A few weeks ago, you may have had a UGC that was successful and well received by your audience. It may have had cheap conversions or a strong ROAS. But now, the same ad is barely effective and you’re probably wondering what went wrong. While nothing changed with the ad itself, your audience may have seen the ad a few too many times, resulting in UGC ad fatigue. This has been one of the most frustrating problems in performance marketing because UGC was supposed to be the creative that didn’t cause ad fatigue as quick as traditional ads. But alas, it is.
User-generated content became increasingly popular because the content didn’t actually feel like an ad. It felt more authentic by using a real person with a standard phone camera to film unscripted content. Audiences appreciated personal recommendations and started converting quicker than with high-quality studio ads. As creators started filming multiple unboxing videos for several different brands, giving the same reaction and recommendation, the main appeals of UGC started to wear down.
The risk of this is that UGC can actually wear out faster than traditional ads in some cases. Traditional commercials never claimed to be something they’re not, so the repetition doesn’t fatigue audiences in the same way as UGC. However, the whole point of UGC is authenticity. So when authenticity is replaced with repetition, it can lose its value.
On top of this, the market is flooded with AI-generated creators and influencers all using the same generic lines. Audiences have become aware of this, resulting in negative perceptions towards all UGC, even the genuine ones. This isn’t the exact same as traditional ad fatigue, because audiences are growing wary of the ad format itself.
How to know if your UGC is declining
At first, your engagement will decrease. Likes, comments, saves, and shares will start to dip while the ad is still running. Then, the click-through rate will follow. Audiences will no longer be involved in the content the way they used to and they will start scrolling by. Finally, your CPA numbers will start worsening. This order is important to remember, because most brands will look at a dip in CPA or ROAS, when they could have caught the signs earlier.
One metric worth keeping in mind is frequency of impressions per person. A healthy frequency ranges between 1 and 2. When the number approaches 3, fatigue is starting to kick in. When impressions reach above 4, it is more than likely that you’re losing efficiency.
Smaller audiences are likely to reach these thresholds faster, because the same people are seeing the same ads. Broader audiences give you more time, because your ads are reaching new individuals.
When your frequency hits 2.5, start preparing for the next creative. When your frequency hits 3.5, put the creative live. This rough guide will help you save on spend and protect your performance.
A few things that make UGC specifically prone to wearing out quickly:
- The same creator: If one creator is used across multiple ads, viewers will start recognising them. Repeated exposure will erode trust between the customer and creator.
- Repeated visual patterns: If you use the same setting or recording structure across different videos, viewers will pick up on the repetition.
- Repeated thumbnails: If you use an identical thumbnail across several ads, your audience will scroll before the video even plays.
How to stay ahead
All of this to say, you shouldn’t omit UGC from your media strategy entirely. Here are a few tips to create a successful UGC.
- Build a rotation of content: Create several variations of UGC by using different creators, hooks, or settings.
- Monitor engagement, CTR, and CPA: These metrics indicate when you should sub in your UGC for new content. A drop of 20-30% compared to the first week the ad ran is a cue to replace.
- Use a diverse set of creators: To maintain authenticity, have a rotation of creators to ensure there is variety in your UGC.
- Change your creatives gradually: Launching a new batch of creatives on the same day may reset your learning phase and can tank performance. Gradually introduce your new creatives alongside existing ones. Then, shift to the new ones once you know the new assets work.
- Lean into the imperfections: The most successful creatives are the ones pushing away from the more polished formats. Instead, share raw moments such as a founder explaining a product, a genuine before vs. after, a real customer testimonial, or a how-to tutorial by someone who uses the product daily.
- Don’t delete old creatives: Don’t delete an ad that caused fatigue two months ago. In a few months, your audience may forget about it and it could perform successfully once again.
Conclusion
UGC has evolved. It’s starting to behave like all other creative formats, which usually wear down from repetition. To maintain strong results from UGC, it’s essential to watch out for early signs of poor performance and refreshing creatives with authentic and genuine content.