Guide for Brands and Creators
UGC vs Influencer Marketing: What Is the Difference?
Influencer marketing pays for reach: a creator posts to their own followers. UGC pays for the content: a creator makes a video the brand can use on its own channels or in ads, whether or not the creator posts it. Follower count matters a lot for influencer posts and much less for UGC.
Side by Side
| Item | UGC | Influencer marketing |
|---|---|---|
| What the brand pays for | The video itself | The creator’s audience seeing a post |
| Where it appears | Often the brand’s own channels and ads | The creator’s own account |
| Does follower count matter | Less: the content is the product | Yes: reach is the product |
| Rights needed | Usage rights for the brand to reuse it | Often none beyond the post itself |
| How results are judged | How the video performs where the brand runs it | Reach and engagement on the creator’s post |
Many Agreements Are Both
A common arrangement is for the creator to post the video on their own account and also give the brand the right to reuse it. In that case the agreement should state both what is posted and what the brand may do with the video afterwards.
Choosing Between Them
- If you need videos to run as ads or on your own accounts, you are buying UGC and need usage rights.
- If you need a particular audience to hear about you, you are buying reach and should look at who follows the creator.
- If you need both, say so in the offer and price the post and the reuse separately.
How It Works on Canvas UGC Marketplace
Each offer states what a video delivers: the file only, a post on the creator’s connected account (one per platform when posting to several), or both. A posted video must be a new post on the creator’s own connected account. Views on each platform are read from the platform for 30 days and are never added together across platforms.