The role of User Generated Content (UGC) in marketing is more relevant than ever, but the use of UGC by brands has raised legal questions about when and how it should be utilised.

Creating a social wall using user generated content can produce some beautiful results, and what better way to build content for your campaign than to let your brand advocates tell the story for you.

To get the most out of your UGC, it’s important to understand the issues around Rights Management. We see social media usage by brands falling into two main categories – Standard usage and Commercial usage. If it’s Standard usage, you may be able to use the content without seeking permission from the photographer and/or model. If it’s for outright commercial usage, you are almost certainly going to need to seek permission.

There is a third category that we term, Contextual usage. This is where UGC is featured in close association with advertising content. This area is relatively ambiguous, so you need to consider exactly how content is being used before taking action.

To look in more detail at the three variations, click here.