i’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. most of our UGC campaigns are transactional—we work with creators on a project basis, they produce content, we get conversions, and then sometimes we work together again and sometimes we don’t.
but i’m wondering if there’s a way to build something more sustainable. like, an actual community where creators feel invested in our brand’s success, not just our money. where the UGC becomes this organic, ongoing thing instead of a series of one-off campaigns.
i’m not sure if that’s realistic, honestly. it might just be wishful thinking. but i’ve seen some brands that seem to have this—like, they have a core group of creators who are constantly making content, commenting on each other’s posts, even collaborating with each other. it feels like a real community, not a job.
is that actually achievable at scale? or is it just sustainable with a small group? and if you’re doing this, how do you structure it so it doesn’t become a full-time management nightmare?
really curious about other people’s experience with this.
this is absolutely achievable, and honestly, it’s where the best long-term brand growth happens. but you’re right that it requires a different mindset than transactional campaigns.
what separates brands with real creator communities from brands doing one-off campaigns is consistency and actual relationship investment. you need to create spaces where creators interact with each other, not just with the brand.
we’ve seen this work really well with dedicated Slack communities, Discord servers, or even private Facebook groups where creators can share content drafts, ask questions, celebrate wins, and get early access to products. it feels less like work and more like being part of something.
the brands that nail this also do regular check-ins with creators—not just “here’s your brief,” but genuine conversations about how their content is performing, what they’re struggling with, what they want to try next.
and yes, it requires management, but honestly, it’s less management than constantly recruiting new creators. once you have a community, retention is high and quality is consistent.
the key is starting small. build it with 5-10 core creators first, get them invested and interconnected, then expand from there. organic growth from community referrals is way more valuable than constantly cold outreaching.
as a creator, i can tell you exactly what makes me want to keep working with a brand vs. ghosting after one project.
it’s not about money (though that helps). it’s about whether the brand actually cares about me as a person and creator. do they engage with my content? Do they ask me for input? Do they celebrate when i hit milestones? Do they introduce me to other creators they work with?
when a brand builds a real community, it fundamentally changes how i approach the work. i’m not just fulfilling a brief; i’m creating for people i actually know and respect. the content is better, and i’m way more likely to bring my own ideas to the table.
the brands i keep going back to are the ones where i feel like i’m part of the team, not just a vendor. building that doesn’t require crazy amounts of money—it requires genuine attention and communication.
we’ve been building something like this with our creator network, and it’s working better than expected. we started with a simple Slack channel for our regular collaborators.
what surprised us is that creators started helping each other—sharing tips on what performs well, rotating who leads conversations, even recommending each other for other brands’ projects. we barely had to manage it.
the turning point was when we started doing monthly reviews with the whole group, celebrating top performing content, and sharing direction on what we’re building next. suddenly it felt less like “the brand tells us what to do” and more like “we’re all working toward the same goal.”
it definitely scales differently than transactional campaigns, and you can’t have 500 creators in a community—quality matters more than size. but with 10-30 core creators, it’s totally sustainable and honestly more efficient than managing a hundred one-off projects.