How To Get UGC for Beauty Products
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In beauty, we often trust word of mouth and the opinion of real people on what products actually work and aren’t just another fad. Nowadays, these conversations have moved online, and it’s called user-generated content (UGC).
UGC content can help insert your brand into these truthful conversations about effective skincare and beauty products. In this blog, we’ll find out how to get UGC and use this marketing strategy to bring success to your brand on and offline!
What Is UGC and Why Does It Matter
User-generated content (UGC) refers to content created by brand customers — think selfies with products, videos of usage, unboxing content, or even reviews on the company’s website.
“79% of consumers admit that UGC impacts their purchasing decisions thanks to authenticity and relatability.”
UGC content stands out as a more authentic and relatable way to showcase a certain brand’s products because it comes from real people rather than highly curated ads from companies trying to sell their products. And if UGC with your products picks up steam, it can even yield better results than your brand’s marketing campaigns.
UGC helps your customers visualize how a serum performs in two to three weeks, how a lipstick shade looks on real lips, or whether a foundation really is full coverage. It’s all about genuine experiences, and your brand can greatly benefit from that with UGC.
Types of UGC with Examples
Before we dive into how to get UGC, let’s look at what types of content are most popular with UGC creators.
Photos
Photos are one of the most popular types of UGC, and they can include makeup swatches or full looks, before and after pictures, unboxing showcases, flat-lays, texture shots, and so much more.
Source: Pinterest (kims.kaboodle)
In beauty UGC, pictures perform really well because they give you instant proof of how the product looks on a real person and can be visually pleasing, making this content highly shareable on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest.
Videos
Arguably, video is at the heart of UGC and marketing skincare in general. Some of the most popular types of video content that rule TikTok, Youtube, and Instagram reels are get-ready-with-me’s, tutorials, transformations, and unboxings.
This format offers multiple things that static content just cannot do, like real-time application and results, as well as feel for textures, which are very important in the visual world of beauty.
Reviews
Sometimes good UGC isn’t even visual — it’s textual. With beauty products, we want to be 100% sure a product works and will not harm us, after all, it goes directly onto our skin or hair. And what better place to look for proof than reviews under the product you’re about to purchase?
A review of Glossier’s Milk Jelly Cleanser
Reviews are an invaluable tool for customers because they offer real, unedited opinions from people who’ve already tested the product, plus they can also act as the last nudge toward purchase for those who are still unsure. I know I have bought skincare products largely because the reviews have proven that the formula actually works.
Reviews are also one of the most trustworthy types of customer content, because reputable companies don’t edit or remove them, giving you a clear overview, in comparison to social media, where it might not be as easy to distinguish whether something is UGC or a paid partnership (but you should always look for hashtags that indicate paid content).
Social media posts
Social media is where beauty content and UGC thrive. With the boom of all things beauty in the mid-2010s social media, the trend of going to Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest to discover new products is still going strong.
Socials is the place where people test and discover products, exchange and share opinions. And the modern-day algorithms show us that even small creators can go viral quickly and have more impact on sales than curated campaigns.
UGC on social media isn’t just a free promotional tool, it’s also a way for you as a business owner to see how your products live in the real world and what your target audience actually thinks.
Interactive activities
Some UGC doesn’t even fall into any of the most popular categories, like interactive experiences, where each one is unique to the brand and the participants.
Interactive UGC can be all kinds of hashtag challenges that can turn passive followers into active participants, think trends like #NoMakeupChallenge that promotes natural beauty, or #TFBornThisWay challenge from Too Faced, which encouraged people to try their new foundation.
But these experiences can also come to life with AR try-on filters, polls, quizzes, and other gamified activities.
How to Get UGC: Tried & Tested Tactics
We now know that UGC can take different forms, but let’s get to the good part: how to get UGC and encourage your fans and creators to create content with your private label cosmetics or other products.
Incentives and Rewards for Customers
One of the most powerful ways how to get UGC is to give your supporters an incentive and reason to share content about your products. For seasoned content creators, sharing photos and videos of their new finds and routines comes naturally, but others may need a gentle nudge in the right direction.
Packaging inserts can be a cost-effective and simple tool to remind your customers to share their thoughts on your product on social media, tag your brand, and maybe even use a dedicated hashtag so it’s easier for you to track who’s shared what.
Emails are another place to connect with your customers. Motivate them to share content by including a note in the thank-you for purchase email, or right when they’ve received the order. If you’re willing, you can even go a step further and say that they have a chance to be featured on your social media or website — that’s great motivation for those who are thinking about starting to create beauty content, as it’s a way for them to gain exposure.
For another layer of motivation, you can also use discounts, giveaways, or award loyalty points for user-generated content. By offering a small discount in exchange for their review, giving out loyalty points for a social media post, or organizing a seasonal giveaway (e.g., sharing your Halloween look), you’re giving your fans something tangible and exciting for their effort, and showing that you care about those who help and contribute. A win-win for you and your customer!
Hashtags and Community Challenges
So much in the beauty space is about community and connecting with people who, for example, have the same skin concerns as you or enjoy creating similar types of makeup. Give your customers that platform and chance to connect! You can do it by organizing interactive campaigns like the ones we looked at above, with hashtag and community challenges.
And these challenges don’t even need to follow big launches, you can also ride on existing trends. Like, did you know there’s a community for #empties, A.K.A. for people who post pictures of empty skincare and makeup packaging, quite often accompanied by their thoughts of the product? That’s an angle you can use, as you’ll know your customers have actually used the product and will be honest about their experience.
Opportunities are everywhere, and one of the best ways to get inspiration is to look at existing trends and challenges, as well as checking out what your competitors are doing to get UGC.
Micro-influencers and Loyal Customers
There’s a misconception that effective UGC is one that’s made by huge influencers. Quite often, the most effective user-generated content comes from small creators, because in the eyes of netizens, they’re more authentic and truthful with a tighter-knit community.
Another demographic you can tap into is your loyal customers. Look at the customers who regularly shop in your store, or increase the average order value with bigger purchases, and make them feel seen, ask them their opinion, and get reviews. Trust me, a simple email saying: “Hey, we really value you continuously supporting our brand, and we’d like to see you share your thoughts. Here’s a little gift or discount for that.” can go a long way!
How to Measure the Success of UGC
The how to get UGC is just the first step in the journey. To successfully integrate UGC into the broader picture of your brand’s marketing and generate real success, you then need to see why and if the UGC works for you.
KPIs to Track
To see if your UGC strategy works, we first need to look at numbers. The KPIs that’ll let you measure that include:
Engagement — likes, comments, saves, and shares that can give you an overview of how much your products and content about them resonate with others,
Reach — it’s the number of how far the content has travelled, or simply, how many people it’s reached. For a skincare dropshipping brand that encourages voluntary UGC, it might not be that easy to see from the get-go, but for videos, views can give you an approximate sense of reach (usually, reach is a little higher than views).
Conversions — your website traffic, sales, and sign-ups all fall into the conversions category. You can follow these stats more closely once you put your UGC strategy to the test, provide creators with UTM links (this way, you’ll precisely see which sale came from which post), or once someone enters your website, ask them to fill out a survey to see how they found out about your brand.
Volume of reviews — if your objective was to get more UGC in review form, you can look at the growth and quality of the new reviews.
Reviewing Content That Works the Best
Not all user-generated content will perform equally, and that’s completely fine! By closely following your KPIs, like engagement rates, with time, you’ll start to see patterns of what type of content performs better.
You’ll want to look at what themes, content formats, platforms, or even editing techniques work best for your brand, and fine-tune your UGC efforts to match that.
Iterating and Scaling Up
Once you start seeing the successful patterns, you’ll want to concentrate your efforts there and, in the future, scale your UGC in a similar direction.
That doesn’t necessarily mean solely doing more UGC marketing with more people. It can also mean using UGC for your paid ads (because it performed well organically), expanding into new markets (let’s say your strategy worked well in the US, and you want to try going for the Canadian audience), or building on what you already know well (successful hashtag campaigns with new twists, for example).
UGC-ya!
The standards for modern beauty brands are high, and polished ad campaigns might not be enough to drive new customers to your store. Your potential customers seek out honest reviews and real results before committing to your brand and its products.
To help bridge that gap, UGC can be an invaluable tool in your journey. Your mission should be to find ways to inspire your customers to share their thoughts and prove that your products work. I hope this article encouraged you to do just that and nurture a community that feels valued for their opinion!
Frequently Asked Questions
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UGC (user-generated content) is the content created by brand customers — think selfies with products, videos of usage, unboxing content, or even reviews on the company’s website.
UGC is an effective way to bring more trust and authenticity to your brand through genuine opinions and reviews of creators. 79% of consumers admit that UGC impacts their purchasing decisions thanks to authenticity and relatability.
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Yes, you do. You can either ask for permission when you first approach your audience for UGC (for example: By applying/sending/sharing your content, you give the permission for our brand to use it in our marketing) or just ask them directly through DM or email.
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UGC can help any beauty brand, and is maybe even more effective if you’re only looking to start a skincare brand. When you’re just starting, your business needs to gain the trust of your potential customers because they haven’t heard of you yet. UGC can be a great way to build that trust and raise awareness of your brand.
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Most often, UGC is created by real customers with little to no financial incentive. This type of content feels more raw and less polished than influencer campaigns by showcasing real results and honest opinions.
Influencer content, on the other hand, is created by established professionals in a more controlled environment and is more strategic to the brand. Most of the time, influencers get paid for promoting and using a product on their platform, too.
There may be an overlap because influencers also share unpaid content with their honest thoughts, but it comes with a certain scepticism from the broader audience.
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Set and follow KPIs (engagement, reach, conversions, reviews), explore what works best for your brand (themes, topics, formats), and fine-tune and build on the strategy that has proven to be successful.
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