USER-GENERATED CONTENT?
Designers. We are creators, influencers, and consumers of user-generated content, but what is UGC? Simply put, it’s content related to a brand, company, or service that is created by someone who’s not an official representative of that business. It could be a social media update, a review, a video, a podcast, or a number of other types. For several years now, businesses have seen UGC for the advantage it is and often will highlight their designated landing page with positive product or service reviews. That video that went viral about one of their products last month? Now it’s helping their business marketing team and designers create advertisements and the best part is the user who originally generated the content did most of the work! What’s more, people tend to trust UGC more than content created by the brand or company because the content creator didn’t get paid and has no affiliation with the brand which they could benefit from by creating positive content – unless you’re an influencer of course, but that’s another blog post.
UGC IN DESIGN
Where UGC plays a role in design can also be seen in how designers share information with one another. For example, an experienced designer might share their best practices, and tools they use and review products they trust which then other newer designers can learn from and feel more confident in their purchases regarding design software, tools, and the like. It’s a wonderful thing to wonder what computer would best suit your needs for becoming a logo designer and photographer and then be able to YouTube videos on product reviews for computers by other designers. Sharing information and being able to gather feedback from experienced people within your field is priceless.
DRAWBACKS
It’s not all thumbs-ups and smiley faces though. The dark side of UGC within the design community could be those pesky trends that put designers on a bandwagon of followers rather than on the road to creativity and individuality. Timeless design takes a back seat to what’s popular and then soon everything looks like everything else. Another possible drawback is when designers create content they’re proud of only to feel disheartened when they don’t receive enough likes, shares, or comments. I myself have been in the position of feeling poorly based on a lack of validation on social media. Creators especially will share their work as a way to generate content, so when there isn’t lots of positive feedback it can feel like you aren’t good enough in your field. (By the way, you are good enough, keep going.)
SUMMARY
Ultimately, there are positives and negatives those in the design community will face when it comes to UGC and it’s up to each of us to contribute to content responsibly as well as promote individual creative expression. Just because there are some design videos that are trending, that doesn’t excuse designers to abandon their creative individuality. You never know when your style might be the next big thing and UGC can have a lot of positive impacts when we share information rather than what’s trending. That said, it’s good to be aware of trends, just don’t change everything about yourself to fit into another designer’s box. Keep creating content and if you haven’t tried it yet – go for it! It’s actually pretty fun!
RESOURCES:
Here are some resources I recommend to help you get started:
Information on how to create a UGC campaign for your brand:
https://influencermarketinghub.com/user-generated-content/
Do you need UGC, a design agency, or both?
https://www.pixlee.com/blog/design-agency-vs-user-generated-content-which-is-better-for-your-brand
Tool tips for non-designers, templates, and more:
Read Between the Designs 