Spend a few minutes scrolling through Instagram or going down a TikTok rabbit hole and you’ll come across a huge range of video styles. From first-person testimonials shot in the front seat of a car to super-produced short films, to glossy, stylized editorial, social media provides a visual feast, a complex array of aesthetics.
One style that has been around since the dawn of social media, and is still going strong today, consists of nothing more than a regular person shooting on a smartphone at home. In the marketing space, we call this User-Generated Content (UGC), but it’s really just someone filming themselves in a lo-fi, DIY way: no fancy lights, no filters, no carefully scripted dialogue or big-budget production techniques.
Currently, these videos are going viral and being prioritized by the algorithm because viewers see them as honest and “real.” But UGC content isn’t limited to individual people at home — brands can leverage this style to help tell stories and connect with audiences in new ways. Dish Works is proud to announce the launch of a new UGC service for culinary brands, which gives your content marketing team another tool to work with to inform, educate and entertain your social media followers.
Dish Works UGC videos are made by our team of professional food content creators, but in order to preserve the authenticity of UGC and optimize it for performance and viewership on mobile phones, we vertically shoot the videos on iPhones. This is a much more “hands-off” approach than the polished recipe videos we’re known for; UGC videos are even less produced than our casual influencer-style video for a “real life” look-and-feel.
To maximize your time and budget, we shoot UGC videos in packs of 10, capturing diegetic cooking sounds or voice-over. This immersive, “real life” sound draws in views and makes them feel like they’re part of the experience. Plus, we can provide a diverse range of users in a variety of home kitchen environments. There is no scripting, no on-screen text, and limited edits for a spontaneous, candid feel.
It’s unlikely that UGC videos can or should replace your brand’s more produced video content. Brands still need professionally produced content for e-commerce, websites, trade shows, commercials and other marketing purposes, and our fully produced videos include more control with scripting and styling. But, if your goal is to stay on-trend, and create fun, relatable (and cost-effective) content, Dish Works User-Generated Videos might be the perfect service for you.
For more information, check out our UGC video page, and reach out to us to start a conversation!