What are the advantages of using a UGC platform over an agency?

For years, agencies have been the “default” option for creating content and managing social media. But with the arrival of UGC and video content platforms (which are the best UGC platforms?), a new model has emerged that more and more brands are choosing: UGC platforms for creating videos for their social media or ads.

The short answer is: it depends on what you need, let’s not kid ourselves. But in many cases, a UGC platform offers greater agility, better performance and lower costs.

Before getting into the advantages, let’s set the scene.

An agency typically handles:

• Overall strategy (well, in reality they present a document that no one follows and everyone forgets about)
• Social media management (well, by management we mean occasionally liking a comment someone leaves and uploading the usual 3 Instagram stories)
• In-house creative assets (yes, with Canva)
• Video production (2 or 3 videos made by the agency’s staff, one way or another…)

A UGC platform, on the other hand:

• Connects brands with real UGC creators
• Produces native, natural and fast content
• Complete transparency
• More affordable pricing
• Higher quality and greater scalability

It’s not that one is always “better” than the other, but for video content on social media and paid media, the UGC model has clear advantages. You don’t need an agency to create videos, you need content creators.

And who says that?

Our clients do—clients who come from traditional agencies, try our platform + consulting and 360º UGC agency model, and see a radical change in their day-to-day work.

One of an agency’s biggest limitations is its production capacity.

• A video usually involves an agency proposal → counter-brief → production → revisions
• Timelines get extended
• Quality isn’t the best (content recorded using stock video, AI or the agency’s own social media managers)

With a UGC platform:

• You can produce 3, 6, 12 or more videos per month
• Work with multiple creators at the same time
• Test ideas without worrying about “burning through your budget”

Agencies have structures, teams, offices, layers of management… and you pay for all of that.

With a UGC platform:

• You pay for content, not overhead
• The cost per video is much lower (from €70 at HICARI fuck yeah!)
• And it’s not just about cost—it’s about video quality
• You can scale without multiplying your budget

Realistic example:

• Agency: 8 videos per month → €2,000 (and only 2 or 3 good-quality videos)
• UGC platform: €756 for up to 12 videos

This enables something crucial: testing, measuring and optimising.

Check out our podcast, where we talk about where to find content creators:

Users can spot these from a mile away:

• The “overproduced” spot (we talk about this here, Is it worth making a SPOT?)
• The ad that looks like an ad
• The forced brand messaging
• Boring videos made with stock images that say nothing

UGC works because:

• It’s recorded by real people
• In real environments
• Using natural language
• In native TikTok, Reels or Shorts formats

That said, you need to know how to manage creators and the content you request, because otherwise… it’s “more of the same”.

More and more data points to the same conclusion:

• UGC ads tend to have a higher CTR
• Lower cost per click
• Higher retention rate
• More comments and engagement

Our clients and we continuously test, experiment with and combine formats. Here, we tell you about: A/B Test: video vs image in Meta Ads.

Why? Because users feel that someone like them is speaking to them, not a brand. Because it fits better into a feed dominated by content made by creators, influencers and real people.

Here’s a video for organic use, which is also used in Paid. This is a video recorded for one of our clients: GoParkly.

With an agency:

• The creative approach usually comes from the same person, or a team at best
• You’re limited to 1–3 people who are always the ones recording (with their faces)

With a UGC platform:

• You work with multiple creators
• Different styles, ages, tones and formats
• More diversity = more chances of getting it right

Not always.

A social media (or marketing) agency can be essential if you need:

• Large-scale branding
• Complex global strategy
• Highly institutional launches

But if we’re talking about:

• Videos for social media
• Ads on Meta and TikTok (let’s not forget our beloved Google, with its display and remarketing network, or YouTube, where we can use videos)
• Content for websites and landing pages
• Continuous testing and performance

A UGC platform is usually more efficient. In fact, many brands combine both:

• Agency for strategy, management, storytelling, monitoring…
• UGC platform for video content creation

This eliminates one of brands’ biggest concerns: