UGC Creators in Canada: How to Find, Brief and Pay Them

 

UGC Creators in Canada: How small businesses find, brief, and pay them 

 

Most guides and tips about UGC creators in Canada are written for creators about how to land brand deals and what to charge for the first brand video. This one is for the other side of the table.

You run a local business in the GTA. Your social media needs fresh and genuine content, but filming every time isn’t working for you. But someone suggested UGC, and before you hire a creator, here’s what you need to know about finding one, from setting up a budget to getting content you can actually use.

 

What a UGC Creator actually does: 

A UGC Creator makes videos and photos that look like they were filmed by real customers. Think of someone unboxing your product, walking through your store, trying your menu, filming their reaction, and posting it on social media.

How is that different from Influencer Marketing? It comes down to who posts. You pay a UGC Creator for the content, and you post it. You pay an influencer for their audience, and they post it.

 

That’s where UGC becomes reliable :

• Your own social media: for those weeks when you can’t shoot any content.
• Paid ads: videos that feel like genuine customer experience can help to connect your ads with the right audience.
• Your website or business profile: genuine images and short video clips helps to build trust and makes your customers feel confident enough to choose your business.

 

So here’s the basic guidelines. If you want more audience, you hire an influencer. If you want a constant source of content that sells, you hire UGC. We break down the difference for fashion brands in UGC vs influencer marketing, and why it builds brands trust through UGC creators.

 

Where to find UGC creators in Canada: 

You’ve got four different options to choose from, depending on your budget and how much involvement you want from the creator.

 

Where to find	What you get	What to focus on
UGC marketplaces (Billo, Collabstr., plenty of choice, Influee, JoinBrands)	Fast turnaround, various creators, built-in payment	Many creators are US-based, so filter for Canada if you want local faces as per locations.
Your own customers	The original content, often free or paid in product	Quality can be hit or miss You can provide them a quality device for shooting
Social media platforms like Instagram & TikTok	Local creators from your neighborhood	Measure conversations and their previous brand work
Creator Agencies	Various creators, scripting, shoots, editing, and rights all get handled by one team	Higher cost than going direct

 

For a local business, local creators are worth considering. Think about it: a creator who films in your actual store, acts as your actual customers, and it is much better to pay more for a local creator who can return next month than to hire a cheaper creator in a different time zone.

 

What UGC Creators cost in 2026:

If you’re hiring a UGC creator, pricing is probably one of the biggest questions.

Billo’s 2025 UGC rates guide (prices in US dollars) lists the starting point from creator to creator.

 

Creator level	Typical price per video (before usage rights)
Entry-level	US$50 to $100
Mid-level	US$150 to $500
Established	US$500 and up

 

• A UGC video might cost about US$200, but the final price depends on what you get from the creator.
• For example, a video made for your social media will have different costs from the one you want to advertise. The prices can change if you need extra editing, more versions, scripting, or faster execution.
• You’ll have to discuss how long you can use videos for ads, because some creators charge extra for “paid partnership” rights; it could be for weeks or for months.
• And if you want videos to be posted on the creator’s social media profile, charges will be different. Average rates are around US$364 for Instagram and US$350 for TikTok posts.

 

If you’re wondering where to start, a practical budget for a small business is three to five videos a month from one or two creators. Then, put some advertising budget behind your top-performing content for the next 90 days.

 

How to brief a UGC creator: 

Before you brief a creator, explain your product or service, tell the creator what you want to promote, what your vision is, and what audience you want to target.

 

Your brief should cover the following questions:

1. Who is the viewer? Your audience has to be specified in each brief.
2. What is the one message? Pick just one: if you want to promote a festive deal or any beauty product, or it could be a new launch.
3. What must the first three seconds show? Any hook that makes the viewer stay or makes them curious.
4. What must not appear? Specify them with: any competitor’s product, unauthorised music, anything that is off-brand.
5. What formats do you need? Decide on your formats (9:16 vertical for Reels and TikTok, or a length of 15 to 30 seconds), and how many hooks or versions you want.
6. What rights are you buying? Must include organic only or paid ads, and the duration of running ads.

 

One more tip: you can send reference videos as examples, because creators perform faster and better from an example than from a long brief.

 

Contracts & Rights on content: 

Before the creator gets the brief, get three things in writing:

 

• Usage rights: where you can use the content (organic social, ads, website), for how long you can use it, and whether you can edit it.
• Deliverables and revisions: how many videos, how many versions, and how many rounds of changes are included in one particular rate.
• Disclosure: if the creator posts the content themselves, it must be clearly labelled as paid. According to updated rules from Ad Standards, #Ad is the best label to use. You can also use built-in “paid partnership” tools, but only if they are visible. Now, both Creators and brands are responsible for clearly labeling their sponsored content ( summary by Gowling WLG ).

 

Measuring whether UGC is working:

Check UGC content based on performance,

• Organic engagements: focus on likes, saves, shares, and profile visits, rather than views only.
• Paid advertising focuses on Cost Per Click( CPC) and cost per result, compared with your current ads.
• Website: track how much time people spend on the page and how many clicks your contact or booking button has.

Try UGC videos alongside your ongoing ads. Compare the results and check which one brings more likes and views, bookings & enquiries.

 

Want help running UGC for your business?

PathSeekers helps businesses across Brampton, Mississauga, and the GTA connect with local Creators and turn their ideas into content. From sourcing the creator to the brief, filming/editing, and usage rights, we handle the process so you don’t have to manage every step. Explore our Content Creation and Influencer Marketing services or book a 15-minute free call to discuss your ideas.

 

Sources: Billo, UGC Rates in 2025 · Gowling WLG, Updated Influencer Marketing Disclosure Guidelines in Canada (Dec 2025)