Top User-Generated Content Tools + How To Choose

Let’s start with the obvious: People trust people more than they trust brands. That’s why we’re seeing increasing numbers of grainy phone videos produced by normal humans, rather than shiny, polished and overproduced campaigns. 

User-generated content (UGC) is exactly what it sounds like: digital material relating to a brand, produced by that brand’s audience. It began as a trend (ice bucket challenge, anyone?) and has grown into a hard-core digital marketing strategy — and one that’s worth a conversation. The 21% of B2C and 18% of B2B marketers leveraging UCG as their top strategy for 2025 would agree.

In this article, we’ll give the scoop on UCG, how to use it, ethical considerations to keep audiences on your side and the tools that make it all happen. Let’s get into it. 

What Is UGC and Why Should You Use It?

User-generated content is any digital material — posts, reviews, images or video content  — created by your audience rather than your brand. This content reflects authentic experiences, opinions and interactions with your product or service. Unlike branded content, UGC shows real people engaging with your brand, giving potential customers valuable insights into what it’s really like to be part of your community.

Think about it this way: Would you sooner trust someone who:

a) Tells you a product is good because they’ve used it and genuinely believe in it, or
b) Tells you a product is good because it’s their product, and they’ll make money if you buy it. 

Most of us would listen to option A, an authentic recommendation from someone who doesn’t have skin in the game. That’s your user-generated content. It’s free and easy to curate with the right tools.

Here are the main types of UGC you can work with:

• Customer testimonials: Short, direct statements from customers sharing their experience with your product or service.
• Social media posts: Organic mentions, photos or videos shared on social networks that feature your brand.
• Influencer content: Collaborations or mentions from established content creators whose audience aligns with your target market.
• Customer reviews: Written or star-based evaluations on websites, marketplaces or review platforms.
• Photos and videos: Visual content created by customers showing your product in day-to-day use cases.

The appeal isn’t complicated. When people see themselves reflected in your brand, trust and loyalty grow fast. You foster a sense of belonging by involving your audience in the story. When audience-approved social proof flows as a recurring stream of material and it costs far less than producing all your campaigns in-house, what’s not to love? UGC is a practical way to boost your online reputation while keeping campaigns grounded in the voices of people who engage with your brand.

How To Collect User-Generated Content

If your audience produces their own content around your brand* — TikTok reels, YouTube reviews or even a post on Instagram — you need a process to collect, sort and share that content. We’ll cover three ways to achieve that below. Before that, we need to discuss the ethics of sharing other people’s work.

Just because someone posts about your brand doesn’t automatically mean you can use it. UGC is a great way to gain trust, but it’s a fast track to losing it if you’re not consulting with the person who created the material before you share. Always get consent, whether through direct outreach, licensing or user-generated content tools that handle permissions for you. More on those soon.

Once you’ve obtained consent, here’s how to gather and share UGC:

• Manual content collection: Search hashtags, monitor mentions and scroll through social feeds. With this method, you’ll need to reach out directly to the content creator to request permission to feature their material. It’s simple but time-intensive, especially as your audience grows.
   
• Social listening tools: Use software that tracks mentions of your brand, specific keywords or hashtags. These tools surface content you might otherwise miss and help you organize it in one place. You’ll see patterns, trending posts and UGC creators naturally engaging with your brand.
   
• User-generated content tools: These solutions combine collection, licensing and distribution in one system. They automatically gather content, manage usage rights and provide a really easy way to share it across campaigns. This approach saves time and ensures your marketing is both efficient and compliant.

*If your audience isn’t already creating digital content related to your brand, there are plenty of ways to encourage UGC within your online audiences. Start with a hashtag marketing campaign, competition (Apple’s ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign is a great place to draw inspiration) or be courageously upfront and just ask them.

User-Generated Content Platforms: Choosing the Right One

There’s no shortage of user-generated content tools on the market, each making UGC easier to collect, manage and distribute. Every platform works differently, and what’s right for one brand might be over- or underwhelming for another. 

Below are six leading UGC platforms, plus how they work and which types of brands and content teams will benefit most from them. 

1. Flowbox

Flowbox is an award-winning SaaS company with a strong presence in Europe. Its advanced features help brands leverage and distribute social content across the customer journey, combining owned, paid, earned and user-generated content to improve engagement, social proof and sales.

This tool collects from broad social media platforms, sweeping from YouTube, TikTok and Instagram to Tumblr, Pinterest and more. It seamlessly integrates with websites and eCommerce channels like Shopify, handling diverse content types.

Key Features

• Visual UGC (images and videos).
• Ratings and reviews management.
• AI product recognition.
• Rights request tools and moderation.
• Social media scheduling and automation.
• Customizable widgets.

Flowbox Use Cases

Flowbox works well in established eCommerce, brick-and-mortar retail and educational domains — brands that have a high consumer base and a decent amount of content flowing through the pipeline. Small businesses can use the platform, but the pricing is targeted to the mid-market

2. Bazaarvoice

Bazaarvoice collects and showcases consumer-generated content to drive trust and influence conversion. It mainly gathers and integrates content into eCommerce platforms or websites, which boosts credibility. 

Key Features

• Ratings and reviews management.
• Analytics and moderation.
• Rights management.
• Email campaigns.
• Social media management and retail syndication.

Bazaarvoice Use Cases

Brands in fashion, consumer electronics or packaged goods in need of solid review management and multi-channel amplification might be interested in Bazaarvoice. 

3. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is primarily a social media content management platform, but it’s also great for discovering, managing and leveraging UGC. It does this by centralizing content from multiple channels — and it provides tools to curate and publish social media posts while tracking feedback, engagement and sentiment.

Key Features

• Intuitive inboxes, which track mentions and messages.
• Listening tools that tap into trends and organic content.
• UGC galleries for organizing images and videos.
• Publishing and analytics tools.

Sprout Social Use Cases

This option is ideal for brands managing multiple social channels and looking to integrate UGC into their strategy. It’s less specialized for eCommerce-focused retention, but it’s an ideal, uncomplicated start for smaller and emerging brands. Sprout Social’s plans begin at around $200/month, and you can trial the platform free for 30 days before committing. 

4. Yotpo

Yotpo is a retention marketing platform designed to collect UGC while driving engagement in the B2C space. If you need to combine UGC collection with email, SMS and loyalty programs to retain customers and drive conversions, this is the platform to use.

Key Features

• Email and SMS marketing.
• Visual UGC collection and display.
• Review syndication and product Q&A.
• Loyalty and referral programs.
• Product subscription management.

Yotpo Use Cases

Yotpo is great for brands focused on retention and loyalty. Startups and enterprises can both benefit from tiered pricing and multi-channel marketing tools. Plus, there are free and relatively affordable pricing options, so you can try before you buy. However, if you’re not retention-focused, you may find other channels better suited for general UGC distribution.

5. Emplifi

Emplifi specializes in social commerce, integrating social UGC, influencer marketing, ratings and reviews. It transforms customer posts into shoppable experiences, showing products in real-world scenarios. Meanwhile, it also tracks influencer campaigns and manages rights.

Key Features

• Visual UGC from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook.
• Analytics and AI filters.
• Influencer management and CRM.
• Community and reputation management.
• Rights management.

Emplifi Use Cases

Emplify works well for social-first brands, where community engagement drives conversions. Companies with smaller social footprints might find Sprout Social easier to manage.

6. Nosto

Nosto (formerly Stackla) is an AI-powered UGC platform for brands looking to leverage social proof across their channels. It combines ratings, reviews and visual content to personalize the user experience and optimize conversion rates.

Key Features

• Ratings, customer reviews and visual UGC.
• Email campaigns and A/B testing.
• Rights management.
• Digital assets management.
• AI personalization tools.

Nosto Use Cases

Best for mid-to-large eCommerce brands in retail or fashion looking to integrate UGC and AI-driven personalization. 

Get Your Audience Involved in Your Marketing With UGC

UGC helps you lean into consumer content and trust while lightening the content creation load. The right tools will make collecting, managing and sharing authentic user experiences effortless. But keep in mind that not all brands have the same needs. 

Dive deeper into the tools on this list — or do your own research — and start putting your audience front and center in your marketing strategy.