UGC glossary

Read the short entry. If you are quoting, cross to rates or pricing. If you are writing the job, open the brief template. The definitions exist to kill “all use” and empty “value content”.

Vertical aspect ratio (1080×1920). Default crop for Reels, TikTok and Shorts. Unless the brief says otherwise, shoot and export this way. 16:9 is horizontal; 1:1 is square. Asking for 16:9 because it “looks more pro” is usually an ads mistake.

Support shots without a talking face: hands, product, kitchen, screen. A-roll is the on-camera line. Unboxing lives on b-roll; a testimonial lives on A-roll. Face-only with no product often comes back.

The brand’s rule for what it will not sit next to: politics, alcohol, medical claims, a dirty background. In UGC it also means not faking a logo and not using music the brand cannot license. If the brief lists bans, that is brand safety, not fussiness.

The document that states product, hook, length, rights and deliverables. With no brief, the creator invents and the brand pays for a round. One page is enough. There is a downloadable template, no email wall.

A licence for the brand to use your image, voice and file. It is not the same as selling the master. Cap it by channel, platform, territory and term. “All use in perpetuity” is a wide assignment, not a default.

The person who shoots and delivers. On this site, content creator is the job; a UGC creator sells files the brand publishes. It does not imply an audience. If they pay you for a post on your profile, you are in influencer or hybrid.

Click-through rate: clicks over ad impressions. It is a paid metric, not a portfolio line. A strong hook can lift CTR; the creator does not “deliver a CTR”. You read it in the ad account.

A shorter cut of the master (from 30 s to 12–15 s). Ask for it up front on ads jobs. A bad crop in Ads Manager covers face and label. A cutdown is a deliverable, not a favour.

A file you charge for: master, cutdown, captioned cut, clean plate, extra hook. “One UGC” is not a deliverable. A file list is. If it is not on the list, it is not in the price.

A promise not to shoot for another brand of the same type (sunscreen, delivery app) for a term. With no category and no end date it is a trap. It is charged extra.

The SKU page in the store. PDP UGC shows size and use, not an aggressive ads hook. Autoplay with sound usually annoys people. Retargeting that page is already paid.

The first three seconds: a line, an object or a result that stops the swipe. Not the landing-page slogan. Test it on mute. Ten transcribed hooks live in the scripts guide.

The share of people who get past second 3 (a common Meta working definition). It measures whether the hook holds. Do not write it as a contractual KPI for the creator: use it to decide which variant to scale.

A creator you pay for their audience and a date on their profile. Different from file-only UGC. Hybrid (post + master) is two products. The comparison is in UGC vs influencer.

The main file, at delivery resolution, with no odd crop. Cutdowns come from it. If you only assign an Instagram crop, the brand has no master.

One page with languages, formats, a rate range and portfolio links. Not a lookbook. It answers “send us some info”. A platform profile does not always replace it.

Publishing with no paid impression or click: brand feed, site, email. It still uses your face. It does not include the ad account. If the take enters Meta Ads, it is paid media.

Paid distribution: Meta Ads, TikTok Ads, Google. The file enters an ad manager. Charge for it and cap term and platforms. Without that line there is no lawful campaign with your image.

Three to six pieces that prove the craft. Not the feed. Real brands, no invented logos. The first video has to show product.

One pass of changes against the brief (timestamps, not “more energy”). A second round or a claim change is extra. “Until it feels right” is not a round.

A TikTok format that boosts a native post (often from the creator’s profile). Close to whitelist: you assign handle and trust, not only the file. Time-box it and charge.

Text baked into the video, not a loose SRT. Useful because almost nobody hears the ad. They must not cover face or label. Also deliver a clean plate if the brand will add type.

One recording: from record to stop. A job usually has several takes of the same hook. The good take is the one you can hear and read, not the most “acted”.

On-camera video with an objection and a benefit. If it sounds like a read slogan, it is an ad, not a testimonial. Fits beauty, fintech and services.

User Generated Content: user-looking content. In the trade, hired UGC is a paid video the brand publishes. The long definition has its own page.

Opening a pack on camera: seal, label, first use. 15–25 s. Do not brief an app unboxing. The paper sound matters more than a tracking shot.

Another hook or another cut of the same product. An ads pack lives on variants, not one “rounded” video. Each variant is a deliverable.

The brand advertises from the creator’s profile, with their name visible. Different from uploading the file to the brand ad account. You assign more: charge and time-box it.

The same video with no creator captions or graphics. The brand adds its type. Ask for it in the brief if you will run ads or a themed PDP.

Retention: how many people keep watching after the hook. It sits next to hook rate. It is a paid metric, not a promise the creator can sign.

A confidentiality agreement. If the job is under NDA, it does not go in the portfolio. Replace it with a practice piece in the same format.

Countries where the take may be published or advertised. “Worldwide” is charged. ES + PT is not worldwide. Write it in the four rights boxes.

A face-to-camera shot. Useful in a testimonial. Not enough if the brief wants product in use. Alternate with b-roll.

A post on the creator’s profile plus assignment of the master. Two price lines. If it is unnamed, each side imagines their own deal.

Moodboard: visual references. An extra, not a brief substitute. Seed: sample product they ship so you can shoot; not always income, a barter can be. Cutdown is above; remember it on the invoice as a deliverable.

If a contract brings a word that is not here, stop and ask. Signing “all media now known or hereafter devised” is the same as all use. Do not sign it at the price of one Reel.