Influencer or UGC creator? You need to know!

As digital marketing evolves, many companies face the question: Should we work with influencers or UGC creators?
The two roles are often confused, but there are significant differences that have a big impact on your strategy.

In this article we review the difference between an influencer and a UGC creatorand how you can choose the right solution for your business.

What is an influencer?

An influencer is a person with a large or engaged social media following. Influencers make a living by creating content for their own channels and influencing their audience through credibility, entertainment or inspiration.

Characteristics of influencers:

• Have an established platform (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.)

• Often measured by reach, views and engagement rate

• Content lives primarily on their own channels

• Companies pay for access to the influencer's audience

When you work with an influencer, you're effectively buying access to their followers.

What is a UGC creator?

A UGC creator (User Generated Content creator ) produces content for the company's channels - not their own. The focus is not on the creator's personal brand, but on creating authentic content that resembles real user content.

Characteristics of UGC creators:

• Creates content that is used in company marketing

• No requirement for a large following

• Deliver videos, images or texts that can be activated in paid ads

• Measure content performance (conversion, ROAS)

UGC creators are therefore more of a production link than a channel.

Influencer vs. UGC creator - what's the difference?

• The influencer is the channel. They make their followers and reach available.

• TheUGC creator is the content producer. They provide the content itself.

With an influencer you buy distribution.
With a UGC creator you buy content.

When should you choose an influencer?

Influencers are powerful when you want them to be:

• Create brand awareness and reach

• Leverage a personal brand ambassador with high credibility

• Target a specific audience via their followers

Example: A beauty influencer with 200,000 followers can create massive visibility for a new skincare line.

When should you choose a UGC creator?

UGC creators are obvious when you want to:

• Have authentic content for your ads

• Scale your campaigns with many variations

• Focus on performance over reach

Example: 10 different UGC tested in Meta Ads can quickly show which message and format provides the best ROAS.

The holistic approach - use both

Instead of choosing either/or, you can look at a more holistic strategy:

• Let influencers create visibility and credibility.

• Use UGC creators to produce content you can test and optimize in ads.

This way you get both distribution and content - and can maximize your LTV and retention by following the customer all the way through the product cycle.

Conclusion

The difference is clear:

• The influencer is the voice you borrow.

• TheUGC creator is the content you own.

Want to create awareness, reach and credibility? Choose an influencer.
Want scalable, authentic content for ads and your own channels? Choose a UGC creator.

The strongest brands combine both in a unified strategy.