How to write a UGC brief that gets you the right video

When a UGC video comes back with requests for changes, the usual story is that the creator filmed something perfectly well that just wasn't what the brand had in mind, because nobody told her it was for ads or that a particular line about skin couldn't go in. Every round means setting up the scene, the lighting and the product all over again, and it holds the video up. In my campaigns I'm the one who writes the briefs and the scripts, so here's what I always put in, the mistake I see most, and a template you can copy.

The product, who it's for and what the video is for

Start with what makes your product different from the others, in a sentence or two, and the problem it solves, put the way a customer would put it. If you've got reviews or messages from customers, paste a few in, because those words show how people talk about the product when nobody's paying them to. Then say who it's for, with their age, their day-to-day life and what makes them look for a product like yours, because that changes which creator gets chosen, the setting and even the clothes.

The goal is the answer that changes the video most. For paid ads, it has to grab someone who's never heard of you in the first few seconds and get them to tap a button, while for the brand's profile it can take its time and talk to people who already follow you. If you haven't decided yet, say so, and the shoot can be planned to work for both.

Where it'll run, in what format and until when

Say which platforms the video will run on, because that's what the creator frames the product around. For Instagram Reels ads, Meta asks for vertical video at 9:16 and suggests keeping at least 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side free of text and logos, so nothing important gets covered by the profile icon or the ad's button. TikTok also recommends 9:16, shot at 720p or higher, and knowing this up front means the creator puts the captions in the right place first time.

Add how long the video should be and how many versions you want, because a short video and one that's nearly a minute long need different scripts. Give two dates, delivery and publication, and remember the clock only starts once the product reaches whoever's filming. Finish with the usage rights, meaning where you'll use the video and for how long, because the brand's profile and a year of paid ads are different permissions, and it's best to agree them before anyone films.

What has to be said and what you can't promise

Pick the messages that really have to appear and put them in order of importance, because a thirty-second video can't carry ten and, when everything's compulsory, the creator ends up reciting a list. Two or three is plenty, and the rest can live on the product page. Just as important is the list of what can't be said.

If you're advertising in Portugal, Article 10 of the Portuguese Advertising Code says claims about a product's nature, composition and properties must be accurate and provable at any time, and under Article 11, if the advertiser, which is you, is asked for that proof and can't produce it, the claims are presumed to be inaccurate. So words like “cures”, “treats” or “eliminates”, said about skin, sleep or pain, only go into the brief if you can prove them. With supplements, cosmetics or anything health-related, check what you're allowed to say with whoever handles the legal side of your brand first.

Article 15, on testimonial advertising, says it must be made up of personal, genuine and verifiable testimonials, linked to the experience of the person giving them. In practice, the brief can't put results in the creator's mouth that she never got, or months of use of a product she received last week.

References, hooks and the call to action

References save more back-and-forth than any description. Send two or three videos you like and say what you like about each one, whether it's the pace, the lighting, the way the person talks or the moment the product appears. Add an example of what you don't want, too, which often makes things clearer than the good ones.

The hook is the opening of the video, the seconds that decide whether someone stays or scrolls past, and TikTok advises getting your proposition across in the first three seconds. If you've already got ideas, write them down as a starting point, for example opening with the question customers ask you most, or with the product solving the problem before the brand's name is even heard. For ads, ask for several openings for the same video, since the platform itself suggests between three and five different creatives per ad group.

At the end comes the call to action, what the viewer should do next, whether that's buying on the website, using a code or going to the shop. Pick just one and write it exactly as it should appear, with the code or the name of the promotion and the date it ends. A video that asks for three things at once leaves people not knowing which to do.

Don't write the script word for word

The mistake I see most is a brief that already comes with the full script, written the way the brand would say it in a TV ad. The creator either memorises it or reads it, and either way it shows, because nobody talks about the cream they use every morning in packaging copy, and whoever's watching stops believing what they hear. You chose UGC to have one person talking to another, and a memorised text is exactly what ruins that.

In the scripts I write, I set out what has to happen in each part of the video and the ideas that can't be left out, and the creator says them in her own words. The only things that go in word for word are the ones that really have to come out that way, like a discount code or a line your legal team has approved. With that room, she can film the same idea two or three ways and you pick the one that sounds most real.

A brief template to copy

This template fits on one page. If a line stays blank, write that it hasn't been decided yet, because that also tells whoever's filming where they've got freedom.

• Product: what makes it different and the problem it solves.
• Who it's for: age, day-to-day life and what they're looking for.
• Goal: paid ads, the brand's profile or both.
• Where it'll run: Instagram Reels, TikTok or somewhere else.
• Length and versions: how many seconds and how many versions.
• Must-have messages: two or three, in order of importance.
• What can't be said: health promises and anything you can't prove.
• References: two or three videos and what you like about each.
• Hook ideas: questions or situations the video could open with.
• Call to action: just one, written exactly as it should appear.
• Deadlines: delivery and publication.
• Usage rights: where and for how long.

In a UGC campaign with me, I write this brief from what you tell me, and it becomes the approved concept. Within it, revisions are unlimited, three months of paid ad usage come included and the videos are ready in about five working days. If you'd rather I film it myself, send me the filled-in brief and I'll reply within 24 hours.