Advertising works, but if you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to go beyond the basics, and that’s what the best UGC platforms offer. What do people want in 2024? Real experiences and stories. User-generated content (UGC) helps you:
- Showcase social proof
- Market or advertise your brand
- Share unique experiences
People want to learn about the experiences of other people, not companies. Imagine if you had an influencer showing off their new doghouse on Instagram or TikTok and sharing how amazing it is with their animal-loving audience.
Consumers make purchasing decisions based on other people’s opinions, and UGC platforms allow you to influence decisions further than general influencer marketing.
3 Types of UGC Platforms and Who They’re For
Selecting the best UGC platforms is hard because there are so many – you’ll see quite a few soon – but also because there are many types to choose from. User-generated content comes in multiple forms, but the most popular choices are below:👇
- Aggregators: An aggregator will gather mentions and hashtags on social media platforms. If you’re a brand like Nike, people are already creating tons of content about your brand, and you can track all of this with an aggregator.
- Self-Service: A self-service UGC platform allows brands or creators to connect with creators and offer promotions to them.
- Full-Service: If you want to match with influencers and creators but don’t want to do all of the work in-house, a full-service or scalable platform will be your best option. You don’t need to waste internal resources with a full-service UGC platform because they streamline everything for you, but this added service will cost more.
Many brands and product creators begin with a self-service option before transitioning to the full-service option as their capital grows.
We’re going to review the best UGC platforms in the world in 2024 to help you narrow down your choices on which option is ideal for your advertising needs.
Top 13 UGC Platforms in 2024
1. Trend.io
Trend.io offers partnering options for as little as $110, and you can submit a free brief to creators who may be interested in the products you offer. Over 10,000 vetted creators are on the platform.
As one of the best UGC platforms, you’ll have the option to boost sales through:
- Testimonial videos
- Unboxings
- In-action videos
- Lifestyle videos
- Product shots
- Portrait shots
Over 31k+ videos and 46k+ photos have been created through the platform, which gives you 100% licensing rights for all content that’s created.
Top investors back the company – so you know it’s viable – including Twitch, Zillow, Rotten Tomatoes and many others.
Multiple package options are available, with the starter option offering up to 10 videos and 25 photos for just $550.
What sets Trend apart from the crowd is that they connect you with creators who will create the content specifically for you.
2. Tagshop
Tagshop wants to help brands maximize their revenue with a platform designed to enhance engagement and build trust. You can start a free trial to learn how the platform works and join many other brands that rely on Tagshop, including:
- L’Oreal
- Nescafe
- Opuline
Analytics, AI and UGC are combined into a solution that aims to transform your sales. You can:
- Source content
- Secure content rights
- Drive up trust and authenticity
Content is easy to add to your email or social media, and if you have an Instagram store, you can create a shoppable feed with ease. Users appreciate the ease of tagging and linking products in images, but with a platform this feature-rich, it takes a while to fully leverage its powerful tools.
You can also discover creators, connect with them and manage communications through one, streamlined platform.
3. Emplifi
A platform like emplifi is an all-in-one solution that helps replace tools like Hootsuite and Sprout Social. Brands rely on the advanced features and functionality of emplifi to transform their organizations.
Companies that use the platform include:
- Audi
- Delta
- Domino’s
- Bath & Body Works
You can book a demo or watch a video of how the platform works. Facebook, TikTok and Instagram integrate with emplifi, allowing you to:
- Collect UGC from social sites, reviews and ratings
- Curate quality content with AI-powered search
- Streamline tasks
- Publish content fast and easily on social channels and websites
- Customize galleries and landing pages with an intuitive editor
- Track and optimize all of your campaigns
- Eliminate spam and moderate content to ensure you’re sending the right message
- Curate content and share it effortlessly
- Collaborate with other team members
If you have an e-commerce shop, emplifi will integrate with it and provide a seamless experience from start to finish. Geo-fencing options are also available for hyper-local UGC.
One downside is that pricing is not transparent, and you’ll need to reach out to support to book a demo.
4. GRIN
GRIN is a content management platform with options to turn your brand into a household name. You’ll join the likes of other brands using the platform, such as Hot Topic, OSMO, Hershey, Kylie Cosmetics, Skims and countless others.
Users benefit from tools that help you get discovered and recruit creators, such as:
- Landing pages
- Web extensions
- Powerful import tools
Nurture relationships right in the app, with options to add affiliate codes, ship products, email creators and report and analyze campaigns, too.
Public relations and managing influencer marketing have never been easier than with the help of GRIN.
Paying creators is easy. Shopify connects right to GRIN, and you can even create custom campaigns with the help of what GRIN calls “Activations.”
Integration into your tech stack is possible, with options to connect to Slack, Klaviyo, Instagram, WooCommerce, Shopify and dozens of others.
5. Upfluence
Upfluence is one of the leading UGC platforms and is used by mega brands, like Amazon and Verizon, to turn creators into revenue for their brands. You can grow partnerships, add brand ambassadors and even create affiliate programs right through the intuitive dashboard.
Data-backed suggestions connect brands with the influencers who are most likely to accept collaboration. In fact, Upfluence states that creators are seven times more likely to collab with you thanks to the platform connecting you with the right creators at the right time.
Why choose Upfluence?
- Extensive creator network
- ROI tracking
- Multiple compensation models
- Built-in social listening tools
- Workflow management
- Detailed analytics
One downside is that connecting with smaller influencers is limited, although still possible.
6. Tint
Tint is a community marketing platform used by more than 5K brands across the world, including Coca-Cola, Nike, Canon, Nestle and more.
If you’re looking for a platform that can scale with you, Tint is a great choice.
The platform offers end-to-end service, from collection to curation, rights management, publishing and analysis.
Gather UGC from dozens of social content channels, and filter the content by keywords, engagement, dates and more.
You can also curate your UGC using auto-moderation and powerful filters to save time.
Tint makes it easy to customize your UGC to align with your brand, collect rights and publish content across channels. Insights and analytics help you identify valuable contributors and determine which types of content resonate most with your audience.
7. Nosto
Nosto helps brand maintain visual UGC and makes it easy to share this content across key touchpoints, including:
- Product pages
- Paid ads
- Social media
You can showcase your UGC in nurture campaigns, too. Whether the customer is in the awareness or retention stage, you can leverage your UGC to build trust and enhance the experience.
But Nosto also helps you transform your UGC into shoppable content. Link any visual content to related product pages and even add a call-to-action or “add to cart” button to boost conversions.
The platform can also help you manage your UGC by offering rights management workflows that are user-friendly. You can even define automation rules, personalize your widgets, sync your product catalog and more.
Nosto offers several other tools that you can use to create customer experiences, so it’s worth considering this tool just because of its versatility.
8. Billo
Billo says it’s the #1 UGC marketplace for video ads. The platform has more than 5K creators in a variety of demographics, interests and styles.
No matter what you sell, Billo will have a creator that will align with your brand.
And the best part? You can experiment with different types of UGC:
- Testimonials
- Mashups
- Showcases
- Post-production
When you work with Billo, you’ll be assigned a dedicated success manager who will help you find the perfect creators for your brand. You can also leverage their:
- AI storyboard writer to save you time and churn out ads faster
- In-house editors (for a fee) to take your video quality to the next level
Billo’s process is really simple.
- Create a detailed brief of what you want
- Creators will submit their applications
- You choose one and ship your product to them
- They’ll send in their video in about a week
- You have 3 days to approve it, and you can make up to two free edit requests (as long as they align with your task brief)
With Billo, you can create UGC for TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, YouTube and Shopify.
9. Yotpo
Yotpo markets itself as an ecommerce retention platform. They offer quite a few solutions, but their reviews and UGC solutions are what you’re after.
Yotpo simplifies the process of collecting customer reviews. Here’s how:
- You can send email or SMS messages asking for reviews
- You can gather insights through customer feedback left in reviews
- You can request photos and videos to enhance reviews
You can even tag customer Instagram posts and showcase them in visual galleries on your website.
With Yotpo, you can customize your widgets and measure your progress using built-in tools. The platform’s moderation tools ensure that you’re only sharing UGC that’s useful and valuable to your audience.
The only drawback with Yotpo is that there’s no easy way to share UGC across social channels. Also, this is not a platform for connecting with influencers. It’s primarily for managing customer reviews.
10. Bazaarvoice
Bazaarvoice is a full funnel UGC platform designed for commerce. They offer a number of solutions to help you maximize user-generated-content, including:
- Moderated ratings and reviews
- Social commerce, which transforms your social content into shoppable experiences
- Product sampling, in which the platform connects you with a sampling community to support product launches
- Q&A solutions to ensure customers get the answers they need when making buying decisions
Bazaarvoice is actually the owner of the wildly popular Influenster community, which has thousands of users ready to sample and review your products.
More than 12,000 brands use the platform, including PetSmart, Petco, The Body Shop, Under Armour, DSW and more.
And of course, Bazaarvoice also gives you access to insights and reports that you can use to optimize and improve your campaigns over time.
If you’re serious about leveraging UGC in your marketing, then Bazaarvoice is a top choice. But if you’re just getting started with your brand, you may find this service is too much for your needs.
11. JoinBrands
JoinBrands connects influencers with brands to create authentic, trust-building UGC. They’re trusted by brands like Mary Ruth’s and Beauty by Earth.
The great thing about JoinBrands is that they handle payments, and you get exclusive content rights.
Their network of content creators is huge – more than 100K.
Just create a UGC campaign, and creators will start applying. Review their portfolios and choose the perfect match for your brand.
The UGC created with JoinBrands can be used on:
- TikTok
- YouTube
- Amazon
- Your own website
The possibilities are endless, and you’ll get access to your UGC fast. According to JoinBrands, most tasks are completed in about a week.
With this platform, you can create a wide range of content types, including:
- How-to videos
- Unboxing videos
- Product demos or reviews
- Selfies with products
- Product demo photos
- Product only photos
- Lifestyle photos
What about pricing?
There’s a pay-as-you-go option, which is $0 per month – but you’ll pay a 15% platform fee. The three paid tiers offer lower platform fees, content credits and other perks. The Startup tier is just $99 per month, which is very reasonable for most brands.
You can book a demo to give the platform a try before you sign up.
12. Social Native
Social Native is used by famous brands like Zillow, Sephora, Sony, H&M, Ikea and more. The platform does a few different things:
- Acts as a sourcing engine, making it easy to connect with influencers.
- Collects UGC from mentions and hashtags
- Allows you to define guidelines for creators and influencers
- Streamlines licensing and rights management
- Automates payments
- Embed shoppable UGC galleries in ecommerce environments
- Share UGC on social channels or run ad campaigns
- Gain access to insights and reports to refine your marketing strategies
Social Native manages all relationships with creators, which makes it easy to create and incorporate UGC into your marketing.
If you want to work with creators outside of the US and promote your UGC internationally, you can do that as well.
Social Native is an impressive platform, and they have options for every need.
13. Skeepers
Skeepers is an AI-based solution that can help you target your audience with personalized content.
More than 8K brands use the platform for their UGC needs, and they offer a variety of products to help you make the most of user-generated content.
The platform makes it easy to:
- Gather reviews (text, photo and video)
- Integrate influencer posts, gifted reviews and live shopping into your marketing
- Respond to reviews
- Moderate UGC to ensure authenticity, compliance and strategy alignment
- Publish UGC across channels, whether it’s your website, social accounts or retailer sites
Brands can even leverage the platform’s influencer marketing services.
The platform doesn’t provide any information about pricing. You’ll need to talk to a team member to schedule a demo, but it’s worth the effort if you’re serious about using UGC in your marketing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a UGC?
A UGC platform is a place where real people – not brands – can share their experiences online.
These could be:
- Reviews
- Unboxings
- Testimonials
- Products in action/use
The great thing about a UGC platform is that you don’t have to hunt down user-generated content out in the wild. These tools gather your customer posts for you, making it easy to repurpose them in your marketing.
You can use UGC to create valuable content on social media, in email marketing or even on your website.
How Do You Choose a User-Generated Content Platform?
There are so many UGC platforms out there. How do you know which one is right for you?
Before you start comparing, it’s important to clarify a few things:
- What’s your goal? First, identify the type of content you need or want. Do you want trendy UGC clips to post on TikTok or Instagram? Are you after authentic testimonials that you want to add to your website? Knowing your needs is important because it will help you narrow down your platform options.
- How much content do you need? Do you need a lot of posts, or are you looking for just a few videos here and there? If you need a steady stream of content, make sure that you choose a platform that can keep up with your demand.
- Who are you trying to reach? Make sure that you know your audience first. A platform that has a diverse range of creators will help ensure that you’ll find someone who will resonate with your audience.
With these things in mind, you can start comparing different platforms to find one that will meet your needs.
Here👇are a few other important things to consider when weighing your options:
- Is it easy to collaborate? You want a platform that makes it easy to connect with creators and communicate your wants/needs.
- Are there any quality control measures in place? Look for a platform that checks the quality of the content that’s delivered.
- Are the updates in real-time? UGC platforms are designed to help you discover content rapidly. To maximize the benefits of these tools, make sure that they offer real-time updates.
- Do they offer customization and moderation features? Naturally, you want the option to customize the UGC tool to meet your individual needs and maximize the impact of your marketing. Moderation features ensure that no one is abusing the platform or posting irrelevant and inappropriate content.
- Does the platform have rights management capabilities? It should be easy for you to acquire the rights to use the user’s content and reuse it for marketing.
- Is the tool easy to use? A user-friendly UI and an intuitive design will make it easy for you to start implementing this tool into your marketing.
Of course, you also need to consider pricing and customer support. Does the tool fit into your budget? Do they have a responsive support team? If you have a question or an issue with the tool, you want peace of mind that you’ll get answers and help in a timely manner.
Why Do Influencers Use UGC Platforms?
Influencers use UGC platforms because they’re such a powerful and effective way to build their personal brands. They allow influencers to connect with their audiences on a deeper level and offer a number of other benefits, including:
- Nurturing trust. Influencers must be authentic to build trust with their audiences. UGC platforms help boost the authenticity factor and allow influencers to create and share trustworthy content.
- Higher engagement. UGC platforms allow influencers to interact with their audiences and improve their engagement rates. Things like challenges, branded hashtags and contests all encourage audiences to interact with influencer posts. Influencers can then respond to comments and feedback to build deeper relationships and create more memorable experiences for audiences.
- Greater reach and brand awareness. Influencers can reach more people when they share UGC content across their social channels. At the same time, they build brand awareness.
Influencers also use UGC platforms because they’re a cost-effective way to create high-quality content that their audiences love.