9 min read
Table of Contents
User-generated content creators are everyday individuals who produce user-generated content for brands. Unlike other creator types, they don’t need a large community or social media profiles to succeed. Anyone who creates content and shares it with the brand to monetise it can be a user-generated content creator.
In this blog post, we will guide you through what a user-generated content creator is, how to find UGC creators for your brand organically or using a platform, and the top 10 UGC creator platforms to manage collaborations with creators.
User-generated content creators are individuals who produce posts, videos, reels, reviews, or testimonials related to a brand’s specific product or service. Depending on the UGC creator, they can also share the content across social media platforms, in addition to sending it directly to the brand.
What distinguishes UGC creators from traditional influencers is that they don’t necessarily need to have a built-in community to work with brands. In contrast, influencers sell not only the content production but also the community reach they have. In one line, all influencers are UGC creators, but not all UGC creators are influencers.
User-generated content creators and influencers have many things in common: they both produce high-quality content, their content is more engaging, and they generate more trust than branded content, even when sharing product or service-related information.
Although the line between user-generated content creators and influencers can be blurred, the primary distinction between them lies in their respective communities. UGC creators are more like freelancers, hired by brands to produce high-quality content, but they don’t necessarily need a community to share the content with.
Most of the time, UGC creators send the content directly to the brands, which then distribute this authentic content piece across various channels, like the website pages, social media, ads, email campaigns, etc.
On the other hand, influencers (including micro and nano influencers) are all about having the right audience, and they work to build a loyal community around their topic of expertise. That’s why influencer marketing is such a powerful strategy.
So, influencers not only produce the content for the brand to leverage, but they also share it with their community for higher reach. This also means that influencers’ content is more expensive than UGC creators’ content. Learn how to find influencers for your brand.
In the same way that there are differences between UGC creators and influencers, there are differences between user-generated content creator platforms and influencer marketing platforms. Depending on the type of creator (UGC creator or influencer) your brand is looking for, the platform you’ll need to manage campaigns will vary.
UGC creator platforms are marketplaces for finding and outsourcing UGC-style content from specialised freelancers. That’s why you can also find creators in other non-specialised platforms like Reddit, X (Twitter), Fiverr, and forums.
An Influencer marketing platform is a marketplace for finding and outsourcing influencers. This means they will produce the content, send it to the brand, and also provide a built-in community for sharing it.
Although some marketplaces include both UGC creators and influencers, make sure you are aiming at the right platform for your user-generated content campaigns. Also, both platform types should include tools to discover the creators, manage the campaigns, track the content, and handle payments in an easy way.
One of the main challenges marketers face is finding user-generated content creators who are suitable, aligned with the brand and share the same audience.
However, some content creators naturally become brand advocates, helping to amplify your reach and drive sales. Flowbox’s Content Creators Analytics dashboard allows you to track the performance of both organic advocates and creators you collaborate with so you can refine your user-generated content strategy.
This dashboard helps you identify:
You also have the ability not just to recognise top accounts but to explore further, by analysing individual posts and content, and gain valuable insights into what truly resonates with your audience. By pinpointing popular posts that generate the highest traction and interest, you can showcase the most engaging media on your website, social media channels, and email campaigns.
This dashboard helps you compare posts with:
A user-generated content creator platform is a marketplace that connects brands with UGC creators in a safe and secure space. These platforms usually provide complementary tools to manage all communication, payments, and analytics related to the collaboration process with UGC creators.
Let’s take a look at the top user-generated content creator platforms:
Dreaminfluence stands as a bridge between innovative brands and passionate content creators, designed to transform authentic storytelling into measurable business impact. Rooted in Copenhagen yet globally connected, the platform redefines collaboration by prioritising genuine connections over transactional exchanges, ensuring every mention matters.
Flowbox recently acquired Dreaminfluence, combining the strengths of two leading European brands. What sets Dreaminfluence apart is its commitment to quality and community. The platform’s rigorous vetting (1,000+ followers and active, authentic engagement) ensures brands partner with credible voices, not just numbers. Meanwhile, creators enjoy fair compensation and creative freedom, with no restrictive scripts or hidden fees.
The process for both brands and creators is simple:
Dreaminfluence offers tools to discover influencers from Instagram and TikTok, manage the relationship with them, track their content, and build a network of creators to scale the campaigns. The platform also provides a system to gather all payments into one invoice, simplifying campaign expenses.
Dreaminfluence by Flowbox offers three packages of €810, €1,150, and a custom price for enterprises. The prices vary depending on the maximum number of influencer team slots, the available countries for campaigns, and the number of users to manage the platform, among other factors.
Influee is a UGC creator platform that connects brands with creators. They offer on-demand UGC creation, video editing, and AI videos, with separate pricing packages for each service. Their pool of vetted creators includes more than 80k from 23 countries.
Post a content creation brief, match creators who applied to your campaigns, select the best ones, and receive the content after a few days. Same for AI-generated UGC.
Billo is a platform that allows you to outsource UGC video ads, enabling you to manage video projects with ease. Within their solution, you can select a social media platform, set your video length, add pro editing with one click, and customise every part of your brief to guide your creator.
They have a network of over 5.000 vetted creators, based in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, and with a wide range of demographics, styles, and interests.
Insense is a platform that streamlines the production of creator ads for business growth. They offer a creator marketplace, creative brief, campaign management, payments and copyrights, relationship management, and performance.
Creators in their marketplace can deliver a diverse range of assets from just UGC content and organic posting to creator ads. They integrate with Meta and TikTok, and offer different pricing options for self-service and managed service packages.
Aspire.io is an influencer marketing software platform for eCommerce brands. Their features include influencer discovery, creator marketplace, campaign management, affiliate tracking, reporting and analytics, and content management.
They also offer an in-house team to handle influencer marketing strategies and campaigns for enterprises that lack the time to manage these tasks.
Collabstr allows brands to search among thousands of vetted Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube influencers, communicate securely through the platform, and directly receive high-quality content, all while safely paying the creators.
The solution also enables managing campaigns and tracking post analytics and performance in real-time, allowing the brand to purchase sponsored content on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Brand Meets Creators is a platform to build, optimise, and scale your creator roster, designed to streamline brand collaborations with creators.
They offer a pre-vetted network of creators, integrated payments that automatically pay creators when tasks are fulfilled, a tracking system for creators’ content, and ROI estimates before hiring the creators.
Trend.io is a self-serve UGC content platform facilitating connections between user-generated content creators and brands seeking collaborative opportunities. Unlike other UGC creator platforms, they offer a fixed-price and credit package system, rather than charging a platform fee.
This system is very useful for small brands with limited budgets or occasional campaigns. Creator credits allow you to book content from creators across the country at a set price. They offer unlimited project requests and full licensing and distribution rights on the content.
Collabor8 is a virtual marketplace that connects influencers and brands for collaboration. They offer a pool of verified influencers from Instagram and Twitter. To use the platform, you should download the app and subscribe to a membership plan.
Collabor8’s filter settings enable you to identify desired matches based on follower count, geographic location, gender, industry, and category. Filters can also allow you to limit those who can request to Collabor8 with you.
#paid deviates from conventional influencer marketing models, and tailors campaigns for brands. In contrast to typical influencer marketplaces, the platform enables brands to craft detailed campaign briefs outlining goals, content requirements, and preferences for an ideal creator.
Moreover, #paid offers dedicated expert support to make sure you’re matched with the right creators, deliverables are handed off on time, and your campaign strategy and creative are a success. They provide a team of data-backed experts proactively working with you on every element of your campaign strategy.
A UGC creator platform makes it possible to discover, manage, and leverage the outsourcing of this powerful content at scale. From streamlining creator management to securing content rights and payments, these platforms empower brands to turn professional creators into their most valuable content marketing asset.
Here’s a list of reasons why brands should use a user-generated content creator platform:
If you are looking to become a UGC creator and collaborate with brands, it’s crucial that you build a solid profile on your chosen social media platform and clearly define your goals as a user-generated content creator. Here are some tips to help you get started:
Choose a niche or interest that you are passionate about. This will make your content more authentic and therefore enjoyable for your audience.
Given that the main strength of user-generated content is authenticity, it makes sense to choose the brands you collaborate with depending on your niche. At a broad scale, decide which industries you want to create content for, then create a list of specifications that align with your personal interests to help you filter your selection.
Regularly produce and share content to keep your audience engaged, as consistency helps build trust and keeps your followers coming back for more. Make sure to include relevant hashtags in your posts; by using popular and niche-specific hashtags, you can reach a wider target audience that will engage with your content, which increases your motivation to post.
Respond to comments, messages, and engage with your audience on social media. Building a community around your content is crucial for long-term and sustainable success. Additionally, encourage your audience to participate by asking questions, running polls, or creating challenges. This fosters a sense of community and increases user engagement.
Strive for high-quality content by investing time in creating visually appealing, well-researched, and well-edited content. Quality content is more likely to be shared by your audience as well as brands, which adds to the credibility of your content.
Here is a summary of the previously discussed topics, along with answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about user-generated content creators and UGC creator platforms.
A UGC creator platform connects brands with UGC creators who produce authentic photos and videos that they can use in their marketing strategies.
UGC creator platforms let brands post content briefs, invite or discover creators, manage collaborations, and receive ready-to-use content. Many platforms include built-in messaging, contracts, and content delivery tools, making the entire process from briefing to approval seamless.
The main difference between a UGC creator platform and an influencer marketing platform lies in the type of creator within their network. UGC creators focus on content production, while influencers prioritise their audience reach and sponsored posts.
UGC creators don’t necessarily post on their own channels. They create content for brands to use in ads, websites, and social media.
UGC creators produce authentic content that resonates with consumers and builds trust. Compared to branded content, UGC feels more relatable and drives higher engagement and conversion rates. It’s also more cost-effective than studio campaigns.
Most UGC creator platforms offer searchable databases or matching algorithms based on niche, style, location, and demographics. Brands can browse creator portfolios and select talent that fits their aesthetic and target audience.
Costs vary depending on the creator’s experience, content format (photo, video, written review, etc.), and usage rights. Many platforms offer project-based or credit-based pricing, allowing brands to scale content production affordably.
Typically, brands purchase full usage rights once they’ve paid for the content, but terms can vary by platform or creator agreement. The best UGC creator platforms provide clear licensing terms to ensure brands can safely repurpose the content across ads, websites, and email campaigns.
Performance can be tracked through engagement metrics, click-through rates, and conversion data, especially when UGC is used in paid social or product pages. Some platforms provide built-in analytics to help brands identify top-performing creators and creative types.
UGC creator platforms are particularly effective for industries like fashion, furniture, beauty, lifestyle, fitness, travel, and other visual eCommerce, where authenticity drives purchase intent. However, any brand that values customer trust and UGC style storytelling can benefit.
Most platforms vet creators through applications, sample work, or portfolio reviews. They often include rating systems, briefs, and content approval workflows to ensure that every deliverable aligns with the brand’s guidelines and visual identity.
Not working with a UGC creator platform yet? Request a demo to discover how a UGC creator platform can enhance your content marketing strategy.
