Authenticity is a game-changer in building brand trust and credibility. In an era where consumers value the opinions of fellow consumers as much or more than polished marketing campaigns, user-generated content (UGC) increases your brand messages’ perceived authenticity. UGC functions as social proof that enhances your brand’s reputation.

In this article, we explore how your business can encourage audiences to create content and how to incorporate it into your marketing strategy.

Related: The Beginner’s Guide to User-Generated Content

The importance of user-generated content (UGC)

User-generated content is content specific to your brand that has been created by customers, fans or others who share their experiences with your brand. It’s also known as consumer-generated content, and social media platforms are among the primary outlets for photos, testimonials and quick video reviews of a product or service.

Because it has been generated by actual users, UGC is more authentic and trustworthy than branded content. This high level of authenticity not only reflects on the product or service but also increases overall brand trust and credibility among prospective customers.

Two different 2017 surveys found that UGC influenced the purchase decisions of 90% of all consumers, with authenticity being especially important to millennial customers. More recent data shows that more than one in three U.S. adults relied on customer reviews and always read them before making purchases from local businesses.

How user-generated content benefits brand trust and credibility

User-generated content showcases your brand more genuinely than polished advertising and marketing materials. This authenticity aids customer trust.

Opinions and experiences of real customers are social proof of a product’s or service’s performance. Published on social media channels, they act as peer recommendations and become one of the most powerful tools for influencing purchase decisions.

UGC can foster a sense of community among your users, making them feel connected and involved in the brand. User-generated posts and comments also support your business’ SEO rankings and increase engagement on social media.

How to encourage customers to create UGC

Develop ways to create touchpoints that encourage customers to share their experiences. Online contests and photo challenges work well. Offer incentives like discounts or exclusive offers to those sharing content, and make it easy to access reviews and share images.

Reward clients by sharing and showcasing UGC on your brand’s channels or your website. Seeing their content shared can be a huge motivator for contributors. Acknowledge loyal creators and engage with them to recognize their contributions.

Related: If You’re Not Using This Type of Content in Your Marketing, You’re Missing Out

How to leverage different types of UGC

Different types of UGC offer different opportunities for your brand:

• Feature customer reviews or testimonials on your website, product pages and social media to boost credibility. Respond to all reviews to demonstrate the importance of feedback.

• Sharing customer-created social media content on your channels adds authenticity to your feed. Branded hashtags let you collect and curate UGC without becoming overwhelmed.

• Unboxing videos and product tutorials are among the most popular forms of UGC. They help potential buyers understand what to expect from a product and build trust in its quality.

• In-depth UGC, such as customer-written blog posts or case studies, provides valuable insights and detailed testimonials for customers looking for more specific information.

Best practices for leveraging UGC to build trust

Following these best practices will ensure that you maximize your UGC and build long-term relationships with your followers.

Always seek permission before sharing or reposting user-generated content, and give credit to the creator to show respect and build goodwill. Choose UGC that aligns with your brand values and aesthetics. Low-quality or inappropriate content could reflect badly on your business.

Showcase a diverse range of customers and viewpoints to appeal to a broader audience and foster inclusivity. To maximize the power of UGC for your brand, integrate it across all of your platforms, such as social media, email newsletters and even adverts.

Two examples of successful UGC campaigns

UGC can work well for businesses of any size. Here are two examples of household-name brands that successfully integrated content shared by their users.

Example 1: GoPro’s #GoProFamily campaign

Action camera manufacturer GoPro launched the hashtag #GoProFamily to build a sense of community among users and showcase the camera’s capabilities. At the time of writing, 15,000 users were posting about the hashtag on Facebook. Instagram is showing more than half a million posts.

Example 2: Starbucks’ #RedCupContest

Starbucks has a track record of celebrating seasons and holidays. Launched in 2016, its #RedCupContest challenged customers to create their own red cup art and share images to create a flood of user-generated content. Red cups still feature prominently in the company’s end-of-year marketing. In 2024, a reusable red cup giveaway encouraged sales and created a buzz on Instagram.

Common pitfalls to avoid when using UGC

Just as there are best practices, there are also a few pitfalls to avoid when you’re leveraging UGC.

Your brand team needs to moderate inappropriate or offensive content to avoid damaging the brand’s image. Negative content, on the other hand, creates an opportunity to engage with clients to address the issues professionally and demonstrate your commitment to improving your brand.

Avoid over-commercializing UGC on your marketing channels. Much of its appeal lies in the fact that it can be a little imperfect. Remain balanced when you’re using UGC to create real connections.

Related: 10 Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Digital Branding With User-Generated Content

Measuring the impact of UGC on brand trust and engagement

To assess the impact of UGC on your brand, you need to track likes, shares and comments to understand audience engagement and response. Using branded hashtags allows you to gauge volume and sentiment quickly.

Consider surveys to ask your audience for feedback on how UGC influences their purchase decisions. Tracking conversion rates will allow you to see how effectively UGC is driving consumer action.

User-generated content is a powerful tool for building trust, establishing credibility and connecting with your audiences. By encouraging customers to share their experiences, brands can enhance their reputation and encourage customer loyalty. Implement UGC strategies thoughtfully and consistently to see long-term benefits.

Despite the wonderful peace of mind that comes with owning a home free and clear, deciding to pay off a low-interest rate mortgage early is not always straightforward. If your mortgage rate is low compared to risk-free investment returns, keeping the mortgage and investing excess cash elsewhere often makes more financial sense.

What Is Considered a Low-Interest Rate Mortgage?

I define a low-interest rate mortgage as one where the rate is at or below the risk-free rate of return. The risk-free rate can be equivalent to a Treasury bill or bond of your choice, or even the current money market rate you can earn on your cash.

For example, if your mortgage rate is 4% while money market accounts are offering 4.2%, then your mortgage qualifies as low-interest. Conversely, if you have a 2.5% mortgage but 10-year Treasury bonds are yielding only 0.6%, that mortgage isn’t truly low-interest because alternative risk-free investments aren’t offering better returns. Additionally, if inflation is running at 7% while your mortgage rate is 5%, you effectively have a negative real mortgage rate, making your debt cheaper over time.

When evaluating whether to pay off your mortgage early, you must always consider the opportunity cost of investing that money elsewhere. Finance decisions should never be made in a vacuum.

The 10-year Treasury bond yield, in my opinion, is the most important financial figure to track because it serves as a benchmark for financial relativity. With this perspective in mind, let’s go over the only good reasons to pay off a low-interest rate mortgage early.

The Only Good Reasons to Pay Off a Low-Interest Rate Mortgage

I’ve paid off several low-interest rate mortgages since I started buying real estate in 2003. Here are the few legitimate reasons I’ve found for doing so.

1) You No Longer Want to Own Your Home or Investment Property

The simplest way to pay off a mortgage is by selling the property. If your home’s value exceeds the loan balance, the mortgage gets paid off automatically in the transaction. There’s no need to aggressively save to pay it down early over many years. The main challenge is going through the selling process, which can take 30–45 days on average.

There are many reasons you might want to sell: relocating for work, retiring, downsizing, upsizing, or simply wanting less responsibility.

For example, in 2017, after my son was born, I no longer wanted to be a landlord for a four-bedroom house that had turned into a party home. With four or five young guys living there, my neighbors occasionally complained about noise and reckless behavior. So, I sold the property and eliminated my 4.25% mortgage. I then reinvested the home sale proceeds into stocks, municipal bonds, and private real estate in roughly equal proportions.

The relief of no longer managing that rental alone was worth not making any additional returns from the proceeds. Fortunately, the stock and private real estate markets continued to appreciate, making it a win-win situation.

2) You Have a Specific and Better Use for Your Home Equity

Money is most powerful when it has a defined purpose. Setting clear goals for your savings and investments makes financial decisions easier and more disciplined.

As you pay down your mortgage and home values rise, your equity grows. While many homeowners sit on their equity for decades, some may find better uses for it.

Here are some valid reasons to use home equity elsewhere:

• Rotating capital into a better investment – If real estate has outperformed for years and another asset class (like stocks or bonds) looks more attractive, you might decide to cash out and diversify. Conversely, if your home has appreciated significantly, but residential commercial real estate has not, you could rotate into the underperformer.
• Paying for college tuition – If you purchased a rental property when your child was born, you could sell or refinance it to help fund their education 18 years later.
• Funding your retirement – Many retirees downsize and cash out equity to simplify their finances and reduce costs.

Using home equity strategically can unlock new financial opportunities, as long as the alternative investment or use of funds is well thought out.

3) Your Real Estate Exposure Has Grown Too Large

Everyone should have a target asset allocation for real estate relative to their total net worth. If property values surge, you may find yourself overexposed to real estate, prompting a need to rebalance.

Some common scenarios where this happens include:

• A prolonged real estate bull market increases your property’s value disproportionately.
• You buy a new dream home before selling your old one, temporarily holding more real estate than planned.
• A stock market crash reduces your non-real estate assets, making real estate a larger percentage of your portfolio.
• You inherit a property unexpectedly, further increasing your real estate exposure.

If your target real estate allocation is 50% of net worth, try to keep it between 40% and 60%. Anything outside that range may justify selling a property and reallocating funds.

4) You Are Fed Up with Local Government And Property Taxes

As property values rise, so do property taxes. At some point, you may feel that your tax burden is excessive, especially if you believe local government mismanages funds or fails to address key issues.

While property taxes fund essential services like schools and public safety, government inefficiencies and corruption can erode trust. Some homeowners reach a breaking point and decide to sell rather than continue funding a government they don’t support.

The Most I’m Willing to Pay in Property Taxes

For me, the maximum amount I’m willing to pay in property taxes is $100,000 a year. Property taxes fund public schools, emergency services, and infrastructure—things I fully support. But beyond that threshold, my willingness to pay more depends entirely on how well my city government actually serves its residents.

If the new mayor steps up—tackling corruption, cracking down on drug dealers and violent criminals, and cleaning up the streets—I’d consider paying more. But if the status quo remains—wasteful spending, ineffective policies—then I’d rather put my money elsewhere.

The Frustration of Paying Huge Taxes for Broken Governance

Imagine this: You’ve paid over $1 million in property taxes over the past 20 years. You take pride in maintaining your home and community. Then, one day, a San Francisco city official slaps a notice on your door saying your planter boxes—on your own property—are too high. They give you 30 days to remove them or face a $3,000 fine, plus an additional $100 per day for noncompliance.

Meanwhile, rampant drug use leads to overdoses in broad daylight. Retail theft is so bad that major stores are closing their doors. Homeless encampments grow while city officials dither. And yet, instead of addressing these real issues, the government focuses on policing planter boxes.

Paying property taxes is one thing. Watching that money get squandered while the city deteriorates is another.

5) Your Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM) Is Resetting to a Higher Rate

If you have an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), you might face a sharp increase in your mortgage rate once the fixed period ends.

For example, suppose you took out a 7/1 ARM at 2.5%, and now, after seven years, it’s resetting to 4.5%. Over those years, you’ve built equity and increased your savings. Instead of letting the rate adjust, you could pay off the mortgage or pay down a large portion and recast the loan for lower payments.

If you choose not to refinance your ARM and stick with it, your interest rate could eventually reach its maximum allowable limit—potentially higher than you’re comfortable with. For example, by the ninth year, a 4.5% rate could jump to 6.5%, and by the tenth year, it might rise to 7.5%. In a scenario where the 10-year Treasury bond yield remains below 4.5%, paying off the mortgage could be the smarter financial move.

6) You’ve Achieved Financial Freedom And Prefer Simplicity Over Profit Maximization

Once you’ve achieved financial independence, you may prioritize peace of mind over higher returns. Instead of chasing stock market gains, you might prefer the certainty of owning your home outright.

If you have enough wealth to comfortably fund your lifestyle with passive income, paying off your mortgage can be a rational decision. Even if stocks or private investments offer higher returns, the mental and emotional benefits of being debt-free may outweigh the financial upside of keeping a mortgage.

For many, financial freedom means shifting focus from capital accumulation to capital preservation and lifestyle enjoyment. After all, the first rule of financial independence is to not lose money.

Use Mortgage Debt to Your Advantage Until You No Longer Need It

In my 20s and 30s, I embraced mortgage debt to grow my wealth. I refinanced whenever possible, leveraging low rates to invest elsewhere. I had no choice but to make my money work harder since I didn’t have much to begin with.

Now, in my late 40s, my perspective has shifted. I’m focused on simplification. As my last remaining mortgage nears its reset period in 2026, I plan to pay it off.

Ultimately, everyone’s goal should be to become mortgage-free by the time they no longer want to or can work. When that day comes, the peace of mind from owning your home outright will far outweigh any financial argument for keeping a mortgage.

Because in the end, peace of mind is priceless.

Readers, what are some other compelling reasons for paying off a low-interest-rate mortgage that I haven’t mentioned? Have you ever regretted paying off a low-interest mortgage? If so, what was your biggest regret?

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The Only Good Reasons To Pay Off A Low-Interest-Rate Mortgage is a Financial Samurai original post. All rights reserved. Financial Samurai began in 2009 and is the leading independently-owned personal finance site today.Everything is written based off firsthand experience and knowledge. Sign up for my free weekly newsletter here.

Every day, there seems to be AI news: a new model, a promising startup, an NVIDIA chip reveal.

Now, a new report by Writer, a generative AI platform, and independent research firm Workplace Intelligence, examines how the AI race is affecting companies — and apparently, it’s creating a big rift between IT teams, executives, and employees.

The 2025 AI Survey: Generative AI Adoption in the Enterprise report surveyed 1,600 workers (800 C-suite executives and 800 employees) in various sectors (technology, financial services, retail and consumer goods, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences) across the U.S. and found that almost 72% of the companies are investing at least $1 million each year in generative AI technology.

Related: ‘Not Necessarily Super Excited About This’: Klarna’s CEO Says AI Can Take Over All Jobs, Including His Own

However, despite the spending, only one-third of executives reported seeing a significant return on investment.

Meanwhile, two out of three executives surveyed said generative AI adoption has led to division between teams, while almost half (42%) reported that adopting AI “is tearing their company apart.”

“Generative AI holds transformative potential for the enterprise, but it can also create deep rifts within organizations that rely on a patchwork of point solutions or IT-built applications developed in a silo,” said May Habib, CEO and co-founder at Writer, in a statement.

Still, the survey also found that a majority of employees (at least 9 out of 10) were optimistic about their company’s approach to generative AI — and they’re even paying for it on their own. More than one-third of employees (35%) said they pay out-of-pocket for AI tools.

Related: No Meetings, Up to $30 Per Hour, Fully Remote: A College Student Training AI Says the Work Is ‘Perfect’ for Introverts

The majority of employees surveyed (81%) and almost all of the C-suite (97%) said if they were looking for a new position, finding a company that uses generative AI is important.

“The companies who will lead in the next era of AI adoption are the ones putting the right processes and systems in place today,” said Dan Schawbel, managing partner, at Workplace Intelligence. “They’re prioritizing their change management efforts, cultivating support for AI among their people, and ensuring they’re making the right investment in AI tools.”

To combat the divisions, Habib suggests adopting a clear, organization-wide approach to AI in the workplace and also choosing a vendor that can provide training to show the best use cases (and embolden employees to use it).

View the full report, here.

Related: The CEO of $61 Billion Anthropic Says AI Will Take Over a Crucial Part of Software Engineers’ Jobs Within a Year