UGC vs Influencer Content: What’s the Difference (And Which Should You Use)?

In a world full of buzzwords, “UGC” and “influencer marketing” often get lumped together. But while they overlap, they serve very different goals in a modern marketing strategy.

Understanding the difference between User-Generated Content (UGC) and influencer content can help your brand allocate budget more wisely, improve performance, and scale more efficiently.

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What Is UGC?

User-Generated Content (UGC) refers to authentic, brand-related content created by real customers or creators — often commissioned by the brand, but not necessarily shared from the creator’s account.

It includes:

• Product demos or tutorials
• Testimonials
• Lifestyle videos
• Reviews or unboxings

UGC is typically used by the brand, often as ad creative, on product pages, or on social media feeds.

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What Is Influencer Content?

Influencer content is published by someone who has a social media following and is paid to promote your product to their own audience.

It’s about distribution and endorsement, not just content creation. Influencer content lives on the creator’s feed or channel and taps into their audience trust.

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When to Use UGC

• You need content for ads, landing pages, or email campaigns
• You want authentic testimonials or demos
• You're looking to A/B test creatives
• You want to repurpose content in multiple formats

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When to Use Influencers

• You're launching a new product
• You want to build brand awareness
• You need access to a specific audience
• You want creators to share your product with high engagement

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What Works Better in Paid Ads?

In most cases: UGC.

That’s because UGC:

• Feels organic, not promotional
• Mimics platform-native content (especially on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts)
• Often performs better on metrics like CTR, conversion, and ROAS

In fact, many top-performing ad creatives today are just UGC-style videos made by small creators — not celebrities.

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The Smartest Brands Use Both

The best-performing brands in 2025 combine UGC and influencer content:

• Commission UGC from micro-creators for ad use
• Use influencer posts for awareness and engagement
• Reuse influencer content as ads — after negotiating usage rights

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How PromofyGo Helps You Do Both

At PromofyGo, you can:

• Post your campaign once
• Let creators apply based on your brief
• Choose whether to commission UGC, influencer posts, or both
• Only pay when you want to unlock creator details

That means full flexibility and no guesswork.

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Final Thoughts

UGC and influencer content aren't rivals — they’re complementary.
Know when to use each, and you’ll grow faster with less ad waste. You can also calculate the engagement rate of any creator using this tool: Engagement Rate Calculator.

Start your next campaign on PromofyGo and find creators who can deliver both.