A UGC video that sells on Meta is planned as an ad before it is filmed.
On Instagram and Facebook, an ad competes with everything the person was already watching: a friend's video, a meme, a recipe. You have a second or two to make their thumb stop. UGC works here because it looks like the rest of the feed, with a real person talking to camera instead of a logo and a stock music track. But looking natural is not enough. The videos that sell are planned as ads from the script onwards: the format, the first seconds, the subtitles, the openings to test. I write, film and edit ad videos for brands in English and Portuguese, and this is the order in which I think about each one.
Film vertically, for the full screen
Most of Meta's video inventory is vertical: Reels, Stories and the feed on a phone. A horizontal video in a vertical placement looks small, with bars above and below, and loses impact from the very first frame.
- Reels and Stories: 9:16. Meta recommends 1440 × 2560 pixels.
- Facebook Feed: 4:5 (1440 × 1800) takes up more of the screen than square. For the Instagram Feed, Meta's guide now lists 9:16.
Watch out for the covered areas. In Reels, Meta recommends keeping at least 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side free of text and logos, because that is where the account name, the ad caption and the buttons sit. Nothing important should land in those strips: not the price, not the product name, not a face halfway through a sentence. If you film with the centre of the screen in mind, the same video works for Reels, Stories and Feed with very little extra editing.
The first seconds decide who stays
Nobody chose to watch an ad. So the video can't open with a hello, an introduction or the brand logo. It has to start where the viewer already is: with a problem they recognise, a question that makes them answer in their head, or an image that makes no sense without the rest.
Some hooks that work well in UGC:
- A direct question, in the second person. "Still doing your invoices by hand on a Sunday night?"
- A confession. "I lost two clients last month because I forgot to reply."
- The result first. Show the after before you explain the before.
- An objection said out loud. "I thought this was only for big companies."
- A strange image. Something that only makes sense if you keep watching.
The hook is not just the line. It is also the first frame, the first on-screen text and the first movement. If the line is good but the image is a static shot of a desk, half the work is lost.
Subtitles for people watching on mute
Lots of people watch social video with the sound off: on the bus, at work, in a waiting room. Without subtitles, they see someone moving their lips and scroll on.
Burn the subtitles into the video: large, legible and inside the safe zone. One or two lines at a time, synced to the speech. Add on-screen text in the first seconds that sums up the hook, for people who never even hear the first line. The platforms' automatic captions help, but you don't control them: the size, position and transcription errors are up to the platform.
Show the product early, and working
The most common mistake I see in UGC ads is the product only appearing halfway through. By then the viewer has gone. If you sell an app, the screen has to appear in the first few seconds. If you sell a course, show part of a lesson or the result of someone who took it. If you sell a service, show the moment it solves the problem.
And show it in use, not held next to a face like a billboard. A good demonstration answers doubts before they become questions: how long it takes, whether it's complicated, what happens next.
Film several hooks and let the numbers decide
Nobody knows in advance which opening will work with your audience: not the creator, not the brand, not the agency. The cheapest way to find out is to film the same video with two or three different openings and run them side by side.
Keep everything else the same. If you change the hook, the middle and the call to action at once, you won't know what made the difference. Test one thing at a time: first the opening, then the angle of the message, then the offer.
When one version wins, don't leave it running forever. Ads wear out: the same person sees the same video too many times and stops reacting. Having new videos ready before the winner tires is what keeps a campaign working.
Close with a single action
"Learn more" tells nobody what to do. At the end of the video, say the specific action and what the person gets from it: download the app and try it free, book the first appointment, see the course programme. One action, said out loud and written on screen, and consistent with the ad's button.
And make sure the page the ad leads to continues the same conversation. If the video talks about a specific problem and the click lands on the homepage with a different message, the viewer loses the thread.
Partnership ads: the video with the creator's name
Meta lets you run the ad with the creator's name at the top, usually alongside the brand's. These are called partnership ads (Meta used to call them branded content ads). The video reads more like a recommendation, while the brand still controls the audience, budget and tests in Ads Manager. It needs the creator's permission and an agreed term. I explained how it works in Meta partnership ads.
How to tell whether a video is selling
Decide before launch which number matters. Likes and comments are good signs, but they don't pay the bills.
- To see whether the hook works: compare 3-second video plays with impressions. A 3-second play counts when the video is played for at least 3 seconds. If hardly anyone gets past the first seconds, the problem is the opening.
- To see whether the video holds attention: look at how many people watch to the end or for at least 15 seconds (ThruPlays, in Ads Manager).
- To see whether it persuades: the link click-through rate tells you whether the message made people want to know more.
- To see whether it sells: the cost per result, whether that is a purchase, an install or a booking.
Give the ad time before drawing conclusions. One or two days on a small budget rarely give numbers that mean anything.
A real example: the video I filmed for Hiwell, a digital platform, ran as a paid ad and reached 514,036 video views and 1,268 clicks. I don't promise anyone those numbers, because results also depend on the offer, the budget and the landing page. What I control is the video, and I plan it as an ad from the first line of the script. See the full case study or, if you already have ads running, ask for a review of your ads and I'll tell you what I would change. I film in English and Portuguese, and with creators from my community I can also cover other markets and languages.
Sources
- Meta Business Help Centre: Reels and Stories ad specifications and safe zones (accessed November 2026)
- Meta Business Help Centre: video metrics in Ads Manager, 3-second video plays and ThruPlays (accessed November 2026)
- Meta Business Help Centre: partnership ads (accessed November 2026)
- Hiwell ad results, from Ana Carolina's portfolio
