How John Logan and I worked on my UGC Strategy

After surviving an entire afternoon of SEO planning with Hannah Wells, I thought the hardest part of my week was over.

I was wrong.

As I left our meeting, I accidentally bumped into someone waiting outside.

"You're John Logan, right?" I asked.

"Depends whos asking."

Not exactly the answer I was expecting.

I tried again.

"You're here for help with your UGC portfolio?"

"That's the plan."

"Perfect. Follow me."

Looking back, I should have prepared myself.

Because while Hannah's solution to every problem involved organisation, Logan's solution seemed to involve doing the exact opposite.

The second we sat down, I opened my notebook.

"Okay. Let's talk strategy."

Logan leaned back in his chair. "Why?"

I stared at him. "Because we're building a UGC portfolio".

"Can't we just make content?"

I suddenly understood why Hannah like spreadsheets.

At least spreadsheets make sense.

One thing I quickly realised about Logan is that he doesn't overcomplicate things. While marketers often spend hours discussing content strategies, audience personas , and engagement tactics, Logan seems like the type of creator who would focus on one thing: Authenticity

Before we could even start planning, Logan grabbed one of the example videos I had saved.

"What do you think?" I asked.

He watched it for a few seconds. "It sounds scripted".

I nod and smile. "That's the point".

He shakes his head in disagreement. "No, that's the problem".

Ouch. The more we talked , the more I started noticing something.

A lot of UGC content follows similar patterns.

The same hooks.

The same transitions.

The same phrases .

The same reactions.

Sometimes when I'm scrolling through TikTok or Instagram, I can already predict what someone is about to say before they say it.

Logan nodded. "Exactly."

For someone who claimed to not like strategy , he was surprisingly making a good point. The best UGC content doesn't always look perfect.

In fact, sometimes it's the imperfections that make it look believable.

A slightly awkward moment.

A genuine reaction.

A creator speaking naturally instead of sounding like they are reading from a script .

Those are often things that make people stop scrolling.

As we continued reviewing content ideas . I started explaining how some brands try to make their content feel more authentic.

Some do well. Others- not so much.

I mentioned how I've seen certain finance and networking-marketing content on social media where UGC seems to be used as a way of making promotional content feel more relatable.

Logan immediately understood what I meant.

"People can tell when something feels forced."

Exactly. That's the challenge .

UGC works best when audiences trust the creator . The moment content starts feeling very overly rehearsed or disconnected from reality, people notice .

And once trust disappears, engagement often follows.

A little later, I start brainstorming content ideas.

Naturally, I had several pages of notes. Logan had none.

"Do you write anything down"? I asked.

"Not really", He replied.

I have a confused but amused expression on my face. "So, how do you remember your ideas?"

He laughs. "I just do".

I stare at him, and he stares back.

Some people are built different. Despite our completely different approaches, we eventually found a balance.

I brought the planning.

Logan brought the realism.

I focused on structure.

He focused on making sure the content still felt human.

And honestly, that's the biggest lesson I took away from our conversation.

UGC doesn't need to be perfect.

It doesn't need a complicated strategy.

What it does need is authenticity.

Before leaving, Logan glanced at the growing pile of notes on my desk.

"You know, we probably could've done this without half of those."

I looked at my notebook.

Then at him.

Then back at my notebook.

I shake my head rubbing my temple laughing. "You're impossible".

He laughed. Unfortunately for me , that laugh made it harder to come up with a response.

There was a brief silence. The kind that makes you suddenly aware of your own existence.

Logan stood up and grabbed his things.

"Well. Thanks for the help".

I give a small smile "You're welcome".

Great.

Fantastic.

Professional.

Normal. Exactly what I was going for.

He started walking towards the door , and before my brain could stop me , the words escaped.

I breathe in. "Hey Logan?".

He turns around. "Yeah Anisha?"

Looks at the ground and back to him. "I was just wondering um. Coffee? It's on me."

I just realized what I said. Please don't turn this down please, please, please.

I can imagine Hannah just teasing me. Like she always does.

He smiles. "Coffee"?

I nod. "Yeah. I guess I just wanted to grab a coffee and no one else is free. So um. What do you say?"

Logan smiles. "I would love that".

I tried my best to remain calm. Note: tried to.

We walk to the cafe and order our coffees.

Suddenly I hear:

"Excuse me. Are you Anisha. The one who offers digital marketing advice?"

I turn and recognize that voice and I see Logan beaming at him.

I realize who it is. "Yeah I'm Anisha. Wait, wait, wait.

You're Garrett Graham. Captain of the Briar U hockey team?"

Garrett smirks at me. "Depends who's asking."

I roll my eyes and look at Logan. "Is this what you hockey players always say? Is this what your dictionary is made up of?"

Logan nods and laughs. "Yeah, seems like it".

I scoff sarcastically. "Lovely".

Garrett laughs and confirms I'm right.

One minute I am educating Logan about UGC. The next minute I have been promoted to Briar U hockey teams marketing agent.

Garrett shows me a folder. "I was wondering. Can you help me with PPC advertising?".

I look at the folder, to Garrett, to Logan and then my coffee cup.

I inhale. "Wow um. PPC that's a challenging one. Let me check my schedule."

I check the schedule. "How does Tuesday sound?"

Garrett nods. "Yeah that's amazing".

"Cool pick a time and we will get on it. See you tomorrow!".

"Awesome. See you tomorrow Anisha". Garrett waves and leaves.

Somehow, I can already feel that tomorrow will be busier than ever