User-generated content works because it doesn't look made by a brand. Then brands send creators a script, a shot list and four pages of words to avoid, and it looks exactly like an ad again.
We run UGC for brands like Softhaus, where twelve creators make most of the paid ads. Here's how we brief them so the videos still sound like people.
Cast customers first
Our first call is to the brand's existing customers, not creator marketplaces. Softhaus had a list of people who'd left long reviews. Eight of the twelve creators we cast came from it. They already have an opinion about the product, so they don't need a script to have one on camera.
When we do cast from a marketplace, we ask for one unedited video of them talking about anything they've bought recently. If it doesn't sound like them, nothing we brief will fix it.
One message, not a feature list
Every brief has one sentence the video has to get across. For Softhaus it was "the cleanser doesn't sting." Not the ingredients, not the price, not the story of the founder. One thing.
Creators can say it however they like. Most of them say it better than we would have.
Three hooks, no script
We give three possible openings and let them pick or write their own. Then three questions to answer on camera:
What were you using before?
What did you notice in the first week?
Who would you tell about it?
That's the whole brief. It fits on one page.
Send a kit, not a list of rules
Every creator gets a box with the product, a phone mount, a ring light they keep, and the one-page brief. The only technical rules: film vertical, film near a window, and record a few seconds of silence before you start talking.
Edit lightly
Our editors cut for pace, add captions and fix sound. They don't add brand graphics, stock music or a logo in the first five seconds. The product name usually appears near the end, if at all.
For paid ads we cut each video in three sizes and test three different openings. The one that holds people longest after a week becomes the main ad. At Softhaus, cost per purchase dropped 41% over four months with the same budget and audiences.
Pay properly
Creators get a flat fee per video plus usage rights for paid ads, agreed before they film. On our Creator casting add-on, five extra creators a month are sourced, briefed and paid by us. People who are paid fairly and on time come back next month, and familiar faces do better than new ones.
Want this for your brand?
A 20-minute call. We’ll look at your feed and suggest two formats.
