How We Used UGC Video to Improve Ad Click-Through Rates

Intro: Meet Firefly

Firefly is an insurance agency that supports a network of independent agents. They offer resources and support to help agents grow their businesses by focusing on client relationships and sales. Most significantly, they streamline the process of getting direct appointments with carriers by removing production requirements. Firefly has built its business by valuing teamwork, agent satisfaction, and community involvement.

The Challenge: Assets without an Audience

Firefly was seeing limited results with their paid social advertising program and other marketing efforts. They had launched ads, built a library of blogs, and gained valuable client testimonials but they weren’t getting eyes on any of it.

Their strategy had been to use image ads, carousel ads, and lightweight motion ads to boost brand awareness and attract property and casualty (P&C) insurance agents. Unfortunately, user engagement for these ads was low, and the limited traffic they drove to the website wasn’t converting. Firefly needed a new way to draw interest and convert more customers.

The Strategy: Video Killed the Carousel Star

Short-form video has rapidly become the primary traffic driver on social media. In fact, most social platforms have shifted their entire UI strategy and algorithm prioritization to short-form video. Most prominent in this shift is user-generated content (UGC), which features authentic, unscripted people speaking candidly about a product or service.

Firefly had run video ads before with modest results. They were high-production spots with a professional actor in a staged set and we wanted to mix things up by using UGC-style video assets. In April 2024, Gemini began testing ads utilizing clips from several “modern agent” blogs that featured instructive content. They quickly outperformed the traditional image and carousel ads that were running.

Despite the early wins, we saw a consistent dip in performance two months later and hypothesized that we needed to refresh Firefly’s videos regularly. During our monthly strategy meeting with the client, they mentioned that they recently filmed an interview with an agent who spoke authentically about why they switched to Firefly. This was precisely the type of UGC social media audiences love, and we launched a test featuring clips from the interview.

Conclusion: Building on Our Success

The early results reveal an encouraging strategy for increasing Firefly’s brand awareness through paid social advertising. We will continue to monitor their ads, learn from the performance data, and test new ideas.

If you’re looking to create a winning paid social media strategy for your company, including video ads, consider the value of an experienced agency. The Gemini team will work with you to test different ad formats, settings, and targeting to attract more customers. And you never know; your next game-changing marketing strategy might come during one of our regular strategy meetings. To learn more, contact Gemini today.