UGC: Boosting Your Performance
Content your customers trust: we select creators who align with your brand identity, provide direction, and produce at scale.
Authenticity, visibility, impact: the three drivers of UGC
Authenticity: Users are looking for reliable customer reviews. User-generated content (UGC) helps build credibility and sets brands apart from traditional advertising. Visibility: User-generated content performs better than content produced by brands.
Impact: Consumers find that user-generated content has a much greater impact than content from influencers. Our approach: casting based on stylistic fit, a detailed brief, and paid amplification (Spark Ads, Dark Posts) to turn every high-performing piece of content into a driver of customer acquisition.
Review my UGC strategyAverage CPM for UGC Spark Ads vs. traditional studio-produced creatives
ROAS for paid UGC vs. studio-created content in Social Ads campaigns
Our UGC expertise
From casting to paid promotion, including the brief and post-production: end-to-end expertise to produce UGC that drives conversions.
Designer Showcase
Selection of nano (10k–50k) or micro (50k–200k) profiles aligned with your brand DNA. Systematic validation before product delivery, ensuring stylistic fit before subscriber volume.
higher engagement rates among nano-creators compared to macro-influencers
Creative Brief
A structured brief outlining the expected angles, messages, hooks, and formats. Aligned with your current paid campaigns. The brief is what sets high-performing UGC apart from generic UGC.
The quality of UGC depends on the brief, not on the creator's number of followers
Report Approval
Editorial quality control on every raw take: adherence to the brief, technical quality, and brand consistency. Two rounds of revisions included to make adjustments before final editing.
standard revisions on each design deliverable prior to final approval
Assignment of Rights
Contracts covering organic and paid usage (Meta, TikTok, Pinterest). 12-month term, renewable, with defined territories. Paid rights are included in our standard packages.
standard paid usage period included in our Creator plans
Spark Ads & Dark Posts
Promotion via TikTok Spark Ads and Meta Dark Posts. Content is distributed directly from the creator’s account, just like an organic post, but managed as part of a campaign.
lower acquisition cost for Spark Ads compared to traditional studio creatives
Performance editing
Using the raw footage, our team delivers agile, seamless, and performance-driven editing. We adhere to platform guidelines, provide subtitles for every video, and tailor formats to each specific use case.
Video completion rates for UGC vs. Ads Studio in paid campaigns
UGC
User-generated content (UGC) is at the heart of today’s creative strategies. We have developed expertise and built a roster of trusted creators so that we can quickly and seamlessly produce this authentic, high-performing content.
I need UGCA well-established process,
measurable results
Pre-production and planning
5 to 7 daysUGC requires strict briefing and interim approval processes to avoid delivery issues. We oversee scriptwriting, casting, and the selection of creators from our database of pre-qualified creators, chosen for the quality of their work.
We handle the negotiation process and ensure timely delivery. Each creator profile is reviewed with you before the product is sent. We prioritize stylistic alignment over the number of followers.
Shipping and creation
10 to 14 daysIf you have physical products, shipping them triggers the creators to start producing the content. Having been briefed in advance, they have everything they need to create the content on their own.
We review the raw content with them to ensure it meets the brief, is technically sound, and is consistent with the brand. Two rounds of revisions are included before final editing.
Editing and delivery
5 to 7 daysUsing the raw footage we have, our team delivers agile, fluid, and performance-driven editing. Each video is edited with both a creative and strategic eye, taking into account platform guidelines, current trends, and your marketing goals.
We provide formats tailored to your various needs: 9:16 for TikTok and Reels, and 1:1 and 4:5 for the Meta Feed. Both organic and paid versions are delivered simultaneously, with subtitles included in every video.
Paid promotion
LiveUGC content that performs well organically is boosted through Meta Ads and TikTok Spark Ads. We turn your best creator content into paid campaigns with an average CPM that’s 30% lower than studio-produced creatives.
Work with our Social Ads teams to manage the test, identify the top-performing ads, and scale budgets toward the highest-performing content.
Launch my UGC campaignOur Culture at Stride-up
Transparency
No empty talk, no empty promises: we tell it like it is. Results, successes, and areas for improvement—everything is shared clearly and candidly.
Quality
Every project deserves the highest standards. Whether it’s a campaign, content, or visual design, every detail is carefully crafted. Quality is what makes the difference in the long run.
Performance
We don’t build campaigns; we build growth engines. Every strategy is designed to evolve, adapt to data, and deliver measurable results.
Synergy of levers
UGC never acts alone. To implement truly effective digital strategies, it collaborates with other areas of expertise within the agency, creating a powerful synergy.
UGC & Social Ads
UGC is the most effective format for paid social campaigns. TikTok Spark Ads and Meta Dark Posts: the cost per acquisition is 2 to 3 times lower than that of traditional in-house creatives.
User-Generated Content & Creative Ads
UGC complements traditional creative production: authenticity from the creators, total control from the studio. The combination of the two maximizes the number of testable angles and minimizes ad fatigue.
User-Generated Content & Email
The best UGC finds a new home in newsletters and automated email campaigns. Video customer reviews boost conversion rates for post-purchase and win-back emails.
UGC & Influencer Marketing
In addition to paid UGC, qualified creators can engage in brand collaborations. Our curated database helps identify profiles that combine paid performance with brand impact.
Our customers talk about us
"Stride-up is currently helping us with the creative side of things. It’s allowed us to test new concepts with static images, which we’d kind of given up on. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen CTRs at these levels. That’s what we’d like from a lot of service providers: when things run smoothly, it’s pleasant, and we don’t have to change our processes.”
Fashion & Clothing“We had a project to film a customer testimonial, and Stride Up supported us from pre-production through post-production. From the pre-production phase to managing the shoot, the team demonstrated a high level of professionalism, attentiveness, and creativity. They quickly understood our expectations and proposed an approach that aligned with our brand image.”
Financial Services & E-commerce“We’ve been working with Stride-up for six months. The agency acts as an extension of our in-house team, functioning as an agile and experimental creative lab. Their primary mission is to produce innovative content for our Meta acquisition campaigns. Through this collaboration, we’ve identified several new ad formats with high potential for Le Closet, which have quickly emerged as top performers.”
Clothing & ShoesFAQ: UGC Agency
What is UGC, and why is it crucial for a DNVB brand?
UGC (User-Generated Content) refers to content created by creators or real customers rather than produced in a brand’s studio. For a DNVB, it has become an essential tool for two reasons: authenticity (audiences trust creators more than the brands themselves) and paid performance (UGC content has a CPM 25 to 35% lower than studio-produced creatives in Meta Ads and TikTok Ads). There are two main types: organic UGC (posted on the creator’s account) and paid UGC or dark posts (used directly in ads without prior organic posting).
Nano-creators or macro-influencers: which should a growing brand choose?
When it comes to paid performance, nano-creators (10k–50k followers) consistently outperform macro-influencers. Their engagement rates are 3 to 5 times higher, their costs are 4 to 8 times lower, and their content is perceived as more authentic by Meta and TikTok algorithms. For brand awareness and credibility, mid-tier profiles (100k–500k) with a strong stylistic alignment remain relevant. Our approach: a foundation of nano-creators for paid content, supplemented on an ad-hoc basis by mid-tier profiles for product launches.
What should a DNVB or e-commerce brand allocate for its UGC budget?
The budget depends on the volume of content targeted and the creator tier. For 8 to 12 UGC posts per month with nano-creators, the package includes the creative brief, casting, coordination, production, and post-production. The production budget (payments to creators) is an additional cost. For paid amplification, we recommend a dedicated media budget for the highest-performing UGC content. It is the paid use of UGC that generates the best ROI: TikTok Spark Ads and Meta Dark Posts have an acquisition cost 2 to 3 times lower than studio-produced creatives.
How do you manage the usage rights for UGC content?
This is a critical point that is often overlooked. Every collaboration with a creator is governed by a rights assignment agreement covering:
- Organic engagement on the creator's social media platforms
- Paid advertising (Meta, TikTok, Pinterest)
- Term of use (12 months, renewable)
- Geographical regions
Usage rights (dark posts or Spark Ads) are included in our packages. For extended uses (print media, billboards, e-commerce), additional usage rights are negotiated on a case-by-case basis.
Organic UGC or paid UGC: What's the difference?
Organic UGC is posted on the creator’s account. It builds brand awareness, trust, and organic traffic to your brand. Paid UGC (Meta dark posts or TikTok Spark Ads) is used directly in advertising without prior organic posting—the content is displayed as if it were a normal post from the creator but managed as a campaign. Paid content is often twice as cost-effective in terms of acquisition costs compared to traditional studio-produced creatives. Our recommendation: design each piece of UGC content for both uses right from the brief.
Why outsource UGC to Stride-up instead of managing it in-house?
Managing UGC in-house means simultaneously handling creator sourcing, rate negotiations, briefs, product shipments, revisions, rights, posting schedules, and paid amplification. For a marketing team with other priorities, this is a full-time job. Stride-up has streamlined this process: a database of over 250 qualified creators, standardized briefs tailored to each brand, a 48-hour review process, and standardized rights contracts. You get a steady stream of UGC content aligned with your brand identity without having to dedicate an entire team to it.
What types of UGC do you produce?
Our UGC content covers all the formats needed for a social media strategy:
- TikTok Video 9:16 (try-on, haul, unboxing, review)
- Instagram Reels (engaging vertical videos)
- Meta Stories (with stickers, polls, and native audio)
- Static UGC (photos taken by the creator, reusable in feeds)
- TikTok Spark Ads (paid native amplification)
Each format is delivered in optimized aspect ratios and includes closed captions for paid use.