Nozaninbegim Mamurjonova
The idea that you need hundreds of thousands of followers to work with brands is slowly going out of date. Today brands care not only about audience size, but about whether you can make natural content people actually want to watch.
This is exactly where UGC comes in.
UGC stands for User Generated Content: natural content made by a user or a creator. Say you visit a new café and post a Reel about the food. If the café never asked you to, that is organic UGC.
But today brands also commission this kind of content on purpose. A creator tries the product, shows how it works or explains their own experience in plain language.
We covered the concept in more depth in our “What is UGC?” article. Here we answer a different question: how can someone who is not a big blogger work with brands?
Is a UGC creator not an influencer?
Not always. In influencer marketing a brand usually pays for two things: the content and the audience. In UGC the main value can be the content itself. So even if you are not a big blogger, you can work with brands as long as you are comfortable on camera, can make a good Reel and can show a product naturally.
Ten different creators can make ten different videos about the same product. One shares a personal experience, another shows the product in use, a third frames it as a problem and a solution. That is what makes UGC interesting for brands: the ad ends up closer to the content people watch every day than to a conventional commercial.
Why follower count is not the deciding factor
Instagram itself explains this. According to the platform’s official notes, most of the videos people watch in the Reels tab come from accounts they do not follow. In other words, the Reels feed runs on the video itself, not on your follower list.
The practical meaning of that is huge. A good video from a creator with 3,000 followers can reach tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of people. Conversely, a dull video on a big page can go almost unseen even by its own followers.
That is why many brands now look first at how a creator’s videos actually perform rather than at the follower count. How many views are the latest Reels getting? Are people leaving comments? Can the creator show a product convincingly?
What do brands look for in a creator?
First, authenticity. Viewers instantly notice someone reading a memorised script. A creator who talks the way they would to a friend earns trust.
Second, the first few seconds. In short video the viewer decides within seconds whether to keep watching or skip. A creator who can hold attention from the very start is especially valuable to a brand.
Third, quality. Expensive equipment is not required, but the lighting should be good, the sound clean and the picture sharp. A modern smartphone and daylight from a window are usually enough.
Fourth, understanding the brief. The brand writes the key message the video has to carry into the brief. Brands come back again and again to creators who deliver that message without losing it, but in their own style.
For a creator the real problem starts elsewhere
Making good content is not enough on its own. Where do you find the brand? Who do you write to? How do you agree on a price? Who approves the video once it is ready? Will the brand actually pay? How are the results measured? Many creators never get past this stage.
Behind each of those questions is a real risk. A small creator can quote too low and sell their work cheaply. Or quote too high and lose the collaboration before it starts. The brand can change its mind once the video is ready, and payment can slip by weeks. In a verbal agreement none of this is guaranteed.
The OQIM platform was built to simplify exactly this process.
How does a creator work on OQIM?
On OQIM you find the ad campaigns that suit you and work with brands in a structured, clear format. The campaign requirements, results and earnings are all visible in one place.
The process is simple. You pick a campaign and read its terms. You make the video to the brief and upload a draft. The brand reviews it and either approves it or leaves comments. You post the approved video as a Reel on your own page. From then on the platform tracks the views automatically.
Your main job is to make good content. Hunting for brands, long back-and-forths and vague agreements are left behind.
Payment is for views, not for posting. The minimum creator rate is UZS 14,000 per 1,000 views, and each campaign’s exact rate is stated on its page. Once the campaign ends and a 7-day verification period passes, the money is sent to your card.
The better your results, the more you earn.
Who is this for?
If you post on Instagram regularly, speak freely on camera or know how to make good, engaging videos, you can work with brands through OQIM.
To work with brands through OQIM your Instagram account needs at least 1,000 followers. But on the platform it is not only your follower count that sets you apart: the quality of your content, your style and how you work with your audience matter too.
This can suit a student, someone who wants to make good use of their evenings after work, or a young mother looking after a child at home. All it takes is a phone, a little time and the willingness to try.
UGC is opening up new opportunities for creators in Uzbekistan as well. Brands are looking for natural, high-quality content, and creators are looking for a way to earn from what they make.
OQIM takes the collaboration between creators and brands from random DMs to a structured process. If you have more than 1,000 followers and can make quality content, you do not need to wait until you are a big blogger. You can start working with brands right now.
Create your profile on OQIM and start your next brand collaboration from the platform, not from a DM.
