To get more UGC, make asking easy and sharing easier: ask when a customer is happiest, give them one simple thing to send, and sort the rights in the same message. Do that in five steps and a handful of customers turns into a steady supply of real photos, videos and reviews you can reuse.
TLDR: Five steps: pick the happy moment, ask for one small thing, make sending effortless, get permission in writing, and credit and reuse the content fast. Fast reuse is what makes customers send more.
Step 1: Ask at the peak of delight
Customers share when they feel good, not when your calendar says it is time. Find the moment in your customer journey where the result is obvious:
- Product brand: a day or two after delivery, once they have used it
- Service business: right after a result or a thank-you
- Course or software: after the first win
Don't ask at checkout. The product hasn't done anything for them yet.
Step 2: Ask for one small thing
"Post about us" is a big ask. "Send us a 5-second video of how it looks in your kitchen" is a small one. Name the exact thing:
| Weak ask | Strong ask |
|---|---|
| "Tag us in a post" | "Send one photo of it in use" |
| "Leave a review" | "Tell us in two sentences what changed" |
| "Make a video" | "Record 5 seconds of it working" |
Small asks get more replies and produce shorter, more usable clips.
Step 3: Make sending effortless
Every extra step loses people. Use the easiest route your customers already know:
- A direct reply to the order email or DM
- One branded hashtag, plus a simple upload link for people who don't post publicly
- A cloud folder or form where files land in one place
Don't ask people to download an app or create an account. If you collect through DMs, the social inbox shows replies from all channels in one stream, so nothing gets missed.
Step 4: Get permission in writing
Never reuse a customer's content without a clear yes. Keep it simple:
- Reply to the customer: "We love this. Can we share it on our channels, with credit to you? Reply 'yes' to confirm."
- Save the reply with the file and the date.
- Say where you will use it, such as organic posts or ads. If you plan to use it in ads, say so in the question.
This is a practical process, not legal advice. For paid use or any regulated product, ask your lawyer for the wording. Keep a spreadsheet or tag in your media library with "permission: yes" next to each file so no one reuses an unapproved clip.
Step 5: Credit, reuse and say thank you fast
Speed is the loop. When customers see their content live within a week, they tell others, and the next ask works better.
- Tag and credit the creator
- Reply and thank them in public
- Reuse the best clips across several formats, such as a feed post, a story and a short video
- Keep a "best of" folder for ideas when the calendar is empty
You can speed this up by pulling files from a cloud folder into the content calendar and drafting captions with the AI assistant, which will produce a first version in your brand's voice. If you want to track who mentions you, social monitoring helps catch mentions you would otherwise miss.
Three requests you can copy
Save these as templates:
- After delivery: "Hi [Name], it should have arrived by now. If you love it, could you send one photo of it in use? We would like to share it, with credit."
- After a result: "Congrats on [result]. Could you tell us in two sentences what changed? We would like to feature it with your name."
- Permission follow-up: "Thanks so much for this. May we share it on our channels with credit to you? A quick 'yes' is all we need."
How to know the system works
Track three numbers for 30 days: how many people you asked, how many replied, and how many files you could reuse. If replies are low, fix the ask (step 2). If replies are fine but few files are usable, fix the format. For more on automating the ask, see how to automate UGC collection and scaling UGC curation.
Send ten asks this week
Pick your last ten happy customers and send each one the "after delivery" request today. Save every yes in a folder. If you handle several brands, start free with Mydrop and keep each brand's UGC in its own calendar.
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