How brands can humanize their TikTok strategy through UGC

TikTok's algorithm doesn't care about your brand's follower count. It doesn't care about your blue tick or your quarterly marketing budget. What it does care about – obsessively - is authentic human connection and interest. The most successful brands on TikTok aren't those shouting the loudest about their products. They're the ones creating genuine communities where real people become genuine advocates. That’s where a strong TikTok UGC strategy comes in. User-generated content (UGC) isn't just a cost-effective content strategy - it's the bridge between corporate messaging and human storytelling.

The Authenticity Imperative

One of the most common mistakes I see brands make on TikTok is not getting the vibe right. Traditional marketing on TikTok feels like wearing a three-piece suit to a house party. Users can spot inauthentic content from a mile away. The answer isn't to abandon your well-earned marketing qualifications altogether - it's to reimagine how we use them fundamentally.

UGC is the antithesis of polished corporate content. It's imperfect, unfiltered, and precisely what TikTok users crave. When real people share genuine experiences with your brand, they're not just creating content but building trust at scale. This trust translates into engagement rates that would make any marketing director weep with joy.
Human-first marketing, the framework I created in my book of the same name, centers on understanding your audience as real people rather than data points. It's about creating increasingly more personal customer experiences, shifting the focus from transactions to interactions. Nowhere is this more present than on TikTok, where the platform rewards brands that genuinely understand and celebrate their communities.

The Three Pillars of Humanized TikTok UGC Strategy

1. Community Thinking

The most effective UGC campaigns start with community, not content. Understand your audience as people first, consumers second. What are their interests beyond your product? What challenges do they face? What makes them laugh, cry, or feel inspired?

2. Emotional Resonance Over Viral Mechanics

Listen, I get it. Chasing TikTok trends is tempting. However, the most powerful UGC emerges from genuine emotional connections. Instead of beginning with the question, "What's trending?" start with "What matters to our community?" Think: human experiences: creativity, belonging, achievement, or transformation.
Of course, don't abandon entertainment entirely, after all, TikTok is still a platform where fun wins. But the fun should feel natural, not forced. The authenticity shines through when users create content because they genuinely want to share their experience, rather than because they're incentivized to perform.

3. Collaborative Creation

TikTok has created a new future for marketing that goes beyond straightforward user-generated content to co-creation, where brands and users collaborate to develop ideas, narratives, and products. This collaborative approach has the magic power of turning customers from passive consumers into brand advocates. If you're shooting for advocacy over short-term results (and you should be), this is where you should spend your time.

Newly updated: Explore our interactive learning module for tips and tricks on how to optimize your TikTok marketing in 2025

Established UGC Strategies That Work on TikTok

There are two main overarching UGC strategies: organic and paid. Organic UGC is content that your real-life customers share freely. It's the most authentic type of UGC and performs exceptionally well on TikTok's algorithm. Let's consider a few organic strategies:

1. The Brand Hashtag Strategy

A unique hashtag can serve as a rallying point for your community. Unlike other platforms where hashtags can feel performative, TikTok hashtags become movements. The key is creating hashtags that encourage storytelling rather than just product placement. Think #MyTransformation rather than #YourBrandName. However, in my experience, these trending hashtags are notoriously tricky to manufacture artificially and often occur naturally.

You can search for trending hashtags on TikTok Creative Centre:

2. Challenge-Based Campaigns

Create compelling campaigns built around fun or enticing challenges that invite participation as part of your TikTok UGC strategy. Being part of a challenge can energize your audience and generate buzz around your brand. However, successful TikTok challenges feel organic to the platform's culture rather than like marketing stunts – this isn't easy.

3. The Creative Feedback Loop

Maximize brand engagement with User-Generated Content (UGC) through a creative feedback loop, a cyclical process promoting constant improvement and alignment with your marketing goals. Take the time to respond meaningfully to UGC, featuring creators in your content, and building ongoing relationships rather than treating UGC as a one-way content stream.

Core Module

Optimize your organic TikTok marketing

Part of the Social media marketing Toolkit

Discover the latest tips and tactics to reach, engage and delight your audience through organic TikTok marketing

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Building Your UGC Framework

Before you rush out the door to build your whole marketing strategy around UGC, let's take a moment to create a framework to set yourself up for success. Here's how to approach it with a human-first mindset:

Define Your Purpose Beyond Brand Awareness

What purpose does UGC serve in your marketing strategy? The most successful TikTok UGC campaigns serve multiple purposes: building community, providing social proof, and creating authentic connections. Your framework should prioritize human connection over vanity metrics.

Start Small, Think Deep

Begin with your most engaged community members rather than trying to reach everyone at once. These early adopters become your proof of concept and your biggest advocates. Quality of engagement matters more than quantity - ten passionate advocates are worth more than a thousand passive followers.

Create Clear Value Exchange

Don't expect to receive without giving. My Mum always taught me never to turn up empty-handed, and UGC is no different. Give back, perhaps with early access to products, exclusive community features, or simply the satisfaction of contributing to something meaningful.

Case Study: Glossier's Community-Driven Success

Glossier's TikTok strategy exemplifies humanized UGC done right. Rather than creating polished beauty tutorials, they amplify real customers sharing authentic moments with their products. Their approach demonstrates several key principles:

• Community Over Content: Glossier doesn't just collect UGC - they cultivate a community. They regularly feature real customers, respond personally to comments, and make users feel genuinely seen and appreciated.
• UGC Factories (Their Stores): If you have ever been into a Glossier store, you will understand what I mean by this - less of a traditional store, and more like the backstage dressing room of a popstar. Products are out for all to try with huge mirrors and an aesthetic that speaks their customers' language, hypnotically communicating "take videos of yourself in our store and share them on TikTok".
• Collaborative Spirit: Glossier often involves its community in product development decisions, asking for input on shades, formulations, and packaging. This collaborative approach makes customers feel like partners rather than just consumers.

The results speak for themselves: thousands of genuine stories, authentic engagement rates consistently outperforming industry standards, and a community that feels genuinely connected to the brand. What made this successful wasn't the reach but the depth of emotional connection.

Measuring Human-First UGC Success

Effective UGC management involves identifying content that aligns with brand values, but measurement goes beyond traditional metrics. Focus on engagement quality, community growth, and long-term relationship building.

Track how UGC contributors engage with your brand over time - do they become repeat customers? Do they continue creating content? Do they recommend your brand to others?

The most meaningful metrics for human-first UGC include:

• Comment sentiment and quality of conversations
• Creator retention and repeat participation
• Community-driven reach (how often UGC gets shared by other users)
• Long-term customer value from UGC contributors

Implementation Best Practices

1. Make Participation Effortless

Remove friction from the UGC creation process. Provide clear inspiration, but not rigid scripts. The best UGC campaigns feel effortless to participate in while still producing content that serves your brand objectives.

2. Amplify Authentically

When you share UGC, do so in a way that celebrates the creator, not just your brand. This isn't the 'you show'. Proper attribution, genuine appreciation, and continued engagement with creators will help build a community of advocates rather than a collection of one-time contributors.

3. Build Systems for Genuine Scale

As your UGC community grows, create systems that maintain the personal touch while handling increased volume. This might mean developing creator relationship management processes, creating more straightforward content guidelines, or building sophisticated ways to discover and amplify great content.

The Future of Human-First UGC

The shift toward humanized UGC represents more than a tactical change - it fundamentally reimagines the relationship between brands and customers. And I love it. Instead of broadcasting messages to audiences, we're facilitating conversations within communities.

This approach requires patience, authenticity, and a willingness to cede some control over your brand narrative. But for brands willing to invest in a thoughtful TikTok UGC strategy, the rewards extend far beyond views and engagement metrics. You're building a community of genuine advocates supporting your brand across platforms and over time.

The most successful brands of the next decade won't be those with the biggest budgets or the most sophisticated technology. They'll be the ones that remember marketing is ultimately about human connection, and that UGC is simply the most powerful way to facilitate those connections at scale.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start inspiring UGC for your brand.

Core Module

Optimize your organic TikTok marketing

Part of the Social media marketing Toolkit

Discover the latest tips and tactics to reach, engage and delight your audience through organic TikTok marketing

Learn More