Glossary

Influencer Generated Content: Definition & How Brands Can Leverage It

What is Influencer Generated Content?  

Influencer-Generated Content (IGC) refers to brand-related content created by influencers, such as social media posts, videos, reviews, and testimonials. Unlike traditional ads, IGC is produced by trusted influencers or content creators who engage audiences authentically, making it a powerful tool for brands to drive awareness, engagement, and conversions.

Types of Influencer-Generated Content

  • Social Media Posts: Sponsored Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook content (single post, story, carousel, etc)
  • Product Reviews & Unboxings: Honest opinions shared via YouTube, Instagram Reels, or TikTok.
  • Blog Mentions & Articles: Influencers writing about a brand on their personal blogs.
  • Live Streams & Q&A Sessions: Interactive content showcasing products in real time.
  • Short-Form Videos & Tutorials: Engaging how-to guides demonstrating product use.

How Influencer-Generated Content is Related to Influencer Marketing

Influencer-Generated Content (IGC) is a fundamental pillar of influencer marketing. By partnering with influencers, brands gain access to authentic, high-quality content that seamlessly integrates into an influencer’s regular feed. This organic approach not only enhances brand credibility but also amplifies reach, leveraging the influencer’s trust and engagement with their audience to drive meaningful interactions and conversions.Why Influencer-Generated Content is Important H2

  • Authenticity & Trust: Consumers are more likely to trust influencer recommendations over brand-created content.
  • Higher Engagement: Influencer-created content resonates more with audiences, increasing reach, engagement, and overall interactions.
  • Versatile & Repurposable: Brands can reuse IGC across websites, ads, and social media for long-term value.

Benefits of Influencer-Generated Content

1. Highly Engaging:

Influencer-generated content (IGC) tends to be more engaging than branded content because it aligns with the influencer’s unique style, personality, and editing preferences. Influencers also stay on top of trends, making their content feel more relevant and relatable. As a result, IGC often achieves higher reach and engagement compared to brand-produced content, which typically follows a more rigid content plan and brand guidelines.

2. Diverse & Personalized Content:

Since each influencer has a unique style and audience, collaborating with multiple influencers allows brands to source a wide range of content. This diversity—ranging from creative formats and storytelling approaches to different locations and product placements—enables brands to craft more personalized messaging and connect with various customer segments in an authentic way.

3. Boosts Brand Awareness:

IGC helps brands reach new audiences through influencer networks, increasing brand visibility and recognition among potential customers.

4. Drives Conversions:

Influencers have built trust with their audience, making their recommendations highly persuasive. Their endorsements can significantly impact purchase decisions, leading to higher conversion rates.

5. Cost-Effective Marketing:

IGC is often more affordable than traditional advertising while delivering a higher return on investment (ROI).

6. Enhances SEO & Social Proof:

High-quality influencer content can improve brand visibility across multiple platforms, increasing credibility and reinforcing brand trust through authentic recommendations.

7. Scalable Content Production:

Brands can reduce production costs by using influencer-generated content (IGC) instead of investing in expensive and time-consuming professional photoshoots and video production. Unlike traditional shoots, which have limited output, IGC provides diverse content from multiple influencers at once, making it a more flexible and scalable solution for content marketing.

8. Versatile Content Usage:

Influencer-created content can be repurposed across various marketing channels, including ads, social media, websites, emails, and newsletters. However, brands must obtain content usage rights from influencers before repurposing it to avoid potential legal issues.

Measuring the Success of Influencer-Generated Content

Brands can assess IGC effectiveness using key performance metrics:

1. Engagement Rate: Engagement rate measures how actively an audience interacts with an influencer's content. A high engagement rate indicates that the content resonates well with viewers. This metric includes likes, comments, shares, saves, and views. The more interactions a post receives, the more engaging and impactful it is.

Formula:

(Total Interactions [likes, comments, shares] / Total Followers) × 100%

2. Reach: Reach refers to the number of unique users who have seen an influencer’s post. A high reach suggests that the content is being exposed to a broad audience, increasing brand awareness.

3. Impressions: Impressions indicate how many times a post has been viewed, regardless of whether the same user sees it multiple times. A high number of impressions suggests strong visibility.

4. Click-Through Rate (CTR): CTR measures the percentage of viewers who click on a link included in an influencer’s content. It helps determine how effective the post is at driving traffic to a website or landing page. A higher CTR means the content successfully encourages users to take action.

Formula:

(Total Clicks / Total Impressions) × 100%

5. Conversions & Sales: Conversions track the number of users who take a specific action after interacting with an influencer’s content, such as making a purchase using a discount code. This metric directly reflects the campaign's impact on sales and customer acquisition.

Influencer-Generated Content vs. User-Generated Content (UGC)

IGC vs UGC Table
Feature Influencer-Generated Content (IGC) User-Generated Content (UGC)
Created By Paid influencers and content creators Organic brand fans & customers
Content Control Brands provide direction, a brief, and have control over the content output Fully organic, brands have no control
Cost Higher (part of brand deals and paid collaborations) Free or lower cost, usually organic or in exchange for product gifts or special discounts
Authenticity High but strategic Very high (genuine customers)

How Influencer Hero Helps with Influencer-Generated Content

Influencer Hero is an all-in-one influencer marketing platform that helps brands manage and maximize Influencer-Generated Content (IGC) with key features:

Post Tracking:

Our post detection system automatically recognizes when an influencer publishes content. The post is then uploaded to your CRM, where it remains accessible for future reference.

Downloadable High-Quality Assets:

Each influencer has a dedicated deal page in our CRM. Once content is tracked and collected, you can easily view and download high-quality files. Access your favorite assets directly from the UGC library to repurpose them for ads or organic marketing.

Content & UGC Library:

All influencer-generated posts are stored in a centralized content library for future use. This allows you to manage influencer content, UGC, and customer posts in one place. Use filters to sort by campaign, content type, or timeframe, and bookmark your favorites for quick access.

With Influencer Hero, brands can streamline their Influencer-Generated Content strategy, ensuring seamless collaboration, efficient content management, and measurable ROI.

Influencer-Generated Content (IGC) has become a crucial component of modern marketing, allowing brands to connect with audiences through authentic, high-quality content created by trusted influencers. Beyond boosting engagement and brand awareness, IGC provides a scalable, cost-effective way to generate diverse and impactful content for multiple marketing channels. However, managing and maximizing its potential requires the right tools and strategy.

With Influencer Hero, brands can seamlessly track influencer content, store high-quality assets, and repurpose IGC for long-term marketing success. By leveraging a centralized content library and automated post tracking, brands can streamline their influencer marketing efforts while ensuring every piece of content delivers measurable value.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How is Influencer-Generated Content different from User-Generated Content (UGC)?

IGC is created by influencers who are typically compensated or partnered with brands, whereas UGC is organic content created by regular customers without brand involvement. While both types enhance authenticity, IGC is more strategic and aligned with a brand’s marketing goals.

Do brands need to pay influencers for IGC?

Most influencers are compensated through payments, free products, or commission-based affiliate programs, depending on the collaboration terms.

What platforms are best for IGC?

Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are the most effective platforms for influencer-generated content due to their high engagement and visual nature.

How do brands find the right influencers for IGC?

Brands can use influencer marketing platforms like Influencer Hero to search for influencers based on niche, audience demographics, and engagement rates.

Can brands use IGC in their own marketing campaigns?

Yes, but they must obtain proper usage rights from influencers before repurposing the content for ads, websites, or other marketing materials.

Drive ROI With Influencers
‍Book a Demo today!

Join 350+ brands & 100+ agencies. We help small businesses which are just starting out all the way to publicly traded companies working with Blue Chip Clients like Disney, TOYOTA and Samsung.