It’s been widely reported that UGC ads receive 4x CTR, and CPC’s cost 50% less than non-UGC ads. 🔥

Why? Because we know they’re more trusted and more engaging.

So how can we optimize UGC beyond that? Dark Posting.

What is dark posting? 🤔

A dark post is a targeted ad that appears in the news feeds of only a selected set of users and nowhere else (aka the post doesn’t show when you visit the creators page).

Content is run through a creator’s handle as if they’d posted it themselves, but the post does not live on their feeds or profiles.

Dark posting allows you to capitalize on the social proof the creator’s handle and profile offers, run multiple ad iterations, and test different audiences with different copy, etc.

The Pilothouse UGC team has found that with less spend, dark posted content performs just as well (or better!) than the top branded ads in the account.

Check out the stats! 👇

Dark Posted

• A dark posted ad for a men's grooming company spent $60, had 14 purchases, and a ROAS of 13.94 for $840 revenue.

• Another dark posted ad for a menswear brand spent $580, had 17 purchases, and a ROAS of 5.19 for $3K total revenue.

Top Branded

• A non-UGC ad for the same menswear brand spent $1007 and had ROAS of 5.53 for total revenue of $5.5K.  

The proof is in the pudding. Dark posted UGC holds up to the best of the best.

Thanks to Debbie on the Pilothouse UGC team for the insights. 🚀