User Generated Content for Restaurants and C-Stores: 25 Insights

You've heard the saying, "content is king."

So, you've spent countless hours creating social media posts to fuel your marketing strategy and bring customers to your restaurant or c-store. 

All that hard work has paid off, but you're wondering if there's a better way to promote your establishment in the future.

The answer is user generated content (UGC). 

According to recent research, 90% of consumers say UGC influences their buying decisions. Why?

Because it's viewed as more authentic, which builds trust with potential guests. As an added bonus, this form of marketing is usually cheaper than other promotional strategies.  

In this article, we'll answer the question, "What is user generated content?" Then we'll share benefits of UGC campaigns, how to encourage user content, and a whole lot more. 

What Is User Generated Content?

The term "user generated content" or "UGC" refers to any piece of content (photo, video, review) created by customers or fans rather than the business said content promotes. 

For example, if a person walks into your restaurant, orders food, and posts a picture of the meal to their Instagram profile, they've just created UGC.

It's important to note user generated content is different from influencer content. UGC is created by guests and fans.

It might be encouraged by businesses, but the person creating content isn't directly compensated. (Though, they may be entered into a contest of some kind.) Influencer content is content that influencers create for businesses in exchange for money or other perks. 

You might hear user generated content referred to as "consumer generated content" or "user created content". All terms refer to the same thing.

UGC vs. Branded Content 

User generated content is also different from branded content. As mentioned, UGC is content that customers and fans create about a business. Branded content is content that a business creates about itself. 

UGC is considered more authentic and trustworthy by most people. After all, the person creating the content didn't have to post about the business on their social media channels or write a glowing review.

They chose to do these things because of their positive experience. In most cases, UGC is also a much cheaper marketing strategy than branded content. 

To be clear, branded content is still relevant in 2025 and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. People have to know about your restaurant or c-store before they can buy from it. TV commercials, billboards, and paid ads on social media platforms still have their place. 

6 User Generated Content Examples 

So, what does user generated content look like? While UGC can take a variety of forms, the six examples below are the most common types of UGC for restaurants and c-stores. 

A. Visual Content 

This is content that contains a picture or video. Popular examples include: 

• Instagram: Posts that feature images of food and/or drinks from your establishment. In many cases, your business will be tagged and the user's location shared. 
• TikToks: Short-form videos that show customers visiting your restaurant or c-store. Video content that shares menu hacks with followers fit into this category as well. 

B. Reviews and Testimonials 

This is written content about customer experiences. Popular examples include: 

• Reviews: Resources like Google and Yelp allow customers to share their thoughts on restaurants and c-stores. Positive reviews can have a huge impact on your business. 
• Feedback: Customers can also share opinions via in-house suggestion boxes, email, and loyalty programs. These opinions can then be shared on your establishment's website.

C. Campaign-Based UGC 

This is what happens when businesses ask customers to share user generated content. Popular examples include: 

• Contests: You might host a social media contest to promote your restaurant or c-store. For instance, “Post a pic with your summer drink and tag us to win.”
• Shout-Outs: You might take guest photos and post them to your own social media channels in the form of “Fan of the Week” shout-outs. Just get permission first!

User Generated Content Marketing  

UGC is here to stay and that's a good thing. When social media users post about your restaurant or c-store, your business's digital footprint grows.

Here's how it works: 

Why It Works 

User generated content is a form of social proof. As such, it's often WAY more persuasive than a traditional ad your business would create (and pay thousands of dollars for.) 

UGC can also increase relatability, build community engagement and foster brand loyalty. All of these things will benefit your restaurant or c-store, both now and in the future. 

Where to Use UGC in Your Marketing Funnel 

User generated content can be used throughout all stages of your establishment's marketing funnel: 

1. Top: You can spread awareness for your restaurant or c-store by reposting UGC creators' content on your own socials, running contents, and producing social proof ads. 
2. Mid: You can increase interest in your restaurant or c-store by sharing UGC creators' content with your email and SMS subscribers and inside your loyalty program. 
3. Bottom: You can drive sales for your restaurant or c-store by adding UGC creators' content to your website, online ordering pages, and traditional advertising campaigns. 

Compliance and Permissions 

This goes without saying, but we'll say it anyway: Ask permission before you publish UGC. If you don't, you could put your restaurant or c-store in legal hot water. 

Fortunately, tools like TINT and Pixlee make it easy to acquire the necessary permissions. Though you can always conduct manual outreach to get the usage rights you need. 

3 Benefits of User Generated Content 

We've alluded to the benefits of user generated content. Now let's take a moment to spell out the specific advantageous this kind of marketing content: 

1. Trust and Credibility 

Customers trust other customers more than brands. So, when a guest posts about your restaurant or c-store on social media, it's seen as more authentic and relatable content.

This makes sense. Customers aren't concerned with sales, branding, or profitability. As such, they can give a more honest opinion of the businesses they engage with.

You can use this fact to your advantage. By sharing UGC, you can convince your target audience to try your establishment and increase conversions. 

2. Content Volume at Scale 

It takes time and money to create branded content. If you're like most other business owners, you're short on both. UGC content will help you build a robust social media strategy that keeps you top of mind with potential customers.

And you won't have to dedicate your free time or hire an expensive creative team. Just as important, you can use UGC in traditional marketing campaigns to boost trust and sales for less money. 

3. Customer Engagement Rates 

Finally, user generated content typically sees higher likes, shares, and saves—especially on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Remember, customers trust other customers more than brands.

So the content said guests create generates more interest. At the end of the day, a strong UGC strategy will lead to more eyes on your content and higher engagement rates.  

User Generated Content on Social Media 

While you can integrate user generated content into all aspects of your marketing strategy, most of the relevant content you source for this purpose will originate on social media.

Here are a few tips to source user contributions and empower your marketing efforts: 

4 Best Platforms for UGC Activation 

There are plenty of platforms you could use to build a UGC strategy. Not all of them are created equal.

Here are the four platforms we suggest for restaurants and c-stores: 

1. Instagram: Encourage customers to take a picture of themselves eating your food or buying your products and post it on Instagram. Then ask them to tag you in their posts and/or stories and use branded hashtags. Once you see this kind of customer content, repost it to your establishment's socials as well to garner more engagement and reach. 
2. TikTok: Encourage customers to take short videos of themselves eating at your restaurant or buying products from your c-store. Then get more creative and ask them to review your menu or share funny experiences that relate to your business. You can also run challenges on TikTok, which have become quite popular. Simply ask your customers to video themselves eating your most popular meal in less than five minutes, for example, and reward participants with a free dessert. 
3. Facebook: Encourage customers to start and/or participate in local Facebook groups by promoting your restaurant to other members. This is a fantastic way to reach your target audience, especially if the group has something to do with food, entertainment, or special deals. 
4. YouTube: Encourage customers to shoot short-form videos of themselves and post them to YouTube Shorts. Content ideas include customer reactions to specific dishes and special deals at your c-store. This kind of content can be posted to Instagram Reels and TikTok as well. In fact, one video can become three pieces of content across three different social channels. Talk about a great way to increase brand awareness!

Building a UGC Pipeline 

How do you get customers to post about your restaurant or c-store? We have a few ideas... 

Ask your customers to talk about their experiences via social media posts, email newsletters, and even in-person after they've paid for their meal. 

You can also add branded hashtags to your receipts, menus, and signage. When customers see them, they'll immediately know why you've put them there and will start thinking about the content they can create. As such, this is an organic way to produce and collect user generated content. 

One more idea: use your loyalty app to encourage existing customers to post about your establishment. For example, you can send a quick push notification that says something like, “Post a pic of your order and tag us for 10 bonus points.” Just make sure you follow up with the promised reward. 

3 Tips for Managing UGC 

If you follow the advice we've already shared, your customers will start creating UGC for your restaurant or c-store. Now you need to manage these brand ambassadors, so your establishment can reap the rewards of their efforts. Here are three tips to implement ASAP: 

1. Curate top-performing content weekly. Search through branded hashtags and brand mentions on social platforms to find the best posts. Then repost them to your own social media accounts. 
2. Maintain a shared UGC library for use in campaigns. Collect the best pieces of UGC and store them in a folder on your computer. That way you can use them in future marketing campaigns. Just remember to get proper approval before you use customer photos, reviews, etc. 
3. Track engagement from user generated posts. How well does UGC perform for your brand? What kind of content gets the most engagement? When you know the answers to these questions, you can encourage customers to post more of the top-performing pieces.

How to Launch a User Generated Content Strategy 

We've given you a bunch of tips to succeed with a free or paid user generated content strategy.

How about a simple, four-step framework to put them all together?

Here it is:

1. Start with a Clear Goal 

What do you want your user generated content strategy to accomplish? Are you looking to boost engagement on social media? Drive signups to your email newsletter? Increase foot traffic at your restaurant or c-store?

All of these things are possible. You just need to choose a specific goal so that you can tailor your efforts and increase your chances of success. 

2. Pick the Right Channels 

Now that you know what you want to accomplish, you can choose the best channels. If you want to boost engagement, for example, a platform like Instagram or TikTok is probably your best bet. To increase foot traffic at your establishment, ask for reviews on Google and Yelp.

Keep in mind your target audience has preferences. If possible, encourage your customers to create content on the platforms they already use. Doing so will increase participation in your user generated content program. 

3. Make It Easy for Customers to Participate 

Your customers won't create content for your restaurant or c-store if the process is difficult or confusing. Fortunately, you can simplify things in a few ways: 

• In-Store Signage: Create signs with branded hashtags and post them in your establishment, Consider adding them to your menu and receipts as well. 
• Email and SMS Campaigns: Contact your customers and ask them to post about your establishment on social media or write an online review about their experience. You can make it easier for them by creating a simple prompt they can use to create content quickly. 
• App Notifications: Send push notifications to your customers via your establishment's loyalty app. Ask customers to post social content or write a review in exchange for in-app rewards. 

4. Incentivize and Celebrate Participation 

Last but not least, give your target audience a legitimate reason to post content about your restaurant or c-store. In other words, give them a reward in exchange for their efforts. 

For example, you could shout them out on all of your establishment's social media channels. If you have a lot of followers, your customers might appreciate their time in the spotlight. You could also offer discount coupons to anyone who posts a video to TikTok or writes a review on Yelp. 

The better your incentive, the more people will participate in your user generated content strategy. 

Case Studies and UGC Wins in the Restaurant and C-Store Space 

We know what you're thinking, "All this UGC content marketing stuff sounds great! But what does it actually look like in the real world?" We're glad you asked! Here are three examples: 

3 Real Examples from Top Brands 

Top restaurants and c-stores know that brand generated content will only get them so far. That's why they encourage customers to create organic content for them as well. 

1. Dutch Bros: In 2024, Dutch Bros hosted the "Passenger Princess" promotion. For one day only, customers were encouraged to visit one of Dutch Bros' 950+ locations and buy a drink to receive a special crown straw topper. Customers were then told that if they posted a picture of themselves with their drink and straw topper, they would be entered to win branded merch. 
2. Chick-fil-A: This beloved fast food chain is known for guest generated “menu hacks”. What's a "menu hack" you ask? Basically, customers mix different Chick-fil-A menu items together to create new foods—many of which are outrageously delicious. Crazy enough, Chick-fil-A doesn't seem to participate in the "menu hack" trend, but they sure get a lot of business out of it. 
3. 7-Eleven: Restaurants aren't the only businesses crushing it with user generated content. 7-Eleven hit a social media marketing gold mine when it started reposting customers' content, such as cars getting gas with the 7-Eleven logo in the background. This simple strategy grew the brands social following by tens of thousands of people overnight. 

5 Real-World UGC Stats

The fact that top brands like Dutch Bros, Chick-fil-A, and 7-Eleven use UGC content should tell you how powerful this marketing strategy can be. But if you're still not convinced, here are a few cold, hard facts: 

1. UGC can lead to 4x higher clickthrough rates on ads 
2. 60% of consumers say UGC is the most genuine form of advertising 
3. 86% of people say reviews are crucial when making a purchasing decision 
4. 93% of marketers who use UGC say it performs better than branded content 
5. Using UGC can boost website conversion rates by as much as 73% 

Frequently Asked Questions About User Generated Content 

User generated content is a huge topic. Let's take a few minutes to answer common questions you might still have about this important marketing strategy.

Why is UGC important? 

User generated content (UGC) is important because it helps brands engage their target audiences, create an online community around their products and services, and generate buzz that leads to more sales. Also worth mentioning, UGC is often cheaper to implement than traditional marketing strategies. Put simply, UGC strategies can produce better results for less money. 

What is UGC content for restaurants? 

For restaurants, user generated content (UGC) refers to social posts, online reviews, and other forms of content that customers make about the restaurants they eat at. Restaurant owners and/or managers can encourage this kind of content via incentives. For example, a restaurant might offer customers a discount coupon if they make an Instagram post about a restaurant's food. 

What are the pros and cons of UGC? 

There are many reasons to implement a UGC strategy. For example, businesses that use UGC often build stronger relationships with their customers, reach more people with their marketing messages, and save money on advertising costs. But there are downsides to UGC content.

For instance, businesses don't control the content that users create. If said content is poorly made or worse, derogatory towards the brand, it could reflect badly on the business. 

Do you need a certain number of followers for UGC to be effective? 

No, you do not need a certain amount of followers for UGC to be effective—and neither do your brand advocates. The more people posting about your business the better, even if each person has less than 100 followers.

Remember, UGC is almost always free promotion. Since it doesn't cost your business anything, why restrict the people who participate in it? 

What's the difference between influencer marketing and UGC? 

User generated content (UGC) is content that customers create about a specific brand. Said customers often do this for free, though they may receive a discount or prize for their efforts.

UGC is valuable because it's seen as authentic and unbiased. Influencer marketing is when brands pay people with large audiences to promote their products and/or services.

This is an effective marketing strategy as well, though it's often more expensive. Depending on the influencer, people might not find the content as authentic either.

That said, the right influencer can raise awareness and generate buzz for a brand in a very short amount of time, which is why influencer marketing is popular. 

UGC Is the Secret Sauce You've been Looking For 

Want to build community, drive growth, and make your restaurant or c-store brand more human in an AI-saturated age? Invest in UGC using the tips and tricks shared in this article! 

Just remember to prioritize platforms and strategies that are simple for guests to use and participate in. If your UGC plans cause friction, they won't succeed. Speaking of simplicity... 

Learn how Paytronix can help your restaurant or c-store easily connect loyalty, marketing, and social engagement to unlock the full value of UGC. Book your demo now.