If your UGC isn’t performing well or grabbing the attention of your clients, chances are it sucks.
Let’s talk about it.
The Basics
You’re not using neutral editing apps. If you’re not using apps like Capcut, Premiere Pro, or iMovie where there’s no watermark and the quality is not intact, you need to change that. Companies can’t use videos when there is a watermark from Tiktok or Instagram visible. This is especially frustrating because we see some great content on Popfly but the videos with watermarks are un-usable. This goes for your portfolio as well. It looks so much better when it’s clean, and exported on a legit editing app where the quality is the best it can be!
You Gotta Get Personal
You’re making it about the sale… and the audience can tell. You know that when you see a video about a product, you get a little annoyed and scroll past to better content. With any piece of content you put out there, you need to ask yourself ‘What does the audience get from this?’ and the answer cannot be just the product or a cool shot. UGC work and content creation is getting so competitive now that there needs to be more to it. A personal anecdote to allow connection and relatability. Informational content about tips and tricks. A recipe, a story, a cool hike, a hidden gem, an interesting hobby, or something as simple as a laugh or inspiration for viewers. You gotta get personal and connect.
Audio is Everything
Your audio sucks. And we’re not just talking about the quality, it’s the way you’re editing it. Of course the audio quality needs to be there but there’s more to it. The best way to go about audio is to give brands options to work with. If you’re doing a voice over, don’t add any songs on top of it because sometimes that audio doesn’t match with the vibe they are going for. What I like to do is send content with different audio on top, but always include the same video with just the voice over, no music, and then send them names or links to trending audio. This allows them to be able to use audio that’s trending, freedom with the volume and the energy of the video. It gives your clients freedom while also making it as easy as possible for them and giving them options.
Interest is Key
Your content is not engaging. You simply cannot just include cool shots with no story, no voice over and little relatability. It doesn’t provide any room for engagement, connection or conversation for your audience. One thing that we see sometimes are videos with a bunch of shots and only music. There are levels to this. This style is totally okay but you really need to master your camera work and storytelling through music and a camera. If you are just starting out, it is highly recommended to focus on storytelling, connection with the audience and a good representation of the product and brand. Save the iphone cinematography for later.
Reaching Out
You’re waiting for brands to come to you. Chances are, they won’t. If you’re a smaller creator with big ideas, you need to be reaching out to brands. As a UGC creator, you need to create a healthy mix of outbound vs inbound leads and continue to nurture them. You need to have a strong, simple pitch and be reaching out to as many brands as you can. I would start with products you already use and make sample content for those products, and then reach out to those companies to start. Once you have created a solid portfolio and presence on Instagram, start reaching out to more and more brands with a short and thoughtful pitch.
We Can Help!
If you want to get into the UGC world but don’t know where to start and don’t want to make a pitch to every single brand, start by making a free profile on Popfly.com. You can start by linking your instagram and socials and summarizing the content you like to make. You don’t need to do anything else besides click the ‘Apply for Campaign’ button whenever a new brand deal is available.
Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok to see examples of other creators' work and keep informed on everything UGC! We’re here to help!
