South Africa, July 27 -- Influencer and user generated content are two of the most powerful tools in advertising right now. Yet despite earning their place as a key, measurable components of the modern media mix, many brands still aren't making the most of them. Here Nicola Ashe, strategic business director at leading digital agency TDMC (The Digital Media Collective), and Zandile Dlamini, TDMC's strategic content partnerships director, unpack the valuable role customer content plays within a brand's paid media strategy, and how forward-thinking brands and agencies are deploying them to maximise returns.

UGC vs content creation

Most brands now work across three distinct content types:

As Ashe points out, UGC content answers the questio...