UGC ads for demand gen: How to create high-impact campaigns with Picsart Flows

UGC ads are dominating demand gen right now because they feel real, human, and impossible to ignore. Brands everywhere are shifting from overly polished creative to content that looks like it came straight from someone’s For You Page because that’s exactly where audiences want to be marketed to. Demand gen thrives on authenticity, and UGC-style ads are the secret weapon fueling that growth.

Picsart Flows makes this entire process easier, faster, and far more scalable. Think hands-off workflow automation, powerful AI tools, and creator-quality output that you can take directly into Google Demand Gen campaigns, YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and beyond.

In this guide, we’ll break down what UGC ads are, how demand gen works, and exactly how to use Picsart Flows to create scroll-stopping UGC ads in minutes, not hours.

What are UGC and UGC ads?

User-generated content (UGC) is any content – videos, photos, reviews, screenshots, testimonials – created by real users rather than brands. That’s why it feels so believable.

UGC ads take that same visual language and apply it to paid campaigns. They look organic, relatable, unpolished (in a good way), and creator-friendly. Today’s audiences trust UGC ads because they resemble what they already engage with on social platforms.

Examples include:

  • A creator unboxing a product

  • A casual selfie-style product review

  • A quick tutorial shot on a phone

  • A “day in the life” featuring a brand

  • Real customer testimonials

UGC-style ads win because they blend in instead of interrupting.

Why brands love UGC ads for demand gen

Demand gen (short for demand generation) is all about creating awareness, interest, and desire before someone actively searches for your product. Instead of waiting for intent, demand gen ads introduce your product to the right audience, on the right platforms, using highly engaging visual content.

UGC ads are perfect for this because they:

  • Feel authentic, not salesy

  • Build trust quickly

  • Match the tone of Shorts, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Discovery, and the Google Demand Gen placements

  • Drive higher engagement, watch time, and click-through rates

  • Are faster and cheaper to produce than studio ads

Demand gen + UGC ads = a performance powerhouse.

What is demand gen? (Quick explainer)

Demand generation is a marketing strategy that nurtures interest in your product long before someone is ready to buy. Instead of capturing existing demand (like search ads), demand gen creates it through compelling visuals and storytelling.

Platforms where demand gen thrives include:

  • YouTube Shorts

  • YouTube in-feed

  • Google Discover

  • Performance Max asset groups

  • Meta Reels

  • TikTok ads

These placements reward creatives that are fun, fast, emotionally readable, and authentic – AKA UGC-style ads.

Demand gen vs lead gen

  • Demand gen: Spark interest → build desire → grow awareness.

  • Lead gen: Collect information from people who already show intent.

Demand gen happens earlier in the journey, which is why strong visuals matter so much.

Why Picsart Flows is ideal for UGC ads

Picsart Flows is a no-stress creative automation platform that turns repetitive editing steps into quick, customizable workflows. Instead of manually designing dozens of assets, you build one workflow and generate as many variations as you need.

Perfect for UGC-style ads, especially when you need:

  • Fast iteration

  • Multiple formats across platforms

  • Repeatable outputs

  • Consistency + creativity

  • AI-assisted editing that still looks organic

Benefits you get instantly:

  • Automated workflows – no more manual resizing, re-exporting, or aligning layers.

  • High-quality AI outputs – clean, sharp, creator-ready visuals.

  • Easy customization – swap text, scenes, and assets in seconds.

  • End-to-end creative production – from concept to export to publishing.

How to create UGC ads for demand gen using Picsart Flows

Below is a simple, beginner-friendly walkthrough based on the Flows UI steps shown in your screenshots.

  • Start with a template or build from scratch

Once you’re logged into the Picsart Flows homepage, you can jump right in by choosing one of Picsart’s UGC templates or clicking “Create new project” to start from a blank canvas.

Generate & customize

Option A: Use a UGC template

Picsart’s prebuilt templates come with ready-made UGC characters and a structure designed to help you showcase your product quickly.

  1. Open the template.

  2. Replace the product by hovering over the product node and clicking the Upload button in the top-right corner.

  3. Select the colored frame to choose the generation step.

  4. Click Run and watch your UGC creator and video come to life.

Option B: Build your own project

Create fully custom content from images to videos in minutes.

  1. Choose what you want to generate first: image, video, text, or audio.
    Tip: Starting with an image makes it easier to build your UGC creator.

  2. In the prompt box, describe what your UGC creator should look like, then choose any top GenAI model (Gemini 3 Pro, Nano-banana, Seedream 4, Ideogram, Flux2, and more).

    • You can also use our Model Generator template by opening the menu bar and selecting Templates.

  3. Generate your script using a Text node with leading language models (Gemini, GPT, Claude, etc.).

  4. Connect your creator and script to a Video node, then generate your video using models like VEO, Seedance, Runway, Luma, and others.

3. Publish & Scale

Connect multiple videos of your AI UGC creator to build longer sequences, or send them to the Picsart Editor to add captions, effects, and finishing touches. When you’re ready, export and publish directly to Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and more – all from within Picsart.

Where to use these UGC ads in demand gen campaigns

YouTube Shorts

UGC-style, punchy visuals thrive here – especially “talking to camera” or lifestyle footage.

YouTube in-feed ads

Great for tutorials, testimonials, or unboxing content.

Google Discover

Static UGC visuals (like screenshots or photo-based ads) perform extremely well.

Performance Max

Flows lets you instantly create the 10 – 20 variations needed for optimal delivery.

TikTok & Instagram Reels

UGC-style storytelling drives higher watch-through rates and engagement.

Why Flows is perfect for creative teams, founders, and agencies

Fast for beginners

You don’t need design experience; Flows handles the heavy lifting.

Powerful for advanced marketers

Batch exports, consistent branding, and workflow automation mean high-volume output with low effort.

Scalable for agencies

Create dozens of UGC variations for multiple clients using one standardized workflow.

Reliable for performance marketers

A/B test creative angles without rebuilding the design every time.

Actionable UGC prompt you can try

Here’s a ready-to-use prompt if you’re generating UGC through Picsart AI:

Prompt:
 “Create a lifestyle UGC scene of a person using [your product], shot in natural lighting, casual phone-camera angle, minimal retouching, warm tones, subtle texture, modern creator aesthetic, friendly and authentic.”

Paste that into your workflow and build from there.

Social proof: Why UGC-style ads win

Research shows we’re exposed to thousands of ads per day; people argue anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000+. In that environment, anything that looks like a traditional ad gets ignored instantly.

UGC-style ads stand out precisely because they don’t look like ads.

Creators, agencies, and performance teams consistently report:

  • Higher engagement

  • Longer watch time

  • Better click-through rates

  • Lower CPAs

  • Faster creative production cycles

Demand gen platforms reward ads that feel natural and human—exactly what UGC delivers.

FAQs

What is meant by demand generation?

Demand generation builds awareness and interest early in the buyer journey using compelling visual creative.

What is demand gen in Google?

Google Demand Gen (formerly Discovery + Video campaigns) serves ads across YouTube Shorts, YouTube in-feed, and Google Discover – perfect environments for UGC ads.

What is demand gen vs lead gen?

Lead gen collects information from people who already show intent. Demand gen creates that intent earlier.

What does a demand gen person do?

They grow brand interest, run creative campaigns, develop messaging, test visuals, and create pipelines of high-intent users.

What are UGC ads?

Paid ads that mimic the look and feel of organic creator content.

Do we really see 4000 ads a day?

Estimates vary, but modern digital environments make exposure counts incredibly high, making authenticity more important than ever.

What are examples of UGC?

Selfie videos, product reviews, unboxings, customer testimonials, casual photos, and screen recordings.

How to generate UGC ads?

Use creator-style shoots, AI generation, or automated tools like Picsart Flows to build authentic visuals quickly.

Conclusion

UGC ads are driving the future of demand gen, and Picsart Flows gives creators, teams, and brands everything they need to produce them at scale. With automated workflows, AI tools, and easy customization, you can build high-quality, authentic ads faster than ever and deliver them directly to the platforms where demand gen thrives.

When speed, authenticity, and creativity matter, Flows is the workflow engine that keeps your content performing.