as a partnership ad.
