How do you ask creators for permission to use their content? And what’s the best way to tell them exactly what you need, like video dimensions, attention-grabbing openers, etc.?
I’m also curious how you give them instructions so the content actually works well on your product pages and in your ads.
Oh, and have you included any specific terms in your contracts that saved you from problems down the road?
That’s something that is really important, when you paid to influencers and you are expecting the same results that you are looking for or suits with your brands.
This is the thing that matters a lot. Spending money for the UGC content that not fit with your product need or what merchants looking for, means that you spending gone waste.
The best way to handle this is via the help of better communication with the influencers, tell them what problem your product is solving along with how your app is useful for them.
Having a better communication helps to get final results that really matter for your customers.
Regarding the payment term, it’s way more important to have a proper agreement with sign to make sure everything documented before starting the job.
One thing that helped us a lot was creating a very structured creative brief instead of sending random feedback in DMs.
We usually define:
exact aspect ratios (9:16, 4:5, 1:1)
first 3-second hook examples
framing references
product page usage vs paid ads usage
CTA style
raw footage requirements
What surprised me is that creators often make “good content”, but not necessarily “performant ecommerce creatives”.
For example, product page content needs to feel more informative/trust-building, while paid ads need much stronger hooks and pacing.
We also started standardizing things because scaling UGC becomes messy very fast when every creator delivers different formats and styles.
Curious to see how others handle this too.
for permission, keep it simple. DM them something like “hey we love your post about [product], would you be open to us featuring it on our site and socials? we’ll credit you and link your profile.” most micro-creators are thrilled to be featured and don’t need a formal contract. for bigger creators or paid collabs, a basic usage rights agreement covering where and how long you’ll use it is worth the 10 minutes to draft.
for briefs, the less rigid the better imo. give them the specs they actually need (9:16 for stories/reels, hook in first 2 seconds, show the product in use) but don’t script it. the whole point of UGC is that it doesn’t look polished. the second it feels like an ad, it stops working. best performing UGC we’ve seen is always “here’s my honest take” not “follow these 12 bullet points.”
To get the best results when working with creators, start by keeping your permission request simple and professional focus on building a relationship rather than just asking for a file.
Reach out by complimenting their specific style and clearly stating that you’d like to feature their content in your marketing (website, social, or ads).
For your creative brief, provide exact technical specs like 9:16 vertical video in 4K resolution and ask for at least three different hooks the first 3 seconds of the video so you can test which one grabs the most attention.