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How do we advertize to a generation that hates ads and doesn’t trust brands?
The answer is simple – UGC.
User-generated content is a kind of digital word-of-mouth where influencers talk about brands they love and get their followers to give them a try. In a time when audiences refuse to listen to brands, companies have to get creative, so partnering with influencers is a no-brainer.
Okay, where do I find these influencers?
There’s a whole world of content creator platforms for this exact purpose!
But what exactly is a content creator platform? And which one is the best?
In the simplest of terms, a content creator platform (not to be mistaken for a content creation platform) is an online service or tool that connects brands with content creators for influencer marketing campaigns.
They’re designed to make the process of finding, collaborating with, and managing creators much easier.
These platforms basically serve as a marketplace where brands can search for creators based on specific criteria, such as niche, audience demographics, or engagement rates. Brands can then invite selected creators to participate in campaigns, whether it be for sponsored posts, product reviews, or branded content.
Many content creator platforms also have built-in tools for contract management, payment handling, and content approval.
Now that we’ve established what these platforms can do, we can probably agree that we can skip the obligatory why this matters section. It’s obvious – they have everything you need.
But, there’s just so many of them… How can you know which one is the best? This, of course, depends on what you need. We’ll just jump ahead to showing you the top 20 ones, highlighting the pros and cons of each. (And the pricing, of course.)
UGC Factory is a creative agency that produces high-performance UGC ads for DTC brands, focusing on driving leads, conversions, and sales. It’s a done-for-you service that includes custom scripts, creator partnerships, video production, and optimization.
Insense helps brands get into influencer marketing, simplifying and amplifying efforts through an all-in-one campaign management tool. It centralizes creator discovery, campaign briefs, and payment management.
Upfluence makes it easy for brands to grow their reach and turn partnerships into revenue through a comprehensive suite of tools. The platform gives you a detailed influencer analysis and makes sure that communication flows easily.
CreatorIQ focuses on improving brand awareness and strengthening customer connections while also making campaign management easier for you. There are lots of API integrations that allow for creativity and customization in marketing strategies.
Aspire gives brands a way to generate more sales (and revenue) by making the search for influencers, campaign management, and sales tracking super simple – and all in one platform.
GRIN specializes in connecting brands with content creators for various marketing needs, simultaneously helping the creator economy through comprehensive tools for campaign organization and management.
Later, formerly known as Mavrck, gives you tools for both influencer management and performance tracking, catering to large-scale brands seeking effective measures of ROI.
LTK helps brands in strategic content planning to boost their influence and engagement. The platform is very user-friendly and caters to both creators and brands.
impact will give you really comprehensive influencer content performance data, automate campaigns, and simplify the whole reporting process. They mainly work with medium-scale brands.
Meltwater, formerly Klear, offers scalable influencer marketing. Their goal is to help brands connect with influencers across various platforms for various marketing purposes.
IZEA is a marketplace for influencers, yes, but it also gives you the tools required for executing large-scale campaigns with an emphasis on performance tracking.
NeoReach helps you make a connection with macro influencers, create effective campaign strategies, and write up creative briefs.
Creator.co defines itself as an ecosystem where brands and creators unite. Their goal is to help brands grow partnerships and track influencer campaigns effectively, with features catering to different creative goals.
Influencity offers access to influencer profiles, along with the analytics needed for successful collaborations. It’s both simple and detailed!
Stellar gives you a whole suite of tools for content creation and influencer campaign management, making it ideal for small to medium-sized brands. It features a powerful search engine for discovering creators, along with analytics for measuring campaign performance and audience engagement.
Bazaar Voice, formerly known as affable.ai, is an AI-powered influencer marketing platform that lets brands run multiple campaigns efficiently. Since it has a database of over 6 million influencers, it also offers advanced filtering.
Statusphere focuses on enhancing ROI by giving users campaign guidance from their experts. It’s a great choice for large brands and agencies looking for influencer partnerships and content strategies.
Trend.io specializes in finding UGC creators for brand campaigns. There’s a very easy-to-use interface for finding, collaborating with, and licensing content creators.
TRIBE allows brands to turn their customers into brand ambassadors through influencer campaigns. It automates processes like content approvals, product sampling, and payments. Works best for large-scale brands.
TikTok Creator Marketplace is a hub for connecting brands with creators on TikTok, making it different from the others who work with influencers from all kinds of content creation sites. TCM simplifies the process of searching for, inviting, and managing creators for influencer campaigns with real-time performance tracking.
With so many options available, how do you choose the right platform for your content?
Here are some factors to consider:
Different platforms offer different pools of creators. If you're targeting a specific audience or niche, choose a platform that specializes in that area. For example, platforms like Trend.io cater to creators of user-generated content (UGC), while NeoReach focuses on macro influencers.
Upfluence and Klear, for example, offer intuitive search filters and in-depth analytics, making it easier to find the right creators. Others may have more complex features that could overwhelm first-time users.
Consider your team's ability & experience.
Some platforms, like UGC Factory, offer flexible packages, while others, like IZEA, can be more expensive. Think about your marketing budget and whether a self-service or managed package fits your needs.
Personalized support can be a dealbreaker, especially if you’re new to influencer marketing. Platforms like Stellar and Statusphere offer the right support to help guide you through campaign setup and management.
But, if you’re a vet in the game, you don’t even need to think about this and can avoid paying extra for something you won’t use.
Platforms such as CreatorIQ and GRIN provide solid reporting tools to help you track ROI and campaign performance, which is essential for optimizing your strategies.
When it comes to reaching today’s skeptical audience, traditional ads just don’t cut it anymore. Brands need a new way to build trust, and that’s where UGC comes in. The platforms we talked about here connect brands with influencers, making it easier to find the right partners, manage campaigns, and track performance. Whether you're looking for UGC specialists or macro-influencers, or you need in-depth analytics and campaign tools, there's a platform for every need – it just takes a little bit of research.
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