How to brief UGC creators (with a template)

Creators are skilled at sounding natural on camera, but they don't know your customer, your product's selling points or what your legal team won't allow. A clear brief gets you on-message videos first time, and leaves room for the creator's own style, which is what makes UGC work.

1. Product and goal: what it is, and what the video should achieve (for example, new-customer ads on Meta).
2. Audience: who buys it and what they care about.
3. One key message: the single thing a viewer should remember.
4. Hooks to try: two or three opening lines or visuals for the first three seconds.
5. Talking points: three to five benefits, in plain language.
6. Must say / must not say: brand names, claims to avoid (especially health or results claims), competitor mentions.
7. Format and specs: 9:16 vertical, length, number of takes, captions or not, music rules.
8. Deliverables and deadline: how many videos, raw or edited, file format, due date.
9. Usage and disclosure: where the content will run and for how long, and whether the creator will also post it (with #ad).

• Lead with the problem: "I was so tired of…"
• Lead with the result: show the "after" first.
• Lead with curiosity: "I didn't expect this to work, but…"
• Lead with the product in action, no talking for the first second.

Ask for two or three different hooks on the same body. It's the cheapest way to multiply your ad tests.

• Over-scripting. Word-for-word scripts sound like adverts. Give talking points, not lines.
• Too many messages. One video, one idea.
• Unclear claims. In categories like beauty and supplements, vague briefs lead to claims you can't use under UK ad rules.
• Forgetting rights. Agree the usage licence before filming, not after a video performs.

Prefer not to write briefs yourself? We write them for every No Filter UGC project. Get a quote.