How to Build a Winning User-Generated Content Strategy for Your Start-Up
16 May 2025
User-generated content (UGC) has become one of the most trusted, engaging, and cost-effective forms of content out there. For start-ups looking to grow organically, a smart user-generated content strategy can help you earn trust, boost visibility, and drive conversions, without blowing your budget.
In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know to make UGC part of your content marketing mix. Whether you’re in fintech or fashion, targeting B2B or B2C audiences, you’ll find practical tips and real-world examples to help you start strong.
What Is User-Generated Content?
User-generated content is any content created by your customers or community rather than your brand. Think reviews, social media posts, videos, testimonials, forum contributions, and even comments on your blog.
UGC isn’t about filling content gaps. It’s about building trust through authenticity and creating a more interactive, engaging experience for your audience.
Why UGC Belongs in Your Start-Up’s Content Strategy
There’s a reason so many marketers are leaning into user-generated content: it works. Here’s how UGC supports your wider content strategy across trust, visibility, and conversion.
1. It boosts trust and authenticity
People trust people. That’s why UGC is often seen as more authentic than branded content. In fact:
- 84% of people trust brands that use UGC in their marketing
- 85% say UGC is more trustworthy than brand-created photos or videos
- 55% trust UGC over any other form of marketing
For early-stage brands still building their reputation, that kind of credibility is priceless.
2. It improves SEO and organic reach
3. It drives conversions
UGC provides real-time social proof, which can reduce hesitation and increase conversions. In fact, displaying user-generated content on websites has been shown to increase conversions by up to 29%.
UGC Isn’t Just for Social Media
When you think of UGC, Instagram or TikTok might come to mind. But this content works across all your organic channels, including:
- Blog posts (e.g. customer stories or expert Q&As)
- Product or service pages (e.g. reviews, star ratings, FAQs)
- Landing pages (e.g. testimonial quotes)
- Video content (e.g. user tutorials or testimonials)
- Email campaigns (e.g. customer spotlights)
- Community forums (e.g. a customer support forum or hobby-based chat community)
Let’s look at how to encourage UGC across both B2C and B2B start-ups, and where to put it to work.
How to Encourage UGC (Without Being Pushy)
You don’t need a huge audience to generate UGC, you just need to ask in the right way, at the right time. Here’s how to start encouraging authentic contributions from your users.
For B2C Start-Ups
Make it easy and fun to participate:
- Create a branded hashtag: Invite people to tag their posts. Gymshark’s #Gymshark66 campaign generated over 8 billion hashtag views by challenging followers to post their 66-day fitness transformations.
- Run UGC contests or giveaways: E.g. “Post your best unboxing moment with #MyBrandName and win a £50 voucher.”
- Ask at the right time: After a positive purchase experience or milestone (“30 days with us – how’s it going?”) send a simple prompt asking them to share a photo or leave a review.
- Reward and repost: Feature your favourite UGC on your feed, website or newsletters. Recognition is often enough of a motivator.
For B2B Start-Ups
Tap into your clients’ expertise and results:
- Ask for testimonials and case studies: Keep it simple. You might say, “We’d love to spotlight your success, can we quote you on [X result]?”
- Encourage peer reviews on sites like Google Review or Trustpilot: Reviews matter in B2B too. Incentivise with a donation to charity, a LinkedIn shout-out or branded merch.
- Host webinars or roundtables: Invite clients to speak or share tips, they’ll often post about it on LinkedIn, creating valuable UGC.
- Create community spaces: A LinkedIn group or Slack community can prompt discussion (and content) you can repurpose later.
Where to Use UGC in Your Content Strategy
Once you’ve got UGC coming in, the next step is to make it work for you. Here’s where to feature user content across your organic marketing channels.
Blog Posts
- Customer stories: Feature a client’s journey using your product or service.
- Expert roundups: Ask customers or partners to contribute tips.
- Comment threads: Enable blog comments and respond, great for engagement and SEO.
Product & Landing Pages
- Ratings and reviews: Let happy customers speak for you.
- Photo galleries: Tools like Flockler and Taggbox allow you to embed UGC directly.
- FAQ content: Use real customer questions and answers.
Video Content
- Customer testimonials: A quick video recorded via VideoAsk can be more persuasive than a polished brand ad.
- Product demos from customers: These feel more trustworthy and relatable.
- Montage or “fan feature” videos: Combine multiple user clips into a short reel for socials.
Social Media
- Reposts and stories: Regram or retweet user content regularly (with credit).
- Community highlights: Use Instagram Highlights or pinned posts to showcase your favourite user content.
- Hashtag walls or feeds: Use tools like Tint or Yotpo to curate live UGC galleries.
Real Examples: UK Start-Ups Nailing UGC
Plenty of UK start-ups have built strong brands and communities by making user content part of their strategy. Here are just a few standouts.
Gymshark
Built a fitness community around hashtags and challenges like #Gymshark66. They encouraged followers to document their fitness journeys and transformations, turning customers into brand ambassadors.
The brand regularly reposts user content and built much of its early success on a steady stream of workout selfies, training clips, and challenge entries from real users.
Huel
Encouraged their customers (“Hueligans”) to share meal prep tips, transformation journeys and recipes. These posts formed a constant stream of authentic content across Instagram and Reddit, which the brand embraced through features and replies.
Huel’s community helped reinforce the product’s health image while reducing reliance on brand-created content.
Lovetovisit
This travel start-up lets users upload photos and reviews of places they’ve visited. They activity reward UGC submissions with loyalty points, which appear on the platform to help other users decide where to go next.
This social proof loop builds trust, enhances the user experience, and fills the platform with rich, customer-created media.
Monzo
Users of the digital bank organically began sharing their colourful Monzo cards and app experiences on X and Instagram.
Monzo encouraged this behaviour by reposting, responding, and even writing blog features on user stories.
These spontaneous user posts became powerful social proof, especially in the early days when Monzo relied on referrals and word-of-mouth to grow.
UGC and Permissions: Keep It Legal
Before you repost someone’s photo or quote, always:
- Ask for permission (a DM or email is fine)
- Credit the original creator
- Don’t heavily edit their content
- For large-scale campaigns, include clear T&Cs upfront
Using UGC ethically helps protect your brand and builds good relationships with your customers.
UGC is More Than Content, It’s Connection
A well-planned user-generated content strategy is about more than marketing. It’s about community, trust, and showing the world that your brand delivers real results for real people.
Start small. Ask for that review. Repost that customer snap. Celebrate your users and they’ll keep creating the content that helps your brand grow.
You don’t need a big budget, you just need a little trust in your audience. And if you nurture them right, they’ll return the favour with the kind of content money can’t buy.
Ready to bring your content to life with real voices?
At Ruche Marketing, we help start-ups like yours build user-generated content into blog strategies, landing pages, social campaigns, and more. Get in touch to see how we can make your content strategy more human and more effective.
All content in this article was correct at the time of publication.
