UGC versus influencer marketing
The two get confused because the same people often do both. The difference is what you're buying. With influencer marketing you pay for access to an audience. With UGC you pay for the content itself, delivered as files, which you then run on your own channels and in your ads.
Side by side
Two different jobs
Influencer marketing
- Posted on the creator's account
- You pay for their audience
- Reach and trust from followers
UGC
- Delivered to you as files
- You pay for the content
- Used in your ads and on your channels
Why UGC works in ads
Ads that look like ads get scrolled past. A person talking to camera about a product, filmed on a phone, looks like the content around it in the feed, so people give it a few seconds more. It also lets you test many angles cheaply: different hooks, different people, different benefits. That testing is where most of the value is.
Writing a creator brief
Most disappointing UGC comes from a vague brief. Creators aren't mind readers, and "make it authentic" isn't direction. A one-page brief with these sections is usually enough.
Social and content · Dubai
A one-page UGC brief
| Section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Product and audience | What it is, who buys it, the one problem it solves |
| Key message | One message per video. Not three |
| Hooks to try | Two or three opening lines or visual ideas |
| Must include | Product shown in use, brand name said clearly |
| Must avoid | Claims you can't make, competitor names, pricing that may change |
| Format | Vertical, length, captions, raw files or edited |
| Deadline and revisions | Delivery date and how many rounds of changes |
Rights and contracts
This is where brands get caught out. Paying for a video doesn't automatically mean you can use it anywhere, forever. Agree the following before you pay, in writing.
- Where you can use the content: organic social, paid ads, website, email, in-store screens.
- For how long, and in which countries.
- Whether you can edit it, cut it into versions or combine it with other footage.
- Whether you can run it as an ad from the creator's own account (often called whitelisting or partnership ads), which is a separate permission.
- Who owns the raw footage.
How UGC is usually priced
Creators price in different ways, so compare like with like. Some charge per video, some sell packages of several videos, and many charge extra for raw footage, extra hooks or paid usage rights. Ask what's included before you compare quotes: number of videos, length, revisions, raw files and the usage period. A cheaper quote without paid usage rights can end up costing more.
Finding and testing creators
Social and content · Dubai
A low-risk way to start
Shortlist
Look for creators who already make the style you want and speak to your audience.
Small order
Order one or two videos from three or four creators with the same brief.
Run as ads
Test them side by side with the same budget and audience.
Reorder
Go back to the creators whose videos held attention and drove action.
For running the tests, see Meta ads in the UAE and TikTok ads in the UAE. If you'd rather produce some of it in-house, my short-form video system works for a team with a phone and an afternoon a week.
UAE-specific checks
If the creator also publishes the content on their own accounts as promotion, the UAE Media Council's advertiser permit rules may apply. See influencer marketing rules in the UAE. Reported guidance also says specialised ads, including real estate, healthcare, finance, education and food, need prior approval, so regulated brands should check claims and permits before anything is filmed.
Privacy is the other check. If a creator films in public or includes other people, those people need to have agreed. UAE law treats capturing or publishing someone's image without consent as an offence.
Common mistakes
- Scripting every word, so the video sounds like an ad read by an actor.
- Asking for one long video instead of several short variations.
- Forgetting to agree paid usage rights before running the content as an ad.
- Judging a creator on one video instead of a small test.
Test before scaling
Order a few videos from different creators, run them as ads, and reorder from the creators whose videos perform.