seller
- What changed
- Customer and creator content used to market products
- When
- Updated October 2026
- Who it affects
- Amazon sellers, Shopify brands and TikTok Shop sellers
- What to do
- Get written usage rights and clear disclosures for every piece
Key takeaways
- Use Vine for early reviews, and Creator Connections and TikTok Shop affiliates for creator video.
- Get written usage rights before putting any customer or creator content in ads or listings.
- Disclose every material connection clearly and never reward reviews conditioned on sentiment.
| Allowed | Not allowed | |
|---|---|---|
| Vine reviews from free units | ||
| Gift for a five-star review | ||
| Paid creator post marked ad | ||
| Disclosure only in profile bio | ||
| Reposting a customer photo with permission | ||
| Buying views for creator videos |
Based on FTC guidance and the 2024 fake reviews rule
What is UGC marketing?
User-generated content is anything about your product made by people who are not your company: reviews, star ratings, customer photos, questions and answers, social posts, and videos by creators. UGC marketing is the deliberate use of that content in your listings, product pages, emails and ads. It works because shoppers trust other buyers and creators more than brand copy, and because video showing a product in real use answers questions a photo cannot.
There are two kinds to keep apart. Organic UGC is posted by customers without any reward. Sponsored UGC is made by creators or reviewers who got something of value, such as payment, commission or a free product. The rules are very different for each.
- Reviews and ratings
- Customer photos and videos
- Creator and affiliate videos
- LIVE demos and unboxings
- Social posts and comments
Amazon Vine: the approved way to get early reviews
Amazon Vine sends free units to trusted reviewers, called Vine Voices, who share honest, unbiased opinions. Amazon's Vine page lists US enrollment fees per parent product of $0 for up to 2 units, $75 for 3 to 10 units and $200 for 11 to 30 units. You are charged 30 days after enrollment and after the first review is published, and not at all if no Vine review arrives within 90 days.
Products need a Professional account, an FBA listing with inventory at Amazon, a brand enrolled in Brand Registry or generic products, and fewer than 30 reviews. Our Amazon Vine guide covers timing and unit counts.
Amazon Creator Connections for creator video
Creator Connections links brands selling on Amazon with creators in the Amazon Influencer Program. Brands choose products, set a bonus commission, dates and a budget, and creators choose whether to feature them. Because most campaigns pay on attributed sales, it is a lower-risk way to test creator content than flat fees. Our Amazon Creator Connections guide explains setup and eligibility.
TikTok Shop creators and affiliates
On TikTok Shop, creators post shoppable videos and LIVE sessions with your product linked and earn a commission on sales. It is the largest source of sponsored UGC for many brands. Creator follower requirements for affiliate access change often, so check them in Seller Center rather than relying on old guides. Our TikTok Shop affiliate marketing guide explains commissions and briefs, and creator claims also count against your shop, as our TikTok Shop account health guide shows.
UGC programs compared
| Amazon Vine | Creator Connections | TikTok affiliates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content | Reviews | Creator content | Shoppable video, LIVE |
| Payment | Free units | Bonus commission | Sales commission |
| Best for | New products | Off-Amazon reach | Social discovery |
Who owns UGC? Getting usage rights
A customer or creator who posts content usually owns it. Seeing it on social media does not give you the right to put it in your ads, on your product page or in your Amazon listing. Ask first and get the answer in writing, whether that is a reply to a direct request, a signed release or a creator contract.
For paid creators, put usage terms in the agreement before work starts, because adding paid ad rights later often costs more. This is general guidance, not legal advice, so have a lawyer review your standard creator contract.
- Where you can use it: site, email, organic social, paid ads, Amazon
- How long you can use it
- Whether you can edit or crop it
- Whether the creator's name or handle appears
- Payment or product given in exchange
Creator rights agreement
- Channels covered, including paid ads
- Usage period
- Editing and cropping rights
- Credit or handle shown
- Payment or product given
- Disclosure wording required
FTC disclosure rules for UGC and influencers
The FTC's Disclosures 101 guide says creators must disclose any financial, employment, personal or family relationship with a brand, and that free or discounted products count. The disclosure must sit with the endorsement where it is hard to miss, not only in a profile, at the end of a post or behind a more link. Plain words like ad, sponsored or thanks to the brand for the free product work; vague tags like sp or collab do not.
In videos the disclosure should be in the video itself and spoken, not only in the description, and repeated during LIVE streams. The FTC also warns not to rely only on a platform's built-in disclosure tool. Creators should not talk about products they have not tried or make claims that need proof they do not have.
- Disclose payment, commission or free product
- Put it in the video and say it out loud
- Repeat it during LIVE streams
- Use clear words such as ad or sponsored
- Use platform tools in addition, not instead
The FTC fake reviews rule: what you cannot do
On August 14, 2024 the FTC announced a final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials, which lets it seek civil penalties against knowing violators. It bans reviews from people who do not exist or have no real experience, including AI-generated ones; incentives conditioned on a positive or negative review; undisclosed reviews from company insiders; suppressing negative reviews with threats or intimidation; and buying fake followers or views to misrepresent influence.
In practice this rules out offering refunds or gifts for five-star reviews, asking staff to review your products without disclosure, and buying engagement for creator content. Amazon's own rules on reviews are stricter still, which is why Vine exists. Our guide on how to remove reviews from Amazon covers what you can legitimately report.
How to use UGC on Amazon and your own site
Once you have rights, put UGC where buyers decide. On your Shopify site, add review widgets and customer photos to product pages, and use short creator clips in email and paid social. On Amazon, use video you own or have licensed in your listing and Sponsored Brands video ads, and read Vine and customer reviews for the words buyers use, then add them to titles and bullets. Our DTC marketing strategy examples show how brands such as Glossier and Gymshark built on customer and creator content.
A UGC marketing program, step by step
Run UGC as a program, not a one-off campaign.
- Enroll new products in Vine for early honest reviews
- Launch Creator Connections and TikTok Shop affiliate offers
- Write a creator brief with approved claims and disclosures
- Use a standard rights agreement for every creator
- Collect customer content with a permission request
- Test the best clips in ads and on listings
- Track sales, GPM and conversion by creator
- Audit disclosures and claims monthly
Where PPC Spider helps
PPC Spider's Shopify DTC agency and Amazon teams run Vine, Creator Connections and TikTok creator programs together, setting commissions from product margin after fees and reviewing creator claims before content is boosted. SpiderOS tracks stock so creator spikes do not cause stockouts. Start with a free Amazon audit.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission: Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers (ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/disclosures-101-social-media-influencers)
- Federal Trade Commission: FTC announces final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/federal-trade-commission-announces-final-rule-banning-fake-reviews-testimonials)
- Amazon: Amazon Vine (sell.amazon.com/tools/vine)
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