Most disappointing UGC starts with a vague brief. A brand sends over “make something fun for TikTok, here’s the product,” waits a week, and gets back a video that misses the point. Then everyone blames the creator. Nine times out of ten, the video was only as clear as the brief. So here’s how to brief a UGC creator properly, written from my side of the camera, so the content you get back is the content you actually wanted.
Getting this right matters more than it sounds. When brands share content from real people instead of polished ads, EnTribe’s consumer survey found 85% of people would rather see it, 84% are more likely to trust the brand, and 77% are more inclined to buy. That trust is the whole point of UGC. A muddled brief is the fastest way to lose it.
Start with the goal, not the shot list.
Before you list a single scene, tell me what this video is for. A cold-audience TikTok ad meant to stop strangers mid-scroll is a completely different edit from a warm, calm explainer for people already on your product page. One needs a punchy hook and fast cuts. The other can breathe. When I know the job, every other decision gets easier, and I stop guessing what “good” looks like to you.
One line does it: “This is a paid TikTok ad targeting first-time buyers who’ve never heard of us.” Now we’re building the same thing.
Give me the product and the real story.
Send the product early, and send the truth with it. What does it actually do well? Who is it for? What do customers say in their own words when they love it, and what do they moan about? I’d rather hear “people say it’s pricey but lasts twice as long” than a page of marketing bullet points. Real detail is what lets me talk about your product like a friend would, instead of reading a spec sheet at the camera.
If there’s a genuine story angle, hand it over. The best UGC sounds like a recommendation, and recommendations have specifics.
Be clear on format and where it’s going.
Tell me the platform, the aspect ratio, the rough length, and whether you want a voiceover, on-screen captions, or me talking to camera. Vertical 9:16 for TikTok and Reels, a hook in the first couple of seconds, captions on by default. If the same clip is heading to more than one platform, say so up front, because it changes how I film and cut. I wrote a whole piece on where your UGC should live if you’re weighing that up.
Ranges are your friend. “20 to 30 seconds” gives me room to make the edit land. “Exactly 27 seconds” usually means cutting something that was working.
Hand me a hook, or three.
The first two seconds decide everything. TikTok’s own creative guidance is blunt about it: introduce the idea in the first few seconds, keep it native and casual rather than overly polished, and use captions to carry context. If you have a hook line you love, give it to me. If you don’t, ask me for two or three options and pick one. Testing a few openers on the same product beats betting everything on one perfect line, and it’s cheap to do while I’m already filming. Here’s more on hooks that stop the scroll if you want to see how I think about them.
Say what you don’t want.
A short list of “please don’t” saves a round of revisions. No competitor products in shot. Don’t say the word “cure”. Keep my nails out of the close-up. Whatever your non-negotiables are, five bullet points of don’ts are worth more than a page of vague direction. It’s the difference between me guessing your boundaries and knowing them.
While you’re at it, tell me what counts as a revision. Two rounds of small tweaks? A different hook if the first flops? Agreeing that now means nobody feels awkward later.
Sort usage rights and payment up front.
This is the part people leave until the end and then argue about. Tell me where the content will run and for how long. Organic on your own channels is one thing. Running it as a paid ad, or using it for six months across every platform, is another, and it should be agreed before I press record. Same with payment: confirm the rate, what it covers, and when it lands. Clear terms make the whole thing feel like a partnership instead of a negotiation. I broke down the numbers in how much UGC costs in the UK if you want a sense of the going rates.
Then trust me to sound like a person.
Here’s the balance. Be specific about the goal, the product, the format and the boundaries. Then leave the exact wording to me. A word-for-word script read out stiffly is the thing that makes UGC feel like an ad, which is the one thing it’s meant to avoid. Give me the guardrails and the freedom to talk normally between them, and you’ll get content that sounds like a real recommendation, because that’s what it is.
A good brief takes fifteen minutes and saves a week of back-and-forth. If you’d like a hand building one, or you’d rather hand me the goal and let me run with it, take a look at my packages or email me at [email protected]. Tell me what you’re selling and who it’s for, and I’ll do the rest.
