How can you use user-generated content to enhance your news coverage?

Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are great for discovering UGC through hashtags, keywords, and geotags. However, you can also streamline the process by using tools like BrandLens to directly invite and collect videos via QR codes, links, or embedded campaigns. This ensures content aligns with your story while reaching your audience where they already are.

User-generated content (UGC) can be a valuable tool in enhancing news coverage. It adds authenticity, broadens perspectives, and engages audiences directly. - Feature audience contributions: Use reader photos, videos, or stories for diversity. - Engage with social media: Track hashtags and conversations for real-time content. - Crowdsource information: Use UGC to gather eyewitness reports or tips on breaking stories. - Create interactive stories: Encourage readers to share their views on key issues. - Give proper credit: Always credit UGC creators to ensure transparency. Integrating user-generated content not only enriches your coverage but also builds community involvement and trust, making your news more relatable and dynamic.

- Source real-time insights by monitoring social media for firsthand accounts and visuals of breaking news. - Feature audience contributions like photos, videos, or testimonials to add authenticity and diverse perspectives. - Engage readers by encouraging them to share experiences or opinions related to specific stories. - Curate and verify user-generated content to ensure credibility before publication. - Build community trust by crediting contributors and fostering a sense of collaboration in news reporting.

El contenido generado por el usuario puede enriquecer la cobertura de noticias al proporcionar perspectivas auténticas y en tiempo real. Se puede utilizar para complementar reportajes con testimonios directos, imágenes o videos de eventos. Además, fomenta la participación de la audiencia, haciendo que se sienta parte del proceso informativo, siempre verificando la autenticidad y dando crédito a los autores.

Part 1 A very effective approach is- actively encouraging your audience to share their perspectives, experiences, visuals related to a story through social media, dedicated submission platforms, by asking for specific information, thus adding a more diverse & authentic viewpoint to your reporting; * Create clear calls to action:
Encourage viewers to submit content by clearly stating what kind of information you need & how to share it through social media hashtags, dedicated email addresses, or submission form on your website. 
 * Verify and authenticate content:
Always verify the authenticity of user-generated content prior using it in your reporting by cross-checking information with other sources, contacting content creator if need be. 


Verification starts with tools like Google Reverse Image Search or TinEye for cross-checking authenticity. BrandLens simplifies this process by integrating permission requests, metadata collection, and creator consent directly within the submission workflow. This reduces misinformation risk and ensures ethical usage of content.

Curating means selecting the most relevant and engaging UGC while adding value to it. BrandLens helps by enabling on-screen instructions and templates during creation, ensuring high-quality submissions. You can then group content by themes or narratives to maximize its impact in your coverage.

Interactive coverage with crowdsourcing while maintaining control of the content is the key to using properly vetted UGC, especially videos. Using on-screen instructions, camera guides, and content control AI ensures curated and high-quality submissions. BrandLens is the only platform that seamlessly integrates all these capabilities, enabling you to enhance news coverage with engaging and reliable UGC.