---
name: "user_generated_content"
description: "Design UGC campaigns that actually produce content: prompts that work, rights and permissions done right, and featuring creators well. Triggers on requests to run a hashtag challenge, collect customer content, or reuse audience posts in marketing."
metadata: { "includeInPrompt": true }
---

# User-Generated Content

## Purpose
Plan and run a UGC campaign end-to-end: prompt engineering that gets submissions, a permission workflow that keeps every reuse legally defensible, and a featuring loop that turns contributors into repeat participants.

## Workflow
1. **Clarify the goal and the ask.** What one artifact do you want (photos, videos, reviews, stories)? Name the brand, the audience, and where the finished content will run (social, website, ads). Vague asks produce zero submissions — the prompt must name exactly what to capture. See [references/prompts_that_work.md](references/prompts_that_work.md).
2. **Set the prompt and hashtag.** One short, unique, brand-owned primary hashtag — verify it isn't already in use on the target platforms. Draft the prompt for the audience (platform-specific: see references). Seed the campaign with employee/ambassador/early-advocate examples so newcomers can model the format.
3. **Lock the permission route.** Choose one: (a) explicit per-post permission (comment/email "reply with #yes[brandname]"), (b) branded campaign hashtag + published terms, or (c) contest entry terms. Explicit permission is the safest route; a branded hashtag alone is implied permission at most, and someone may tag it without ever seeing your notice. See [references/permissions_and_rights.md](references/permissions_and_rights.md).
4. **Launch touchpoints.** Place the prompt where the behavior happens: post-purchase email (day 7–14 for physical products), packaging insert with QR, in-product prompt after a success moment, social announcement with the example content embedded.
5. **Run the featuring loop.** Monitor the hashtag + social listening for untagged mentions. Like, comment, and share participant content as it arrives. Ask permission on the posts you want to reuse; repost with a fresh caption and credit (tag in caption or text overlay). Run a recurring spotlight (weekly roundup, "creator of the week") so contributing is visibly rewarded.
6. **Close out and archive.** Save every permission (screenshots of comments/DMs/emails) and a copy of the campaign terms with a timestamp. Note what prompt shape converted best for next time.

Generate a ready-to-run campaign brief with the helper:
```bash
python3 ~/workspace/skills/user_generated_content/bin/ugc_brief.py \
  --brand "BRAND" --hashtag "#BrandMoment" --ask "photos of your morning routine with the product" \
  --platforms instagram,tiktok --permission-method comment --output /tmp/ugc_brief.md
```

## Output Contract
A campaign deliverable includes all of:
- **Prompt copy** — exact wording for the ask, per platform, with the hashtag and credit call ("tag us for a chance to be featured").
- **Hashtag** — primary hashtag, verified unused, plus 2–3 discovery hashtags.
- **Permission workflow** — chosen route, the exact permission request text, where permissions are stored, and what counts as granted.
- **Terms** — usage scope: which platforms the content may run on, for how long, whether edits are allowed, who owns what. (Plain-language draft, not legal advice.)
- **Featuring loop** — how creators get credited, the spotlight cadence, and the response SLA (reply/like to every participant).
- **Archive** — where permissions and terms snapshots live.

## Operating Rules
1. Never repost audience content without a permission record. A brand tag is not consent; a public post is not free to use.
2. Fair use does not cover commercial marketing — do not rely on it.
3. Editing a creator's photo or video (crop for ad, logo overlay) creates a derivative work: it needs permission beyond basic reuse.
4. Do not pay for positive reviews or incentivize five-star ratings (FTC violation). "Feature me" language, not "pay me" language.
5. Always credit: tag the creator in the caption or as a text overlay on the media.
6. If permission is refused or revoked, stop using the content immediately — no negotiation, no "but we already ran the ad."
7. Hashtag campaigns need published terms stating usage scope; keep a timestamped copy even if you use explicit per-post permission too.