How Should You Count the Number of UGC Posts?

The number of UGC posts should be counted not just by relying on hashtag searches, but through a system that also captures brand name spelling variations and untagged mentions. Hashtag searches alone only reveal a portion of the UGC that is actually being generated.

Why Hashtag Searches Alone Can't Capture the Full Count

Many people who post don't necessarily use the campaign's designated hashtag accurately every time. When someone posts a genuine, spontaneous impression, they often write only the product name without a tag, or post without even being aware that a tag exists. As touched on in [What Is UGC? Its Relationship to Sponsored Collaborations and How to Use It [Basic Guide]](https://statsworks.tokyo/insight/what-is-ugc), since UGC is by definition a spontaneous post not requested by the brand, it's only natural that a certain number of posts won't follow the format the brand has set up. If you treat only the hashtag search count as the total number of UGC posts, you'll overlook this spontaneous portion.

How Should You Capture Brand Name Spelling Variations?

Brand names and product names are often written in multiple ways beyond their official form—in katakana, in Roman letters, as abbreviations, or in hiragana. When searching, you need to identify likely variations in advance, not just the official name, and search for each one, then combine the results. Sorting out these spelling variations once before a campaign begins helps keep subsequent counting consistent.

How Should You Find Untagged Mentions?

To find mentions that don't rely on tags or hashtags, you should combine this with full-text searches for the brand name and product name themselves. Some posts simply show the product in a photo or video without any hashtag attached, so alongside keyword searches, you also need a process of visually reviewing posts that seem related to the campaign. As touched on in Sponsored Collaborations vs. UGC: Why Effectiveness Should Be Measured on Separate Axes, unlike sponsored collaborations, UGC occurrence can't be directly controlled by the brand—which is precisely why carefully designing the process for capturing it forms the foundation of proper evaluation.

Scope of This Article

This article covers how to capture UGC posts when counting their occurrence. It does not cover how to evaluate or report on the UGC once captured.

Conclusion

If you count UGC occurrence based solely on hashtag search results, you'll end up underestimating the actual number. We believe that having a system that captures both spelling variations and untagged mentions is key to arriving at an accurate picture.