The Business Case for UGC in Paid Marketing

The paid marketing landscape has changed dramatically. The rise of TikTok and the dominance of short-form, personality-led content have reshaped consumer expectations. In today’s ‘scroll culture’, brands have just two to three seconds to capture attention before audiences move on.

Platform algorithms have also evolved. Both Meta and Google have confirmed that creative quality now accounts for 70–80% of campaign success – making it the single most powerful lever for advertising efficiency. With ad costs continuing to rise, prioritising creative in every campaign has never been more important.

At the same time, trust dynamics have shifted. Consumers place more weight on the voices of real people than on polished brand communications. Social proof has become the new currency of persuasion, with human stories carrying far greater influence than traditional creative.

Against this backdrop, the business case for user-generated content (UGC) is stronger than ever. Whilst its short-form style aligns with modern platform use, UGC allows brands to humanise their message and build trust through social proof. Crucially, it not only unlocks performance gains across engagement, conversion and return on ad spend (ROAS), but it also builds loyalty and long-term brand equity.

This article will:

• explore the value of incorporating UGC into paid activity in more detail, highlighting both immediate performance benefits and longer-term brand value;
• review various applications for UGC in paid campaigns, considering its versatility as a marketing asset;
• share examples of two brands leveraging UGC across paid marketing – and the results they’ve seen; and
• consider how brands can leverage UGC platforms for impactful performance ads at scale.

Strategic benefits of using UGC in paid ad campaigns

1. Demonstrates authenticity & builds trust

Consumers are bombarded with branded messages daily, many of which they immediately discount. Peer validation is now the most trusted form of marketing, with studies consistently showing that recommendations from real people drive purchase decisions far more than professional ads.

Embedding UGC in paid campaigns allows brands to demonstrate real-world value. By showcasing authentic experiences, brands reduce purchase anxiety, build credibility, and reassure potential buyers in a way polished creative alone cannot.

Featuring a diverse array of customers in UGC also signals inclusivity, which is increasingly important in consumer decision-making, particularly in the fashion, beauty and lifestyle sectors.

2. Maintains relevance

Because UGC is often produced in real-time, it reflects the aesthetics, language and behaviours shaping social platforms at any given moment. This enables brands to respond quickly to emerging trends, platform updates, or seasonal moments, ensuring their paid campaigns always feel timely and in tune with audience expectations.

For example, a fashion retailer launching a new collection might collaborate with creators to produce short-form UGC that taps into a trending TikTok audio. This approach keeps the brand visible within the cultural conversation, whilst maintaining the authenticity and creative diversity that modern audiences expect.

This isn’t always possible with static creative produced in-house, which can take weeks to develop and can quickly lose pertinence.

By aligning creative output with the pace of culture, brands that leverage UGC remain agile, relevant and front-of-mind – a clear competitive advantage in today’s fast-moving digital landscape.

3. Increases engagement rates

Overtly promotional content is often ignored by today’s social scrollers. Meanwhile, content that looks native to a platform, like UGC, generates stronger interaction, including higher numbers of likes, comments and shares. In fact, research suggests UGC posts can achieve up to 28% higher engagement than standard brand posts.

For example, a smartphone video of a customer unboxing a product fits naturally in a TikTok feed, prompting users to pause and engage.

Engagement isn’t just about likes – it also influences algorithmic reach. Platforms reward content that sparks interaction, meaning UGC can increase both visibility and cost-efficiency in paid campaigns.

4. Boosts conversions

Seeing relatable people use a product in authentic scenarios bridges the gap between consideration and purchase. UGC shows how a product looks and functions in real life, increasing buyer confidence and often driving higher add-to-cart and checkout rates.

This effect is particularly strong in fashion, beauty and homeware. For example, a dress worn by a real customer on video creates relatability that professional photos alone cannot achieve. Seeing how the fabric sits on a real body and how it moves in motion helps shoppers visualise the product more accurately – reducing uncertainty and encouraging purchase action.

UGC can be used across product detail pages, email campaigns and retargeting ads to reinforce trust and accelerate the purchase journey.

5. Improves cost-efficiency & scalability

Sustaining performance in paid media requires a constant supply of fresh creative. Campaigns fatigue quickly, and what worked last month may underperform today. For many brands, producing new assets at this pace is prohibitively expensive.

UGC changes the equation. As well as sourcing free content from satisfied customers,  brands can efficiently source high-quality content through platforms such as Clip and Twirl, which connect them with creators ready to produce authentic, on-brand assets.

The result is a cost-effective pipeline of creative assets that can be tested, refined and redeployed across multiple channels. By leveraging platform-sourced UGC instead of relying solely on expensive studio shoots, brands can allocate budgets more strategically, balancing brand-building with performance marketing.

6. Strengthens brand equity

The value of UGC extends beyond immediate campaign performance. When used strategically, it becomes a key driver of brand perception, helping retailers build credibility and community around their products.

Even when UGC is commissioned through creator platforms, its relatable tone allows brands to present a more human, accessible identity. These creator partnerships deliver content that mirrors genuine customer experiences while still aligning with brand standards.

By consistently showcasing relatable, personality-led content in paid campaigns, brands foster a sense of inclusion and connection. Audiences feel part of a broader community rather than simply targets of advertising. Over time, this authenticity-driven approach strengthens brand affinity, improves retention and increases lifetime value – ensuring that paid marketing not only drives short-term sales but also contributes meaningfully to long-term brand equity.

Practical applications of UGC in paid marketing

UGC is a versatile asset that can be deployed across paid marketing channels in multiple ways. It can also be used to influence different stages of the customer journey. Ultimately, it is most impactful when used in environments where authenticity, trust and immediacy make the greatest difference to performance.

Here are some of the key areas where ecommerce brands can leverage UGC to strengthen paid activity and create a more credible and engaging path to purchase.

Social ads for awareness

Social platforms are the most natural environment for UGC. Audiences on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook expect to see content that feels organic, relatable and less polished than traditional advertising. UGC aligns with this expectation and performs strongly in native placements such as TikTok Spark Ads and Instagram and Facebook Stories and Reels.

Leveraging UGC in paid social ads is particularly powerful in the awareness phase of the customer journey. By appearing native to the feed, they are more likely to capture attention than traditional brand creative. They draw consumers in at the very top of the funnel and introduce products in a relatable and engaging way.

Common applications of UGC across social ads include unboxing clips or product demos, and consumer photos alongside review snippets.

Conversion-focused retargeting campaigns

Once a shopper is aware of a brand, the next hurdle is validation. UGC adds persuasive proof points for audiences already familiar with a product but hesitant to purchase – helping accelerate decision-making and turn intent into action.

For example, video testimonials can counter objections for browsers who have abandoned their carts, whilst social proof overlays (integrating customer reviews snippets into creative) can boost confidence at this consideration stage of the funnel.

Video environments

YouTube and Meta reward content that feels native to the platform. UGC clips, especially those structured around quick hooks, can outperform polished brand assets by holding attention and communicating authenticity within the first few seconds.

Specific applications of UGC in these environments include pre-roll and mid-roll ads on YouTube that echo the platform’s natural content style.

Always-on brand building

UGC also adds impact in ongoing campaigns designed to nurture loyalty and advocacy. Featuring customer stories in subscription renewal ads, loyalty campaigns or seasonal creative helps to maintain relevance and demonstrate how real customers are getting long-term value – strengthening relationships with shoppers.

Cross-channel adaptability

A particular strength of UGC lies in its adaptability. A single piece of content, like an unboxing video, can be repurposed across multiple paid touch points. For example, it could be:

• edited into a 15-second TikTok ad;
• shortened for an Instagram Story; or
• embedded into a YouTube bumper ad.

This flexibility allows brands to maximise the return on each UGC asset and create a consistent yet authentic thread across the customer journey.

Testing & optimisation

Because it is typically less costly to produce, brands can run multiple UGC variants alongside brand-produced assets in structured A/B tests. The insights from these tests not only highlight which type of content resonates most strongly with the audience, but can also inform broader creative strategy.

Case studies: UGC enhancing paid marketing across sectors

By embedding UGC into their paid strategies, brands are realising significant benefits. The following case studies highlight how brands in two different sectors have each harnessed UGC to improve engagement, build trust and drive measurable commercial outcomes.

Personal care brand

For our client operating in the highly competitive personal care sector, the integration of UGC into paid Meta campaigns has delivered tangible performance improvements.

For example, in the first half of 2025, UGC video campaigns showing users speaking to camera and showcasing a product achieved a significantly higher conversion rate than campaigns that relied solely on static brand assets.

When benchmarked against static creative, UGC demonstrated:

• 38% higher click-through rate (CTR); and
• 70% higher return on ad spend (ROAS).

These results highlight the strength of UGC in both attracting initial engagement and converting browsers into buyers.

Beyond the metrics, UGC has proven strategically valuable for our client. In a sector where differentiation is difficult and consumer trust is essential, authentic content created by real customers provides powerful social proof. Allowing genuine voices to speak on behalf of the brand has built credibility, encouraged greater engagement, and strengthened purchase confidence – all without relying exclusively on expensive production cycles.

School uniform retailer

UGC has also been a decisive factor in strengthening paid performance for another client, a leading school uniform retailer.

Ahead of the brand’s peak summer trading period, UGC was deliberately integrated into Meta campaign planning to maximise impact and capitalise on seasonal demand. As part of this strategy, a series of ‘Back to School’ UGC videos were produced using the hook model – a format designed to capture attention quickly and sustain engagement throughout. Over a 30-day period, the campaign delivered an incredibly strong ROAS, well above the Meta average.

Performance gains were not limited to revenue generation, with the brand’s always-on Meta UGC video campaign achieving a 168% higher CTR than an otherwise identical campaign using static creatives.

In this case, by showcasing real people interacting with our client’s products, the brand has been able to build trust at pace, accelerate growth and future-proof performance during a highly competitive trading window.

Using UGC platforms for impactful content at scale

One of the most significant developments in the paid marketing landscape has been the rise of specialist UGC platforms that connect brands with professional creators. These solutions have made it easier than ever for ecommerce teams to source high-quality, creator-driven content at scale – without the logistical and creative overheads traditionally associated with influencer management or in-house production.

Platforms like Twirl and Clip – two that Swanky regularly recommends and uses with our clients – enable brands to brief multiple creators simultaneously, define tone and visual guidelines, and receive a diverse range of authentic, platform-optimised assets within days.

For performance marketers, this scalability is transformative. It allows for rapid creative testing – launching dozens of ad variations across TikTok, Meta or YouTube to identify what resonates most with target audiences. It also ensures that fresh, trend-aligned content is always available.

Crucially, while content sourced through these platforms is paid for, it retains the aesthetic and tone of organic UGC. This balance between authenticity and brand control makes it a particularly effective format for building trust, improving engagement rates, and driving higher returns on ad spend.

By leveraging these platforms, ecommerce brands can achieve the creative agility needed to perform in today’s algorithm-driven landscape – where impact, authenticity and speed of production are equally essential to success.

Leverage UGC with Swanky’s ecommerce digital marketing team

For ecommerce leaders navigating rising costs and intensifying competition, the strategic imperative is clear: prioritise creative quality. And in doing so, make UGC a cornerstone of your paid marketing strategy.

By positioning authentic voices at the heart of performance strategies, ecommerce brands can enhance trust, increase engagement, improve conversion rate and strengthen long-term brand equity.

To speak to our digital marketing specialists about leveraging UGC across your paid ad channels, simply complete our enquiry form, and we will be pleased to discuss your requirements.