How to Create a UGC Contest

Running a successful User-Generated Content contest is one of the most powerful ways to build a community, generate authentic marketing assets, and supercharge your brand’s social media engagement. This guide breaks down the entire process into clear, actionable steps, showing you exactly how to launch a contest that delivers results without the headache.

Step 1: Define Your Goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Before you think about hashtags or prizes, you need to know why you're running this contest. A clear goal will guide every decision you make, from the platform you choose to the type of content you ask for. Vague goals like "get more followers" aren't specific enough. Get granular about what success looks like for your brand.

Common goals for a UGC contest include:

• Boosting Brand Awareness: Introducing your brand to new audiences who see their friends participating. Your primary KPI here might be reach and impressions.
• Increasing Engagement: Fostering a more active and loyal community. Track likes, comments, shares, and saves on contest-related posts.
• Generating Social Proof and Content: Building a library of authentic photos and videos from real customers. Your KPI would be the number of high-quality, usable submissions.
• Driving Sales: Promoting a specific product or service. You could track coupon code usage or website traffic from your social profiles.
• Growing Your Audience: Gaining new followers or email subscribers. The main KPIs would be follower growth rate or new newsletter sign-ups.

Actionable Tip: Pick one primary goal and one secondary goal. For example, a home decor brand might set a primary goal to "Generate 75 high-quality photos we can use on our product pages" and a secondary goal to "Increase Instagram followers by 10% during the contest period." This focus helps you measure success accurately.

Step 2: Know Your Audience and Choose the Right Platform

Your contest needs to live where your audience already spends their time. Don't force your customers onto a new platform just for a contest. Consider the demographic and the type of content they naturally create.

• Instagram: Ideal for visually-driven brands in fashion, food, travel, and lifestyle. Photo and Reel contests excel here. The combination of the feed, Stories, and Reels offers multiple ways to promote your contest.
• TikTok: The home of creative, short-form video challenges. This platform is perfect for brands targeting a younger audience (Gen Z and millennials) and works best for fun, trend-based, or transformative content.
• Facebook: Great for community-focused contests that resonate with a broader demographic. You can run promotions within a specific Facebook Group to energize your most dedicated fans. Photo albums and longer-form text entries work well here.
• X (formerly Twitter): Best suited for quick, low-barrier-to-entry contests like "caption this," "retweet to win," or text-based submissions. It's more conversational and less visually demanding.

Your contest mechanics should align with the platform's user behavior. A multi-step photo editing contest would likely fall flat on X, while a simple "best caption" concept might struggle to gain traction on TikTok.

Step 3: Develop a Compelling Contest Idea and Theme

The core of your contest is the call to action - what are you asking people to do? It needs to be simple, fun, and directly related to your brand. Complicated or confusing prompts kill participation before it starts.

Here are a few proven UGC contest formats:

• Photo Contests: The classic. A coffee shop could ask users to share their "best morning coffee moment" or a pet store could run a "cutest pet" contest.
• Video Contests: A clothing brand could challenge followers to create a Reel showing "How you style our new jacket." A software company could ask for short video testimonials from happy users.
• Hashtag Challenges: Made famous by TikTok, these are great for generating buzz around a central theme. Think challenges that involve a specific dance, an audio clip, or a creative filter.
• Caption Contests: You provide the image or video, and users submit their best caption. This has a very low barrier to entry and encourages lots of quick, witty engagement.

The "why" is just as important as the what. Your theme should creatively tie back to your brand values. For a sustainable brand, a contest around "upcycling our product packaging" connects directly to its mission. For a fitness brand, a "30-day challenge finisher photo" builds a success-oriented community.

Step 4: Choose a Prize That Actually Motivates

The prize should be valuable enough to inspire someone to create and share content. While a big cash prize might seem like the best option, it often attracts "contest junkies" who have no genuine interest in your brand. The best prizes are highly desirable to your target audience.

Consider these prize categories:

1. Your Own Products or Services: This is often the best choice. A high-value product bundle or a year's free subscription attracts people who already love (or want to love) what you offer. It qualifies participants as genuine fans.
2. Exclusive Experiences: Think outside the box. Offer a one-on-one consultation, a tour of your facility, tickets to a relevant event, or a feature in your upcoming lookbook. These create a sense of exclusivity that a product can't match.
3. Gift Cards or Cash: While generic, cash can be effective if the prize amount is significant and your goal is simply to maximize reach. Just be prepared to sift through more irrelevant entries.
4. Exposure: Promise featuring the winner (and runners-up) on your social media profiles, website, and email newsletter. This is especially motivating for aspiring creators and small businesses.

Step 5: Write Clear and Simple Rules

Ambiguity is the enemy of a successful contest. Your rules need to be easy to find, easy to understand, and legally sound. Work with a legal professional if you're unsure, but at a minimum, your rules document should clearly state:

• Contest Period: The exact start and end dates and times (including the time zone).
• Eligibility Requirements: Age restrictions, geographic locations (e.g., "Open to U.S. residents only").
• How to Enter: A simple, step-by-step list. For example:
  1. Follow our account @YourBrand.
  2. Post a photo showing [your prompt].
  3. Include the hashtag #YourContestHashtag in your caption.
• Judging Criteria: Explain exactly how a winner will be chosen. Is it based on creativity, originality, and photo quality? Is it a public vote? Is it a random draw?
• Prizes: Detail what the winner(s) will receive.
• Content Usage Rights: This is very important. Be upfront about how you plan to use the submissions. A standard clause might state that by entering, participants grant you a non-exclusive license to repurpose their content on your marketing channels, with credit.
• Platform-Specific Disclaimers: Most platforms, like Instagram, require you to state that the promotion is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by them.

Step 6: Create a Unique and Memorable Hashtag

The contest hashtag is your digital filing cabinet. It organizes all the entries in one place, making them easy for you and other users to find.

A great contest hashtag is:

• Brand-Specific: Include your brand name or a slogan. Avoid generic terms like #photocontest.
• Unique: Search the hashtag on each platform before you go live to make sure it isn't already used for something else.
• Short and Sweet: Make it easy to remember and type correctly.

For example, instead of #GoProContest, the company used #GoProMillionDollarChallenge - it's epic, unique, and clearly outlines the prize's value.

Step 7: Launch and Promote Your Contest Everywhere

Launching the contest is just the beginning. You need a promotional plan to keep the momentum going throughout the contest period.

• Kick-Off Announcement: Create a splashy, eye-catching post with an exciting video or graphic to announce the contest. Pin it to the top of your profile.
• Cross-Promote: Don't just post about it on social media. Announce the contest to your email list, on your website's homepage, and in blog posts.
• Use Stories: Post daily reminders, behind-the-scenes content, and frequently asked questions in your Instagram or Facebook Stories. Use interactive stickers like countdowns and polls to keep people engaged.
• Showcase Entries: Regularly share some of your favorite entries (with permission) on your feed and in your Stories. This shows people that others are participating and gives them inspiration.

Step 8: Engage with Participants During the Contest

A UGC contest is a two-way conversation. As entries start rolling in, your job is to be the best host possible. This is where you can turn a simple contest into a true community-building event.

Spend time each day 'liking' and commenting on entries. A simple "Wow, amazing shot!" or "We love this idea!" makes participants feel seen and valued. This small act encourages others to enter and reinforces a positive relationship with your brand. Ignoring entries is the fastest way to signal that you only care about the content, not the person who made it.

Step 9: Announce the Winner and Repurpose the Content

When the contest is over, celebrate the conclusion properly.

• Make the Winner Announcement a Big Deal: Create a dedicated post announcing the winner. Tag them and share their winning submission. Explain why their entry was chosen based on your judging criteria.
• Thank Everyone: In the same announcement or a follow-up post, thank every single person who entered. Acknowledging their effort fosters goodwill for future campaigns.
• Showcase the Best Content: Your contest has just handed you a goldmine of authentic marketing material. Create a carousel post with the "Top 10 Finalists," a recap Reel, or a blog post featuring a gallery of your favorite submissions. Always give credit to the original creator.

Final Thoughts

Running a UGC contest is a powerful strategy for any brand looking to grow its community and generate authentic content. By setting clear goals, crafting a simple and fun theme, and engaging enthusiastically with your participants, you can create a campaign that builds lasting brand love and provides valuable marketing assets for months to come.

Keeping up with all the submissions across Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms can feel overwhelming. That’s why we built our Engage inbox in Postbase to pull all your comments and mentions into one simple feed, so you never miss a contest entry. As you promote your contest, you can use our visual calendar to plan and schedule all your announcement posts, reminders, and winner reveals in one drag-and-drop workflow, making the entire process feel more organized and less chaotic.