Content made by customers and creators rather than your studio - the most persuasive proof you have, because real people using the product in the wild out-converts anything polished. 'UGC' hides two distinct supply lines, and confusing them is how brands overpay for authenticity they could get free or starve their paid team of volume. Tier one is the always-on paid creator pipeline: creators briefed on the hook and the job-to-be-done (never a word-for-word script), producing testing volume on a schedule. Tier two is organic customer UGC, sourced through post-purchase flows and community - near-free and the most authentic proof, with the best repurposed into paid.
Benchmark. Paid UGC creators run $50-100 per video at entry, $150-500 mid-tier, $500+ at the top - before licensing. Usage rights add roughly 30-50% and raw footage another ~40%, so lock price and rights up front: a video you cannot legally run as an ad is useless.