The news: Social media is a crucial retail channel for brands, but gaining trust—and attention—may depend on clear product data and crafting a mix of both user-generated content (UGC) and brand-created content.

• UGC is the most trusted type of social media content for 31% of US adults, per Signs.com’s The Social Media Sweet Spot report.
• Among Gen Zers, brand-created photos and content are the most trusted (32%), with UGC falling to 27%.

The opportunity: To get consumers to stop scrolling, brands need to focus on building trust—especially in the face of brand bias, which pushes shoppers to primarily turn toward companies they’re already familiar with.

• Do: Feature customer feedback and testimonials, which get 35% of consumers to stop scrolling for at least 10 seconds. Highlight personal stories (which stop 31% of consumers from scrolling) and relatable or funny hooks (29%).
• Don’t: Rely on AI to generate all social assets—genAI content is the least trustworthy type of social content for almost half (48%) of consumers.

The challenge: While companies may want to control the narrative of their content or keep listings streamlined, a lack of detailed information can make consumers wary of brands and products.

• 33% of consumers don’t trust branded social content that has comments turned off.
• 38% distrust content that lacks basic information, such as pricing and product details.

The combined effect is that brands risk losing credibility when they prioritize control over clarity. Restricting feedback or minimizing product details runs counter to consumers’ desire for transparency, making audiences less likely to experiment with new brands.

What brands should do: As marketers optimize for user attention and trust, efforts can converge with generative engine optimization (GEO) strategies—UGC provides authenticity and specificity, while structured product data adds discoverability in AI-driven environments.

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