The Role of EGC For Brands on TikTok
Watch our one-hour long masterclass with Nonsensical’s CCO Sam Gillies and Head of Growth, Melina Lee, as they explore the growing impact of Employee Generated Content (EGC) and whether it’s becoming the most important content type for brands on social media.
In 2026, audiences are craving authenticity from brands more than ever.
Many brands winning on TikTok and beyond are the ones empowering their teams to show up and create content that feels real.
But knowing how to find the right people, structure the content, and scale it effectively is what turns a few viral moments into measurable, repeatable results.
Here are our key takeaways:
Define your EGC goal clearly and pick the operating model
- Use employees as the primary vehicle for content creation.
- Choose between: employee generated content posted on the main brand account e.g. Currys, Argos vs a separate local / employee led account that’s still brand regulated e.g. Hobbycraft Wimbledon, M&S Romford
Build a repeatable EGC system, avoid building around one face
You’re not building a creator but a content system for your brand.
A distributed cast gives you:
- Resilience: Lose one person and the programme continues. No single departure kills the strategy.
- Range: Different faces reach different audiences, tones and formats. One creator can’t do all of that.
- Depth: Multiple perspectives make the brand feel alive – like an organisation, not a personal brand.
- Shared ownership: When EGC is distributed, it becomes part of the culture rather than one person’s side project.
Choose the right EGC setting and match it to what’s easiest to sustain for your brand
Three practical formats you could implement:
- In-store / on-location (uniforms, storefront, products in context)
- At home (sketch based, scalable, lower production)
- Office / warehouse (behind the scenes, day to day)
Make the brand present in every video without making it feel like an ad
- Use natural brand anchors: uniforms, filming in front of the logo/storefront, and showing products in real environments.
- Aim for the product subtly included throughout the video rather than pitching the product
Decide whether you want many faces or a consistent roster, and be intentional
- Some brands use lots of different employees (variety).
- Others use a more consistent set of recognisable faces (compounding recognition).
- Either can work – just plan for continuity and risk management.
Treat compensation and participation as a policy, not an afterthought
- Participation should be voluntary unless it’s explicitly part of someone’s role.
- If someone becomes a regular face (image rights, brand equity, recognition), move toward a formal agreement and consider pay models (flat fee, addendum/creator contract, revenue share, performance-based, time allowance).
If you have multiple goals, consider separate accounts and strategies
Separate accounts can reduce competing algorithms and allow clearer, more consistent content styles (e.g., main brand account vs shop, niche verticals or local store accounts).
To recap:
- The algorithms love it – Many of the top brands on social media are winning by showing their employees, and that will only continue
- It can be very sustainable for most teams – Can deliver more content, more authentically at a fraction of the cost of more expensive talent.
- Audience yearns for authenticity – The rise of AI slop and over produced ads, we’ll see a push back against non human content and EGC is the most human of all.
- The compounding effect of familiar faces – When the same faces show up consistently, audiences start to know them. That recognition builds equity post by post.
What brands need to consider
Human content outperforms corporate polished brand content
On every platform, in almost every category. The data is consistent, human content performs better
Whether EGC is the right vehicle
Your category, your people, your risk tolerance. EGC isn’t a one size fits all answer, it’s a tool that needs the right conditions.
Looking for more webinars on the best TikTok insight?
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- How To Do TikTok SEO In 2025
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- Mastering TikTok Influencer Partnerships with Semrush
- How To Build Scalable Content Ideas
- How To Find The Right Tok on TikTok
About Nonsensical.
We’re a TikTok agency based in the UK who work across strategy, organic, influencer, paid and TikTok Shop.
You can find more TikTok insight from us in our Substack – The TikTok Sauce.
