By Yuhwen Foong, Co-founder · 14 October 2026 · 7 min read
Employee-generated content (EGC) is any photo, video or post made by your own staff about their work, your products or your company. You get more of it by asking for specific formats, making filming easy, getting permission in writing, approving drafts quickly and thanking people every time.
Most companies already have plenty of it sitting on staff phones: the barista's latte art, the technician's before-and-after, the sales team's launch-day photos. This guide covers what counts as EGC, which formats work, how to get the rights to reuse it in ads, and how to keep quality and approvals under control.
The three get mixed up, but they come from different people and need different handling.
| Employee-generated content | User-generated content (UGC) | Influencer content | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who makes it | Your staff, agents or outlet teams | Customers and fans | Creators you brief and usually pay |
| Why people trust it | Insider knowledge, real faces | Real buyers, real opinions | The creator's relationship with their audience |
| How much control you have | High: you can brief and approve | Low: you find it and ask to reuse | Medium: agreed in the brief and contract |
| Main risk | Confidential info, wrong prices or claims | Using it without permission | Off-brief posts, missing disclosure |
| Best for | Behind the scenes, expertise, hiring | Reviews and social proof | Reach into new audiences |
You don't have to choose one. Many brands run all three. EGC is simply the one you can start tomorrow, because the people are already on your payroll and already know the product.
People trust people more than logos. A short video of your service advisor explaining what really happens during a car service feels more honest than a polished ad, because it is.
EGC also fills the content calendar. A marketing team of three can't film every outlet, every branch and every project. Two hundred staff with phones can, if you give them a reason and a little direction.
And it helps hiring. Candidates look up companies on TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn before they apply. Real colleagues talking about real days at work answer the questions a careers page can't.
Don't ask staff to "make content". Ask for a specific format. These work well across Malaysian brands and need nothing more than a phone:
Pick two or three formats a month and say which platform each is for. A day-in-the-life fits TikTok and Instagram Reels; a project milestone fits LinkedIn; a recipe tip fits Xiaohongshu (RED) if your audience is there.
Posting from a staff member's own account is one thing. Taking that video and running it as a paid ad on your company page is another. Get clear, written permission before you reuse anything, and be specific.
A simple consent line might read:
I agree that [Company] may use my video [title/link] on its social media pages, website and paid advertising for 12 months from [date]. I confirm everyone who appears has agreed to be filmed. I can ask for it to be removed from future ads at any time.
Photos and videos that show faces are personal data, so handle them in line with the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 and your own privacy notice. Have your HR or legal adviser look over your consent wording once; then reuse it for every request.
Staff don't need a studio. They need five habits:
Run a 30-minute filming session once a quarter. Show three good examples from your own team. Most people improve quickly once they see what good looks like from colleagues, not from professional creators.
EGC is only an asset if it doesn't create problems. Most mistakes are small but costly: an old price, a promotion that has ended, a whiteboard with client names in the background, a claim legal hasn't cleared.
Pair your approval flow with a written social media policy for employees, so staff know the rules before they film.
If you have a handful of staff posting, a shared folder and a checklist will do. Once you have dozens of people across branches or outlets, the admin becomes the bottleneck. ViaCRM was built to run influencer campaigns, and the same workflow suits staff, agents and outlets:
Each person counts as one active participant, users are unlimited, and networks of 150 or more people are on Enterprise.
Pick one team, two formats and one month. Brief them, help them film, approve quickly and say thank you in public. Then look at which videos people actually watched and do more of those.
When you're ready to make it a programme, our guide to rewarding employees for social media posts covers the next step.
Employee-generated content is any photo, video or post made by your own staff about their work, your products or your company. Common examples are behind-the-scenes clips, day-in-the-life videos and expert tips. It is usually posted on the employee's own account and can be reused by the company with permission.
EGC is made by your employees; UGC is made by customers and fans. You can brief and approve employee content, while UGC is found after the fact and needs the creator's permission before you reuse it.
Yes, with clear written permission that says where the content will be used, for how long and what happens if the employee leaves. Everyone who appears in the video should agree too. Have your HR or legal adviser review your consent wording.
Ask for specific formats rather than "content", give a short brief, offer a quick filming session, approve drafts within a couple of days and recognise people who take part. Keep it voluntary and reward approved posts.
Brief, approve and report on content from your employees, agents and outlets in one place. Tell us about your team on WhatsApp.
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