Building a Two-Sided UGC Platform
for Brands and Creators
-
Client name
MarTech startup
-
Industry
Social Network
-
Location
USA
-
Size
50+
-
Duration
March 2023 – present
The client came to us with an idea to build a groundbreaking two-sided platform. The main idea was to build a unified space where brands could access authentic UGC content, statistics, and analytics, while creators had the opportunity to monetize their creativity. To achieve this, we developed a mobile app for creators and a web platform for brands with features for secure content upload, licensing, and transparent payout mechanisms.
Challenges
The project evolved in two key phases: initially, creating an MVP to validate the market hypothesis, and subsequently, scaling and adding new functionality. The primary goal was to build a platform for effective collaboration between brands and creators with the ability to monetize content. During implementation, we faced a number of complex challenges:
-
Excessively Large MVP Scope
The initial design included over 340 unique screens, which threatened deadlines and complicated project management.
-
Two Separate Interfaces
It was necessary to develop distinct yet interconnected products for brands (web dashboard) and creators (mobile application), significantly complicating the architecture.
-
Licensing and Payment System
Implementing a legally sound, technically reliable, and user-transparent compensation mechanism for content was required.
-
Scalability Requirements
The platform had to be ready to handle millions of content views without performance loss.
-
Limited Social Media API Capabilities
Integration with TikTok and Instagram was complicated by restricted data access (e.g., no access to comments or sentiment analysis), which limited analytical capabilities.
Solution
The project was executed in two major phases.
- We received a design with over 340 unique screens and implemented them within the MVP without cuts or simplifications.
- The team built two separate platforms (a web platform and a mobile application) for two different user scenarios: brands and creators.
- We implemented a model of weekly challenges with monetary rewards. This quickly motivated creators, generated activity data, and built a foundation for business analytics.
- Integrated TikTok and Instagram APIs. Creators gained the ability to publish content directly from the platform, and the system began collecting detailed metrics on views and likes, all while working within API limitations (no access to comments or sentiment analysis).
- Established a transparent payment mechanism between brands and creators.
- Business logic was expanded by introducing data management workflows (CRUD operations) together with new functions for collecting and analyzing account and content metrics.
- Optimized application performance. Processing of large data volumes was moved to the backend, caching was added, and a CDN was implemented. This ensured fast loading of pages, charts, and images even under high load.
- Added new functionality and enhanced existing capabilities. Implemented adaptive design for convenient use on mobile devices.
- Designed and created statistical dashboards with charts, diagrams, and report pages, enabling brands and creators to track campaign effectiveness in real-time.
- The application architecture was designed to support millions of content views and remain stable during user growth.
Core Platform Features
-
Challenge creation. Tools for launching and configuring marketing campaign challenges (defining goals, budget, audience, rules).
-
Creator management. Search and filter creators by detailed demographics (location, age, gender, interests, audience, etc.).
-
In-depth analytics. Detailed reports and dashboards with campaign results. Analysis of content effectiveness, reach, engagement, and ROI.
-
Rights management (licensing). Mechanisms for easily licensing the best content created by creators for further use by the brand.
-
Content library. A repository for all created content that can be sorted, filtered, and exported.
-
Creator profile. Ability to create a detailed profile with demographic data, statistics, and a portfolio.
-
Content publishing. Tools for uploading and publishing content (photos/videos) directly to social networks (Instagram, TikTok) through the platform.
-
Participation in challenges. Browse available challenges from brands, filter by categories, rewards, etc.
-
Monetization. A reward system for participation and winning challenges. Ability to receive monetary rewards through integrated payment systems.
-
Performance analytics. Dashboards for tracking the results of their campaigns (views, engagement, goal achievement).
Services
-
Business analysis
-
UI/UX design
-
Web development
-
Mobile app development
-
Social media API integration
-
QA process
-
Ongoing technical support
Make your product competitive
Leverage our expertise in building platforms and digital solutions
Tech Stack
React Native
TypeScript
Next.js
Tailwind
ReactQuery
Jotai
Storybook
RadixUI
Ruby on Rails
Meilisearch
Sidekiq
Swagger
Rollbar
AWS
React Native
TypeScript
Next.js
Tailwind
ReactQuery
Jotai
Storybook
RadixUI
Ruby on Rails
Meilisearch
Sidekiq
Swagger
Rollbar
AWS
Business Value
-
Launched a functional platform in just 6 months, allowing the client to quickly test their business model and enter the market.
-
Helped brands save resources by obtaining authentic UGC content instead of relying on costly shoots or agencies.
-
Opened a new monetization channel for creators with a transparent reward system for participating in challenges.
-
Delivered data analytics tools, enabling collection of social media statistics for content performance tracking and informed decision-making.
-
Ensured scalability with an architecture designed to support audience growth without major reworks.
-
Built a unique technology asset – a platform with a base of creators, brands, and content that carries its own market value.
Contact us
Let's explore how our expertise can help you achieve your goals! Drop us a line, and we'll get back to you shortly.
Other Projects
Agentic AI Platform for Trading
We developed an AI-driven trading platform that combines analytics and intelligent recommendations for investors. By moving to a microservices architecture with Redis caching and AWS SQS, we increased performance by 40%.
Interactive Platform for Sustainable Development in the EU
We built a web platform for Sustainable Prosperity that lets users explore and analyze over 200 EU sustainability policies, featuring an interactive toolbox for visualizing transformation barriers and a CMS for easy content management.
