TikTok has gained a reputation among marketing experts for being a place of creativity, especially when it comes to user-generated content.
The most successful case studies of our TikTok marketing experts are based on funny, insightful ads that reap the full meaning of that word – “creativity.”
This is even more evident with TikTok UGC, which is, by definition, authentic, spontaneous, and raw.
Pro tip: Using original content from users in your marketing strategy leads to a 4x higher click-through rate for your ads.
However, a successful campaign still needs a solid plan, whether you're doing a product launch or a retargeting campaign.
That's why you need a TikTok UGC brief template.
Read this guide below, and we’ll show you how to write the perfect brief based on templates we use at inBeat.
Yes, we’ll share all our in-home tips to spare you hours of work.
Bonus: We’ll include an easy template you can copy for this social platform.
TL;DR
- TikTok UGC briefs are essential for successful TikTok advertising with content creators.
- Briefs organize information, outline expectations, and save time for both parties.
- Sections in a TikTok UGC brief include: “About” to introduce the company, deliverables, ad creative examples, creative storyboard, talking points, do’s and don’ts, hook ideas, and hashtags/links.
- Hooks are crucial for catching users’ attention quickly on TikTok ads.
- Hashtags and links can enhance ad visibility and conversions.
- Best practices for a TikTok UGC brief: Keep it concise, organize sections effectively, balance colors/fonts, use clear language, and provide a creative brief template for guidance.
- Pro tip: use an advanced UGC marketplace to find your best TikTok UGC creators.
What Is an Influencer Marketing Brief/UGC Brief for TikTok?
An influencer marketing or UGC Brief for TikTok is a comprehensive document that outlines the key details and guidelines for content creators to follow when producing content for your brand on TikTok.
This ensures that everyone is on the same page and that the content produced aligns with your brand’s goals and messaging.
This brief acts as a roadmap, providing creators with the necessary information to produce authentic, engaging, and effective content that resonates with your target audience on this social media platform.
Why Create a TikTok UGC Brief?
Creating a TikTok UGC brief is essential for several reasons:
Clear goals: TikTok is a creative platform, but setting clear campaign goals helps creators understand what success looks like for your campaign. Whether it's increasing brand awareness, driving traffic, or boosting sales, clear goals provide direction to your influencer campaigns.
Better communication: A well-structured brief ensures seamless communication between your brand and the creators.
It minimizes misunderstandings and ensures everyone is aligned on expectations.
For example, it's wise to tell creators whether they're expected to post these UGC ads in their social feeds or whether they can use handheld video cameras.
Better content creation: You can provide clear and detailed guidelines that aren't included in the influencer contract.
As such, you empower creators to produce TikTok Ads that are not only creative but also aligned with your brand’s voice, values, and campaign goals. This leads to higher quality and more impactful content.
Time and resource efficiency: Even if you hire the most reliable content creators for your user-generated content, misunderstandings may still arise.
However, a good brief reduces the need for extensive back-and-forth, saving time and resources for both your brand and the creators.
As a result, your clients will get their stellar deliverables on time.
They’ll be happy with your work and more likely to work again with you in the future, recommending you to other potential customers.
Get the most out of your paid media with our influencer marketing agency in Miami
8 Essential TikTok UGC Brief Sections
It’s true that one tiny brief can help your company flourish if it’s written properly.
Here are some of the best sections to include in your brief based on our experience:
1. An ‘About’ Section
This section quickly introduces the company so your creators can get a good idea of who they’ll produce content for.
This part is essential for the whole creative process.
We prefer to:
- Include this section in the upper left-side corner of our briefs for increased visibility.
- Use white font on a brown background to draw the creator’s attention.
- Focus on the brand’s unique selling points and competitive edges. This gives influencers some insights and potential talking points.
- Be concise – less is more.
Here’s what that looks like in the brief below:
2. Deliverables
We position the deliverables section right below the “About” section.
We make this box a dark gray color and use white fonts to make it stand out. Other tips you can follow are:
- Focus on the main three or four points that these deliverables should include.
- Use bullet points for a clearer outline.
- Stick to the main points.
Here's the thing.
Social advertising may seem daunting, but when you integrate a variety of content in hopes of reaching your target audience, it becomes more manageable.
By including fun video content and high-quality educational content, and leveraging videos of content created by well-known and lesser-known content creators, you can engage a broader audience.
Whether you’re promoting clean makeup products or another suite of products, a diverse content strategy ensures your message resonates and stands out.
However, to streamline your influencer strategy, you want to offer clear indications on deliverables.
3. Ad Creative Examples
The ad creatives examples are positioned right below the deliverables.
We include three of the best creatives and tell our influencers whether they should copy the actual design examples or just the creative ideas.
Remember:
- Ensure the creators can play the ads easily. If your brief is easy to get is a great opportunity for brands to ensure future partnerships with solid creators.
- The ad thumbnails should be suggestive. You want your post creators to enhance brand recognition with their TikTok content, helping your target audience truly understand and connect with your brand.
- The ads should be relevant to your current campaign. Don't include examples of luxury brands if you're retailing less expensive DTC brands.
4. Creative Storyboard
The creative storyboard is in the upper-right corner to ensure influencers read it.
That’s because it has more information than the other sections, and placing it lower would decrease the chances of being read.
Notice: Our creative storyboard gives influencers enough structure without compromising their creative freedom.
We focus on general expectations, such as:
- Having a hook and being lively in the opener.
- Including a branded hashtag.
- Approximate ad duration.
- The preferred CTA that the creator has to end with.
Pro tip: Don’t cram a lot of info in this section. If the subject is sensitive or you want to structure the content more, include a “Talking Points” section.
5. Talking Points
As you can see, this section is missing from our Luxbox brief because the creative storyboard is giving influencers enough info.
However, we included this section in a brief for Aura Parental Controls.
Advertising this app is a more sensitive topic because it addresses a significant fear for parents: their kids being unsafe on the internet.
So, we had to approach this matter more sensitively, giving more precise directions.
Still, we:
- Focus on a few important ideas.
- Give precise indications using short sentences.
- Outline some key phrases and moments that should be included in the content.
Remember: Don't constrict your creators' freedom too much. They already understand their social community and will address your precise audience in their natural style.
Besides, giving them this leeway is a great way to build long-term creator partnerships.
6. Do’s and Don’ts
The do’s and don’ts sections appear below the Creative Storyboard section.
Notice how the Luxbox do’s and don’ts are more technical, focusing on the technical side of filming.
However, the indications for Aura are more about the content ideas and style that the influencers must use. So:
- Use catchy emojis to catch your content creators’ attention.
- Structure what’s permitted and what’s not in a few short sentences.
- Adapt these pieces of advice to the campaign.
For example, you can tell the creators to post captions and to address a loyal community of users using a precise tone of voice.
However, you won't include overly restrictive guidelines that stifle their creativity or ignore their unique style and voice.
7. Hook Ideas
The hook ideas section will help the content creators craft the best hooks – sentences that catch people’s attention fast.
Remember: Good hooks are essential for TikTok, where users can swipe on your ad after just one second.
Insider tips:
- At inBeat, we’ve discovered that we can increase watch time by testing various hooks before publishing these ads. We typically ask each creator to deliver three hooks that we can try.
- A lengthier watch time is also connected to the other variables used in a TikTok UGC campaign, such as cost per action and conversions.
Notice: The Aura brief doesn’t have a hook section because these ads should feel more raw and related to the creators’ personal experiences.
That’s why we didn’t want to constrain them too much.
8. Campaign Hashtags and Links Section
This section is optional, but it can be important in some cases.
- Include branded or campaign hashtags if this ad is part of a campaign.
- Add hashtags related to specific categories to make the ad more visible for that precise audience. If people click on that branded hashtag and discover your ad, this will also increase your organic post traffic.
- If you want to send people to your product pages or Amazon shop, include specific links for that. These links can increase your conversions significantly during the BOFU* part of your customer’s journey.
*BOFU (bottom of the funnel) refers to the part of the customers’ journeys where they’re ready to take action and purchase.
Here’s the example we used for Chin-Su Foods:
Additional Sections for an Effective TikTok UGC Brief
To make your TikTok UGC brief even more effective, consider adding these sections:
Campaign Objectives
Clearly outline the campaign objectives to ensure everyone understands the ultimate goal.
This can include increasing brand awareness, boosting engagement rates, driving traffic, or achieving specific conversion goals.
Target Audience
Provide a detailed description of your ideal customer.
Include demographics, interests, and behaviors. This helps creators tailor their content to resonate with the people you want to reach.
We advise you to create a separate document with a detailed audience description and link to it from the UGC brief.
Content Pillars
Define the main themes or topics (content pillars) that the content should cover.
This ensures the content remains focused and relevant to your brand’s messaging.
Content Review Process
Outline the content review process to ensure high-quality content.
Specify who will review the content, what criteria will be used, and the timeline for feedback.
You can include a hyperlink to this section inside the UGC brief - otherwise the document would look too cluttered.
Content Creation Practices
Provide guidelines on content creation practices to ensure consistency and quality.
This can include tips on lighting, sound, editing, and the ideal content format for TikTok.
Product FAQs and Product Feedback
Include a section with product FAQs and examples of the product in action.
This helps creators understand your product better and incorporate it naturally into their high-quality content.
Again, you can create a separate document and include this part as a hyperlink.
Proper Channels
Tell the influencers whether they're supposed to post this UGC on their social feeds or on other channels.
It's important to ensure your UGC uses the proper channels according to your influencer marketing campaign plan.
TikTok UGC Brief Dos and Don’ts
After analyzing our TikTok UGC briefs, you already have a fairly good idea of what to include and what to steer clear of.
Let’s organize that knowledge:
- Restrict your brief to one page to ensure your creators read it.
- Organize the indications in specific sections that attract attention.
- Ensure each section is concentrated on the key requirements.
- Include or remove sections as needed, according to your specific campaign.
- Balance the colors and fonts to direct the creator’s attention.
- Use straightforward, easy-to-read sentences.
- Outline your expectations using bullet points, colored text, and spaces.
- Don’t clutter your document with useless fluff words.
- Allow for creative freedom while maintaining control. Provide guidelines, but trust your creators to bring their unique style and voice to the content. This balance between creative control and creative freedom is key to producing original content.
- Highlight the importance of working with professional content creators who have a proven track record of producing high-quality, authentic content.
Pro tip: Adapt the UGC brief for different creators.
Micro-influencers can agree to more rules than celebrity influencers. This decision will impact the type of content produced and the engagement rates you can expect.
Besides, celebrities have larger accounts and may not agree to post the UGC they create directly on their individual channels.
Wrapping Up
Creating a comprehensive TikTok UGC brief is a crucial step in your influencer marketing campaign.
By including all the necessary sections and providing clear guidelines, you can ensure a smooth and successful collaboration with your content creators.
This approach saves time and resources.
More importantly, it results in high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your target audience and achieves your campaign goals.
For more examples of successful TikTok UGC campaigns and to get your hands on our creative brief template, check out other case studies from our growth marketing agency.
If you need additional help planning your campaign, you can always schedule a FREE strategy call with us.
We’re always available and happy to make new friends.
Until then, here’s the creative brief template we promised:
Want more examples of successful TikTok UGC campaigns? Check out case studies of our product sampling agency!
