Every brand on the planet actively pursues creating content that resonates with the people consuming it (duh) and these days, video content mixed with authenticity seems to do the best job. But too often, these same brands fail to fully embrace the capabilities of their consumers by creating content featuring paid actors giving scripted opinions on a product or service. This results in content that only mimics authenticity.  

Unfortunately, most viewers will see right through the staged sincerity and probably scoff at the attempt, as was the case with this famously contrived ad for Peloton which failed miserably at simulating a consumer video diary. Even campaigns that lean exclusively on user-generated footage can quickly lose their authentic shimmer when perfectly capable contributors are pigeon-holed into filming footage that fits someone else's template, not theirs. So, if you’re looking to create truly authentic video content, it may be time to loosen your grip on your current production strategy and let creators create.

UGC has exploded in popularity and led to an abundance of platforms explicitly designed to better facilitate the collection of content from your creators. Cinebody, for example, allows project managers to easily onboard smartphone filmmakers from across the globe and provide them with direction on what to film by way of a digital shot list and a tool to provide feedback. While these tools allow project managers to enjoy a necessary level of control over what creators film, the extent to which they’re used should change depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.

Sure, you could take the usual approach of building out an air-tight shot list and dictating the look of every aspect of the content that creators submit. But what good is it to include their perspective if you completely fabricate it? Why not just spend thousands on hired talent, crew, and studio time? 

Collecting the authentic footage required to really impact your audience involves a more hands-off approach, loosely guiding creators with open-ended shot lists and sandbox direction that leaves the filmers plenty of room to play and showcase their REAL perspectives. This way, you wind up with a more diverse collection of footage from within each content creator’s unique environment that really adds to the believability of the messaging. This authenticity is what humans crave and are most responsive to anyways, according to a recent Bazaar Voice Survey.

If you fear that the average creator’s capabilities aren’t enough to ensure authentic footage that actually looks good, think again. Consider the success of content created independently by users on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. This alone proves that everyday creators have the creative and technological know-how to make the content that will win over their peers and steer them toward your brand with minimal guidance. These users have an innate understanding of how to film good content without much hand-holding. So instead of you having to provide super-detailed instructions in your video production platform on how and what to film, you can instead just set a few automatic parameters like camera resolution, FPS (frames per second), orientation, and then let the creators create. 

In a world where authentic content creation is becoming king, your best bet is to leave the user, in user-generated content.