How to use TikTok to generate UGC Content

Adapting your strategy to TikTok and its audience is essential. With the right approach and high-quality content, TikTok users can help your brand achieve greater visibility and conversions than you ever imagined.

This guide breaks down the key steps to launching a successful UGC campaign on TikTok.

1. Initial Research

Every well-structured campaign begins with research. Start by listening to the client, analyzing their current challenges, and understanding their market context. This step lays the groundwork for defining clear, measurable objectives.

At this stage, focus on:

• Audience: Who they are and what they need.
• Competitors: Their products, communication style, customer service, and most effective ads.
• Company: Brand story, key offerings, and best-performing content.\

All of this information is then organized into a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats).
💡 Tip: It’s also valuable to perform a SWOT analysis for your agency, not just the client.

Additional elements to consider in this stage:

• Past campaign results.
• Prior learnings and insights.
• How each action will be measured.\

2. Setting Objectives

Each TikTok UGC campaign will have a different purpose — some aim to boost brand awareness, others focus on engagement or driving sales.

Traditionally, TikTok has been used to drive traffic to online stores, but recent trends show it’s also highly effective for attracting customers to physical retail locations.

Examples of common TikTok UGC goals:

• Promote app downloads by showcasing its features in an engaging way.
• Increase interaction with product or service posts through authentic, relatable content.
• Drive online purchases or in-store visits using videos that motivate users to act.\

3. KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

The KPIs for a TikTok UGC campaign should align directly with each client’s marketing objectives.

Some of the most relevant KPIs include:

• Cost Per Install (CPI): The main KPI in app conversion campaigns. Success means maintaining a low installation cost per active user.
• Ad Spend: TikTok ads tend to be more expensive than Instagram or Facebook, but using UGC often helps lower those costs.
• Cost Per Mille (CPM): The average TikTok CPM is around $10 per 1,000 views, though premium ad types (In-Feed, TopView, Branded Takeover) can reach $50,000+ per day.
• Average Watch Time: The longer viewers stay on an ad, the stronger its creative impact.\

4. Strategy Development

A campaign strategy should always be data-driven. Avoid relying solely on intuition or trends — instead, use prior performance data to shape decisions.

Once the metrics are defined, you can select the right tactic and tools.
In this case, if you’re using TikTok UGC, the main asset will be videos produced by creators.

💡 Note: Running UGC campaigns based on real customer content can be time-consuming. You’ll need to collect, review, edit, and repurpose submissions — effective, but resource-intensive.

5. Content Creation

Once tactics are defined, it’s time to determine the type of content to produce.
Depending on your goals, TikTok offers several UGC ad formats:

• In-Feed Ads: Cost-effective and easily tailored to demographic segments.
• Brand Takeover Ads: Highly actionable, ideal for landing page redirections.
• Challenge Ads: Great for driving organic engagement.
• Shoppable Ads: Designed to maximize conversions.\

💡 Internal Tip: The biggest challenge in content creation is understanding the audience. What works for one segment might fail for another — test and adapt constantly.

6. Hooks

When working with UGC videos, you’ll need multiple hooks within the first seconds of your content.

The first hook (within the first 3–5 seconds) is the most crucial — it determines whether users will keep watching or scroll away.

TikTok users have extremely short attention spans. If your video fails to grab them immediately, they won’t finish it, click your link, or make a purchase.

7. Influencers

Once your strategy is defined, identify influencers that align with it.
Usually, brands have the final say in approving creators.

💡 Tip: You can access free influencer databases and read guides on how to select the right partners.

After approval, the process includes:

• Sharing the creative brief with the influencers.
• Hosting a kickoff meeting to align everyone on campaign goals, KPIs, and content expectations.
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Pro Insight: TikTok UGC works best for brands with broad appeal. Collaborate with creators who have different personalities and communication styles — TikTok’s targeting algorithm is less granular than Meta’s, but its wide targeting power can help identify the most responsive audiences.\

8. Ad Execution and A/B Testing

After producing your content, organize all assets into a library and launch paid campaigns.

Every ad should undergo testing — data always beats intuition.

💡 *Pro Tip: Hook Testing* Ask creators to produce one UGC video with three different hooks.
Run all three in your campaign — typically, one will outperform the rest.
That’s your winning hook, which can then be reused and scaled.

Remember: TikTok is unpredictable. Even similar ads can deliver vastly different results. The key is to test, learn, and iterate constantly.

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9. Scaling the Campaign

A typical TikTok campaign runs for three months:

• Month 1: Identify winning strategies and produce top-performing content.
• Month 2: Launch ads, analyze results, and optimize creatives.
• Month 3: Scale up what works best.
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Once you’ve found your top-performing hooks and creatives, focus your budget on those assets for exponential growth.

💡 Professional Tip: Reuse your best-performing TikTok UGC across other channels — email marketing, your website, and other social platforms. This multi-channel repurposing boosts brand visibility and increases conversions.

Final Thoughts

When creating TikTok content, avoid overly scripted, commercial-style videos. Users crave authenticity, not corporate messaging. Show your product in real-life scenarios or collaborate with influencers to present it naturally.

What drives successful campaigns is connection with TikTok culture — engaging users through relatable challenges, storytelling, and trends that inspire massive amounts of user-generated content.

TikTok isn’t just a platform; it’s an ecosystem where creativity, authenticity, and community turn everyday users into powerful brand advocates.