How to Find the Perfect UGC Creators for Your Brand [Platforms, Search Methods & Best Practices]

Most marketing professionals now know that using UGC creators for brand outreach is essential. The strategy has proven value across industries, making it one of the most critical aspects of any modern campaign.

Consumers perceive user-generated content as being more authentic. It’s grittier and closer to reality, which builds trust.

Moreover, it is more engaging than conventional marketing approaches. Few consumers will sit through a 30-minute conventional travel ad. But most will happily watch their favorite UGC creator reviewing hotel stays or leisure attractions for half an hour or more!

Finding the right UGC creator matters because it lets you align the content and style with your brand’s goals. You can ensure your messages reach your desired demographic and have the right impact.

As such, it pays to be selective. But how do you do that?

That’s what we discuss in this guide. It runs through everything you need to know about finding UGC creators for your brand and how they can assist you in your campaigns. It explores the platforms you can use to find them, the search methods available, and how to evaluate them (to see if they are a suitable match for your firm).

If you want quickly glance at top 5,000+ US-based Billo UGC creators, check out this page.

Search Methods for Identifying UGC Talent

Finding UGC talent is one of the most challenging aspects of the entire process. Potentially millions of people are available, but only a few will give you what you want.

One approach is to search social media platforms for influencers already generating brand-relevant content for their audiences. You can speed up this process by searching for specific hashtags or using keywords associated with your industry.

Usually, this search method will throw up several possible candidates, but you will have to reach out to them manually. You will also have to vet them yourself, checking that they won’t say anything that could contradict your brand.

Other popular strategies include:

• Monitoring trends on social media, looking for popular topics and hashtags associated with your brand, and finding the talent covering them
• Using social media analytics to discover influencers with high engagement levels and similar audience demographics to yours
• Searching the followers of popular accounts to see whether they have niche potential
• Searching on Google and looking for influencers who rank well on the search engine (indicating SEO potential)
• Asking existing creators for recommendations to cover your brand well
• Running contests and challenges to attract top creators to your company so that they are more willing to work with you

Tools And Platforms To Simplify UGC Creator Searches

Unfortunately, all these methods require hard work on your part. It can take weeks to sift through candidate creators to find a shortlist you can use.

The good news is that with platforms, you don’t have to go through this manual process anymore. Instead, you can automate it and get data-driven insights for who to target.

Platforms have built-in tools to track creators’ impact on social media, including engagement rates. You can see whether your customers enjoy watching them and if they target your demographic.

You can also benefit from centralized databases. These arrange creators by niche, allowing you to drill into the details and find individuals who are a natural fit for what you do. Everything is done through the portal, including collaborations, communication, and payment, so arranging these externally isn’t required. You shouldn’t have to juggle apps.

UGC discovery tools are also available. These help you connect with specific creators using filters that disaggregate your options by content type, topic, or style. You can easily drill into databases and look for individuals with experience on similar projects to yours.

Finally, many of these platforms have communities you can tap into. These make it more straightforward to collaborate with the talent you find, connecting with individuals who can help you make your online outreach dreams a reality. You can build lasting relationships with the influencers that matter to you, improving your UGC long-term compared to the competition.

Top Platforms for Discovering UGC Creators

Billo is successful as a UGC platform because it streamlines UGC management, allowing you to find and target influencers who can help you immediately. You can find dozens of willing creators who can slot into your campaigns without waiting. Unlike manual search, creators are ready to go, helping you the instant you need them.

Currently, Billo is home to over 5,000 curated creators in its networks. These individuals come pre-vetted to ensure they align with brands across niches, allowing you to find suitable influencers for campaigns instead of trawling through social media accounts by hand. You can order videos for whatever purpose you want for a fixed fee, reducing the need to build and negotiate relationships with everyone you work with. It only takes minutes to order and if you get stuck, you can ask your account success manager for guidance on what to do next. Videos arrive on time and budget, following your tailor-made brief if necessary.

Case studies show the success of brands using Billo’s UGC creators. For example, a supplement brand saw its sales spike after using our platform, with a 10.75% return on investment in our UGC ads. Similarly, an app publisher saw its cost-per-install drop by over 500%, scaling its marketing efforts by over $60k after switching to us.

Start using Billo today to find UGC creators and end the constant admin.

Evaluating Creators: Style, Audience, and Brand Fit

Once you find creators, the next step is to discover whether they align with your brand. Matching them to your requirements is one of the most critical aspects of the process. Skipping this part can make them less effective.

1. Style

The creator’s style refers to their tone and approach to their work. Ideally, you want this to match your brand while remaining authentic (so audiences don’t get the impression they’re paid).

Start by observing their tone. Is it educational, aggressive, playful, enthusiastic, etc.?

Next, look at how they present themselves. Is it suitable for your brand? Or does it contradict your visual identity?

Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect. You can tell the influencer how you want them to look in your brief. You can also get them to adhere to specific production quality standards, ensuring they use a high-resolution camera and decent audio bit rate if you want (though this isn’t as essential as it was before).

Consistency is only worth considering if you plan to use the creator long-term. You want to see they can produce more than one piece of content that aligns with your requirements and fits your desired brand image.

2. Audience

When evaluating creators, also look at their audience. Check if it makes sense for your company.

Ideally, you want to find influencers with followings similar to yours. The age, gender, and interests should overlap.

Ensure the fit is within a few percent. If it isn’t, you could be wasting your time and resources.

If there is alignment, look at the engagement statistics for the creators account. Some influencers have large legacy followings but don’t produce much new content their audiences watch.

Check the likes, comments and shares of the creators to see how much impact they have on the people following them. Creators with small, niche audiences often drive more interest than those with broader audiences. Passive followings aren’t as useful for brands wanting to reach out and impact the community.

The best UGC influencers for brands are those with tight audiences obsessed with products. For example, Apple computers often draws on its creator network to create video showcases whenever it releases a new product. Cycling companies, tech manufacturers, and software developers do the same.

Lastly, see whether audiences trust the creator. Even if they have an engaged following, it doesn’t necessarily mean that people believe what they say (and will act on it).

This part of the process requires asking whether the UGC creator has an authentic relationship with their audience. People shouldn’t follow them just for novelty value or entertainment, but because they believe in what they say and do.

3. Brand Fit

Lastly, you should evaluate whether the creator is a brand fit. Can they complement your mission?

Most companies avoid controversial creators who rock the boat. While these individuals are entertaining, they can also create controversy, which then adversely impacts your brand. Avoid choosing creators with conflicting values. Working with these individuals can lead to issues when discussing your products and make for jarring content that doesn’t make sense.

You should also think carefully before using influencers who previously worked with other brands in your niche. It could create a conflict of interest if they have multiple relationships with companies in your industry and leave their audience feeling confused.

How To Build Strong Relationships with UGC Creators

Once you find UGC creators in your niche, the next step is to build lasting relationships with them. Ideally, you want to deepen your trust over time, leading to more fruitful outcomes.

Billo makes this process more straightforward because of the tools we provide on our platform. But you can do many things to make partnerships even more successful.

Build For The Long-Term

The best strategy is to build relationships long-term. Working to deepen partnerships with creators can be highly effective because it engenders trust. Influencers eventually feel like a part of your team and have longer to develop relationships with your products.

You also get to know them personally – an essential aspect of any business. Learning more about them can be an excellent way to secure the connection you have with them.

Pay Them Fairly

You can also build strong relationships with UGC creators by paying them fairly. Getting compensation right shows them that you value the time and effort involved in their creations.

Pay them in a way that makes sense based on their needs. For example, you could supplement direct compensation with product samples, exclusive access, or other perks. These latter options are useful for beginner influencers because it lets them provide their audiences with unique content.

Support Them

The best brands also support their audiences, making it more straightforward for them to generate content. For example, they often offer resources and tools, such as product information, to improve sales.

How you support your creators depends on what your business does. For example, firms that sell health supplements often provide their creator audiences with content about what their products do and links to research backing up their claims. Likewise, travel agencies will routinely provide timetables and information sheets influencers can use to explain benefits and deals to their audiences in more detail.

Value Their Expertise

At the same time, avoid dominating the creators you use. While providing them with information is helpful, you don’t want to talk down to them. Often, they have valuable insights that also benefit you.

Try to involve them in your decision-making where possible. Get them to provide you with their two cents on what to create next and what’s likely to work.

Acknowledge their contributions and hard work if they succeed. Let them go off-script sometimes if it means more sales for your product pages.

Sometimes, the projects they deliver improve what you detail in your brief. These situations reveal the value of letting them get on with it and providing creative freedom. Taking a step back and giving them space can help tremendously.

Communicate Clearly

You also want to communicate clearly with creators to build a stronger relationship with them. Defining what you expect (including deliverables and deadlines) reduces conflict.

Be sure you remain available to the influencer throughout the process. Deal with their concerns and answer their questions promptly.

Be Authentic In Engagement

Finally, be authentic in your engagement with them. Respect their work and show appreciation for their efforts. Don’t be afraid to get personal with them if that’s what they want. Some creators find these approaches more motivating.