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Making UGC ads: scripts, briefs, formats.
Practical answers for brands making UGC ads themselves or buying them. Templates and frameworks are in the Hook Vault. Each question below has its own page with a direct answer, detail and sources.
How do I make UGC ads?
Pick one product and problem, write a 15–30 second script (hook, problem, product, proof, CTA), film or produce it, caption it and test 3+ hooks.
What is the best way to create UGC ads?
It depends on budget and volume: creators for real demos, agencies for finished ads, AI UGC for many variations fast. Many brands combine them.
Also answers: How to get UGC ads?; What platform is best for making product UGC ads?
How to create UGC ads for free?
Film yourself or a willing customer on a phone, write a short script and caption it in a free app. Get written permission for anyone's video.
How to write a UGC script?
Write it the way people talk: a 2–3 second hook, the problem in the viewer's words, the product with one detail, honest proof and one call to action.
Also answers: What makes a good UGC script?
How do you brief UGC creators?
Put it on one page: product, customer, one problem, required and banned claims, three hooks, key shots, specs, deadline and the usage rights you're buying.
Also answers: What does a UGC brief look like?
Where to find UGC content creators?
Brands find UGC creators on marketplaces like Billo and Insense, TikTok's creator tools, freelance sites, and among existing customers.
Who makes the best UGC ads for food brands?
For food and beverage, choose creators or studios who can show the product being prepared, poured or eaten, because taste and texture need real footage.
What are Spark Ads on TikTok?
Spark Ads are TikTok ads that boost an existing organic post, either from your own account or from a creator's account with their authorisation.
Also answers: How do Spark Ads work?
What are partnership ads on Meta?
Partnership ads are Meta's ads on Facebook and Instagram that run from both the brand's and a creator's handle, labelled as a paid partnership.
Also answers: Does Instagram have Spark Ads?
How does whitelisting work in UGC?
Whitelisting lets a brand run ads through a creator's account so ads show the creator's handle. Meta uses partnership ads; TikTok uses Spark Ads codes.
What size should UGC ads be?
Make UGC ads 9:16 vertical at 1080 by 1920 pixels for Reels, Stories, TikTok and Shorts, and add 4:5 or 1:1 cuts for Meta feed placements.
Should UGC ads have captions?
Yes. Many people watch social video with the sound off, so burned-in captions on every spoken line keep the message readable.