In short: Fix the things that must be right and leave the rest to the creator. A good UGC brief locks what must appear, what must not appear, the approved claim wording, the disclosure rule and the format, and then gives a shot list and talking points instead of a script. Open briefs give you variety, scripts give you control, and the middle path usually gives you the most usable videos. The FTC does not ban pre-written content, but it says endorsements must reflect the truthful experiences and opinions of the endorsers, so a script a creator cannot honestly say is a problem.
Four levels of direction
| Level | You give | Works for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Product, goal, must-avoid list | Discovering angles and voices | Videos that miss a must-have |
| Talking points | Three to five points to cover, in any order | Natural speech with the key messages | Creators who skip a point |
| Shot list | The shots and the order, with room for words | Product demos, fit checks, routines | A video that feels staged |
| Full script | The exact words | Claims that must be exact | Sounding read out; wording the creator cannot say truthfully |
The same product at three levels
A morning serum, briefed three ways:
- Open: “Show how the serum fits into your morning. Include the bottle. Do not make claims about results.”
- Talking points: “Cover how it feels on skin, how much you use, where it fits in your routine and one thing you noticed. Include the bottle. Do not make claims about results.”
- Shot list: “1) The bottle in hand. 2) Applying it. 3) The skin a few minutes later, in daylight. 4) Where it sits in your routine. Say what you honestly noticed. Do not make claims about results.”
Each version keeps the must-haves and the must-avoid line and adds a little more structure. Pick the lowest level that still gets you the video you need.
What every brief should fix
- What must appear: the product, the packaging, a specific shot.
- What must not appear: competitor products, other brands’ logos, unapproved claims.
- Approved claim wording: the exact words you can stand behind, and only those.
- The disclosure rule: including that a free product counts. See UGC disclosure rules.
- The format: vertical or square, length, whether captions are expected. Specs are in UGC video specs.
What to leave open
- The creator’s words. Talking points beat a script for sounding like a person.
- The opening. Ask for the hook to be the creator’s own, or give two or three options to pick from; hook ideas are in UGC video ideas and hooks.
- The setting. A real bathroom, a real wardrobe, a real street. That is what customer-style video looks like.
A quick test for what to lock
Ask of each item: if a creator got this wrong, would I reject the video? If yes, put it in the brief as a must-have or a must-avoid. If no, leave it open. A brief with ten must-haves is a script in disguise; a brief with three is a brief.
What the FTC says about scripts
The FTC’s page answers the question of a brand hiring several people to post the same content. Pre-written posts are not banned; the statements must be truthful, because “endorsements must reflect the truthful experiences and opinions of the endorsers”. The page also says: “You can’t talk about your experience with a product if you haven’t tried it.” In practice, if you supply wording, supply wording a creator who used the product can honestly say, and let them drop a line that is not true for them. Rules differ by country.
Choose the level by the job
- Product-page demo: shot list, one fixed claim, free words.
- Paid-ad creative: talking points with three hook options; test the hooks (see UGC ad creative testing).
- Fit or try-on: a checklist of what to state (height, size worn) and what to show; see fashion try-on videos.
- Anything with a regulated claim: approved wording for that claim only, nothing else scripted.
Give feedback against the brief
A brief is also the standard you review against. If a video misses a must-have, say which one in a line; if it is simply not your taste, do not call that a miss. Templates for both cases are in UGC feedback notes.
On Usicri
The brief goes into the campaign’s brief field, “What kind of video are you looking for?”. Creators see it, together with the payout, the open spots and whether you send a product, before they decide to film. They film the video themselves and upload it. You approve or reject each one with an optional note the creator sees, and a rejected video can come back once as a corrected version unless you tell the creator you do not want another. Your card is charged only for the videos you approve, with no platform fee on videos approved through December 31 and a platform fee of 15% after that. See how to launch a UGC campaign on Usicri or create a free brand account.