How to encourage employees to create content: Strengthening brand trust through EGC.

For consumer brands, trust is everything. In an environment where shoppers are overwhelmed by polished ads and influencer partnerships, employee-generated content (EGC) offers something different: proof that your people actually believe in what you offer.

EGC refers to any content created by employees that highlights their real experiences with your brand—whether it’s about the products they use, the work they do, or the culture they’re part of. It’s not about marketing speak. It’s about authenticity from the inside out.

That could look like a fulfilment team member sharing a behind-the-scenes moment on the warehouse floor, a customer service advisor talking about a product they genuinely use at home, or a brand manager showing their top picks from the latest range. These moments connect with audiences in ways most branded campaigns can’t.

But encouraging your team to contribute doesn’t mean handing over the keys to the marketing calendar. It means creating the right structure, tone and environment where real, brand-aligned stories happen—consistently.
Here’s how to make that work.

Why EGC drives results for consumer brands.

EGC helps solve three key challenges most marketing teams face:

Authenticity at scale: Without the time or budget for constant new campaigns, EGC fills the gaps with human-first, brand-right moments.

Trust and relatability: Customers are more likely to trust content from employees than from the brand itself—especially when the tone is natural, not promotional.

Content variety: EGC adds texture to your feed or site. One polished shoot + five real employee moments is more compelling than ten hero shots alone.

EGC and influencer marketing: Different voices, different roles.

EGC and influencer marketing can both build brand trust—but they do it in fundamentally different ways.

What’s the difference?

Influencer content is designed for reach. It’s polished, curated, and often aspirational. The creator is external to your brand and speaks to their own audience. Their value lies in credibility as tastemakers or trendsetters.

Employee-generated content, on the other hand, comes from inside the brand. It’s rooted in lived experience—less about selling and more about showing. The audience sees someone who works with the product every day and still chooses to use it.

Aspect	Influencer Marketing	Employee-Generated Content (EGC)
Voice	External, lifestyle-driven	Internal, experience-driven
Tone	Curated, aspirational	Relatable, honest
Control	Limited after posting	High—content is reviewed and curated
Trust Source	“They choose to work with us”	“They choose to work here and still use it”
Objective	Reach new audiences	Build deeper trust and credibility
Cost	Paid partnerships, production	Low-cost or incentivized collaboration

6 EGC formats ideas that fit brand guidelines and convert.

1. My Favourites from our own range.

What it is:

• Employees share personal favourites from the brand’s product range, showing what they use or recommend themselves.

Best for:

• Beauty
• Wellness
• Skincare
• Supplements
• Fashion

Funnel stage:

• Consideration

Content prompts:

• What’s one product you’d actually buy yourself?
• What do you always recommend to friends or family?

Suggested formats:

• Product selfie + quote.
• Short-form video: “3 reasons I love this”
• Instagram carousel: staff picks.

How to measure:

• Product page click-throughs.
• Increase in units sold.
• Save and share rates on posts.

2. Work moments worth sharing

What it is:

• Staff give a behind-the-scenes look at how products are made, packed, or handled — showing care, quality and process.

Best for:

• Fulfilment
• Customer service
• Warehouse
• In-store teams

Funnel stage:

• Awareness

Content prompts:

• What goes into preparing for a restock or launch?
• What does a ‘special’ order look like?

Suggested formats:

• “A day in the life” story.
• Unpacking/restocking reel.
• Product prep photos with short captions.

How to measure:

• Reach and impressions.
• Growth in followers.
• Comments indicating surprise or curiosity.

3. I work here—and I believe in what we offer.

What it is:

• Employees share personal moments where they felt proud to represent the brand or genuinely loved a product experience.

Best for:

• Customer-facing staff
• Brand advocates

Funnel stage:

• Consideration
• Loyalty

Content prompts:

• What product did you gift to someone and why?
• What’s a customer story that stuck with you?

Suggested formats:

• Photo + personal quote.
• Short video reflection.
• Story-based post.

How to measure:

• Engagement through comments.
• Time on post/page.
• Code or campaign tracking.

4. We tried it so you don’t have to.

What it is:

• Team members show product results after consistent use — focusing on progress, changes and routine.

Best for:

• Skincare
• Wellness
• Fitness
• Tech

Funnel stage:

• Consideration
• Conversion

Content prompts:

• What happened after a week using this?
• How do you actually use it day-to-day?

Suggested formats:

• Progress photos.
• Routine demo video.
• “Start vs end” photo comparison.

How to measure:

• Conversion rate changes.
• Drop-off rate on content views.
• Post-click engagement.

5. What I’ve learned since working here.

What it is:

• Staff share the product knowledge, misconceptions or tips they picked up working with the brand.

Best for:

• Customer service
• Product specialists
• Onboarding support

Funnel stage:

• Awareness
• Consideration

Content prompts:

• What did you learn about the product that customers often don’t know?
• What surprised you after joining?

Suggested formats:

• Short video.
• Staff spotlight email.
• Blog-style post with quotes.

How to measure:

• CRM open and click rate.
• Post/page scroll depth.
• Engagement on quotes or highlights.

6. Staff Style, rituals or routines.

What it is:

• Team members show how the brand fits into their real-life routines — adding lifestyle credibility.

Best for:

• Beauty
• Fashion
• Wellness
• Beverage
• Home

Funnel stage:

• Awareness
• Loyalty

Content prompts:

• How do you use or wear our products in a week?
• What’s your evening ritual with our brand?

Suggested formats:

• Routine reel or TikTok.
• Product diary carousel.
• Flat-lay + caption.

How to measure:

• Shares and saves.
• Branded hashtag use.
• Repeat views or story replies.

Other prompt / content ideas.

Make it easier for your internal teams to get started with ready-to-use prompts. These work across formats and departments:

• “What’s one product you were surprised to love?”
• “What’s a tip you’d give to someone new to this product?”
• “What’s your most satisfying work moment this week?”
• “What’s your pick from this launch and why?”
• “Show us your packing station/favourite product shelf/desk setup.”
• “What’s the one product you always run out of?”
• “Share a proud moment from this month.”

You can collect these as text, photo, video or audio—and build content around them later.

How to encourage EGC in structured teams.

Create a clear content intake path

Give employees an easy way to contribute without publishing it themselves. A shared folder, form or email inbox is enough. Make it clear:

• What kind of content you’re looking for.
• How it will be reviewed or edited.
• Where it might be used (e.g. Instagram, careers page, internal newsletter).

Offer visual examples, not rules. One slide with 3–4 sample posts works better than a 10-page guideline. Include:

• A good photo and caption.
• A short note about tone (e.g. informal, product-positive, human).
• Approval process explained in one sentence.

Build monthly themes or campaigns.

Use key dates or launches to anchor content ideas and give the team a reason to share.

• Staff picks for a new collection launch.
• Favourite customer quotes for a brand anniversary.
• “Why I recommend this to friends” week.

This creates rhythm and repeatability without overburdening your team.

Content doesn’t need to be public to start.

You don’t need everyone to post from their personal channels. In fact, most brands collect EGC internally first and then choose what gets published.

You can:

• Use submissions in brand accounts or newsletters.
• Turn quotes into graphics.
• Build “meet the team” sections on product pages.
• Create behind-the-scenes reels from multiple clips.

This keeps control in-house while showing off the voices that matter most.

Key considerations for brand teams.

Permissions and comfort levels.
Always ask for permission—especially when using names or photos. Offer opt-out options. Respect privacy, even if the content feels casual.

Incentives and recognition.
Don’t force participation, but do reward it. Options include:

• Spotlighting employees in a monthly feature.
• Giving early access to new products.
• Running small internal challenges (e.g. “best caption this month”).

Tie content to goals.
If your team knows what the content is meant to support—product education, brand trust, cultural identity—it’s easier for them to get creative in the right direction.

The takeaway: Empowered teams build trusted brands.

You don’t need every employee to be a content creator. But you do need to create space for their voices—because today’s customers trust real people more than perfect campaigns.

When you equip your team with the right prompts, examples, and safe ways to contribute, they’ll show up with stories that resonate. From casual product picks to proud behind-the-scenes moments, EGC brings your brand to life in a way that’s honest, human and hard to fake.

This isn’t about handing over your brand—it’s about enriching it. Whether it’s a content manager demoing a new launch or a warehouse team member spotlighting their favorite item to pack, these are the touchpoints that build trust.

The result? Higher engagement. Deeper loyalty. And a brand people genuinely believe in—because the people who build it do, too.