How to Strengthen Your Brand’s Connection With Its Audience

In marketing, acronyms have a way of multiplying. Just when you’ve wrapped your head around one, two more seem to appear. UGC, EGC, CGC — it can feel like jargon for the sake of jargon. But if you step back, these three terms represent some of the most meaningful shifts in how brands are creating and distributing video content today.

UGC stands for user-generated content, EGC for employee-generated content and CGC for creator-generated content. At first glance, they look interchangeable. In reality, each brings its own strengths, weaknesses and role within a broader content strategy.

More importantly, the most effective brands aren’t choosing one and discarding the others. They’re experimenting across all three, figuring out where each voice adds value and blending them into a layered approach that combines authenticity, authority and reach.

The ongoing value of UGC

User-generated content isn’t new. Long before TikTok, Facebook or Instagram, customers were already talking about brands online — leaving reviews on early forums, posting photos on message boards or uploading shaky videos to YouTube. What’s changed is the speed and scale. Today, a single TikTok video of someone unboxing sneakers can rack up millions of views overnight.

The power of UGC lies in authenticity. People trust people more than they trust brands, and most can immediately tell the difference between a polished ad and a genuine recommendation. When a customer records a short video explaining why they love a product — or simply shows how they use it in real life — it resonates in a way no ad copy ever could.

The trade-off, of course, is unpredictability. Some UGC looks and sounds great … and some doesn’t. A flood of raw, unfiltered content doesn’t guarantee brand safety or consistency. But that’s not really the point. The role of UGC is not to be perfect — it’s to reflect the customer’s voice in all its variety.

Smart brands take on the role of curator. They amplify the best examples, highlight stories that align with their positioning and build campaigns around the real excitement people are already sharing. Done well, UGC provides a kind of grassroots credibility that money alone can’t buy.

Why EGC has become a trust multiplier

If UGC is the voice of the customer, then EGC is the voice of the people inside the company. Employee-generated content might be a product manager walking through a new feature, a nurse explaining a medical procedure in plain language or a customer service rep answering a question they hear every day.

What makes EGC so powerful is credibility. Employees live closest to the product or service. They see it in action, they know the details, and they can explain things with a level of depth that customers usually can’t. For a software company, a short video recorded by someone who helped build the product often feels more useful than a rehearsed sales pitch. For a hospital, a nurse sharing their perspective often feels more trustworthy than a glossy campaign.

The real challenge isn’t technical — it’s cultural. Not every employee is comfortable on camera. Some worry about saying the wrong thing. Others don’t feel confident representing the brand. And not every company creates an environment where employees are encouraged to share openly.

The organizations that succeed with EGC are the ones that do more than hand employees a ring light. They invest in building a culture where people feel proud to represent the company and safe to experiment. That doesn’t happen overnight, but when it does, EGC becomes more than a tactic — it becomes a trust multiplier.

CGC: Borrowing reach and professional skill

Creator-generated content is the most recent addition to the mix, growing alongside the influencer economy. Unlike customers or employees, creators are professionals at making engaging content. They understand how to hold attention, tell stories and edit video in ways that feel native to each platform. And often, they bring their own audience with them.

For brands, this is an opportunity to borrow both craft and reach. Done thoughtfully, CGC can extend a brand’s story into new circles with credibility intact. It’s less about renting influence and more about partnering with someone whose expertise or community genuinely enhances the message.

Of course, there are risks. If a partnership feels transactional or mismatched, it can backfire. When a creator’s voice doesn’t align with the brand or when the relationship seems forced, the audience picks up on it quickly.

The best CGC partnerships are built on real alignment. A brand that collaborates with a creator who has spent years curating their audience and building trust will see far better results than one that chases the biggest follower count.

Why the best strategies blend all 3

Part of the recent shift is that marketers no longer debate whether UGC, EGC or CGC is “best.” Instead, they’re recognizing that each fills a different role — and that the strongest strategies are layered.

Take the launch of a new product. UGC might capture the first wave of excitement, showing how real customers are using it in their daily lives. EGC might provide clarity and depth, with employees explaining features, addressing questions or offering tips. CGC might expand reach and bring a polished, storytelling layer that helps the product break through to new audiences.

Each type strengthens the others. Customers see themselves reflected in UGC. They build trust through EGC. They discover new ways to use the product through CGC. It’s the combination that creates a fuller, more holistic narrative.

The temptation in today’s content landscape is to chase volume. More videos, more posts, more impressions. But sheer quantity rarely creates lasting impact. The better question is: Whose voices are you elevating, and how do they complement one another?

UGC, EGC and CGC each provide different kinds of authenticity. Customers, employees and creators each bring perspectives that a brand can’t just manufacture on its own. And in a world where audiences are increasingly skeptical, that ecosystem may be the most durable advantage a brand can build.

In marketing, acronyms have a way of multiplying. Just when you’ve wrapped your head around one, two more seem to appear. UGC, EGC, CGC — it can feel like jargon for the sake of jargon. But if you step back, these three terms represent some of the most meaningful shifts in how brands are creating and distributing video content today.

UGC stands for user-generated content, EGC for employee-generated content and CGC for creator-generated content. At first glance, they look interchangeable. In reality, each brings its own strengths, weaknesses and role within a broader content strategy.

More importantly, the most effective brands aren’t choosing one and discarding the others. They’re experimenting across all three, figuring out where each voice adds value and blending them into a layered approach that combines authenticity, authority and reach.