UGC Creator Brief Template for App Videos on TikTok
Most rejected app videos fail for one of four reasons. The feature that sells the app never shows up on screen. The hook takes four seconds to get going. The creator says something about your app that is untrue, or that you can't prove. Or the video is fine, but nobody agreed whether you can run it as an ad, so you can't use it the way you planned.
All four are brief problems. The creator did what the brief asked, or guessed where it said nothing. Below is a one-page TikTok UGC brief for apps with one field for each failure. Every field has a filled-in example for a made-up AI meal-planning app, so you can see what a usable answer looks like.
If you haven't hired anyone yet, read what UGC creators charge for an app video first. Rights and revisions change the price, so settle them in the brief before you agree a fee.
The template
Copy this into a doc and send it with the offer, before the creator agrees to anything. It should fit on one page. If it doesn't, cut it down.
app: "Plately (AI meal planner, iOS + Android)"
one_line: "Snap your fridge, get 3 dinners you can cook tonight."
who_its_for: "People who open the fridge at 7pm and order takeout anyway"
money_screen: "Fridge scan results: photo in, 3 recipe cards out"
money_screen_timing: "On screen by second 5, held for at least 3 seconds"
hook_rule: "Something happens in the first second. No intro, no 'hey guys'."
hook_options:
- "Opening fridge, phone already pointed at it"
- "Text on screen: 'my fridge vs what this app made from it'"
real_reviews_to_paraphrase:
- "I stopped throwing out half a bag of spinach every week."
- "Scanned my sad fridge and it gave me a curry I'd actually make."
- "Finally an app that doesn't assume I have 14 spices."
musts:
- "Real phone screen recording, not a mockup"
- "Say the app name out loud once"
- "Show the scan working on your own fridge"
donts:
- "No calorie, weight-loss or health claims"
- "No 'free' (there is a paid plan)"
- "No competitor names"
length: "20 to 35 seconds, vertical 9:16"
disclosure: "Turn on 'Disclose commercial content' > 'Branded content', plus #ad in caption"
sound: "Commercial Music Library track, or original audio only"
rights:
organic: "You post on your account, keep it up at least 60 days"
spark_ads: "Send a Spark Ads code, 60-day authorization, within 48h of posting"
raw_file: "Clean file with no text or music, usable in ads for 90 days"
revisions: "One round, based only on the musts and don'ts above"
Now each field, and why it is there.
Name the one screen that must be shown
The biggest reason app UGC gets rejected is a creator talking about the app for 30 seconds while the phone stays face down. They tend to film themselves, because that is what they are used to. Nobody told them which part of the app is the point.
Pick one screen: the moment where the user's input becomes the result. For a try-on app that is the before and after. For a budgeting app it is the chart after the bank sync. For a fitness app it is the plan made from the user's answers. Write it down by name, and say when it has to appear and for how long.
Attach a 10-second screen recording of that flow from your own phone. Creators copy what they can see. A recording also stops them finding some other screen and featuring settings for half the video.
Set a 1-second hook
People decide whether to keep watching within the first second or two. A creator who opens with "So I've been trying this new app..." has already lost most viewers.
Don't write the hook for them word for word. Scripted lines sound read out. Set a rule ("something happens in the first second") and give two or three openings that obey it. Good app hooks are usually one of these:
- The problem in action: an open fridge, a messy camera roll, a mirror selfie before the try-on.
- The result first: the finished output, then a jump back to how it was made.
- On-screen text that states the outcome in plain words, readable without sound.
Tell the creator you will judge the hook by the first frame with the sound off. That's how a lot of people will see it.
Paste real App Store reviews for the script
This field fixes both the "sounds like an ad" problem and the invented-claim problem. Go to your App Store or Google Play listing and copy two or three real reviews that describe a specific outcome. Ask the creator to put the idea in their own words, and only once they have used the app themselves.
That last condition matters. The FTC's guidance for influencers says a creator can't describe their experience with a product they haven't tried. They also can't make claims the advertiser has no proof for. The reviews give them real phrasing. The creator's own test run is what lets them say it honestly. So give them access (a promo code or a TestFlight invite) at least a few days before filming.
Skip vague reviews like "Great app, 5 stars." Look for ones that name a before and after, because that is what a 30-second app UGC script needs.
Write musts and don'ts you can check later
This list is the reason the brief exists. It is what you check the draft against, and the only basis for asking for a revision. If a note isn't on the list, it's a preference, and paying for a reshoot because of one is how budgets disappear.
Keep each line something you can verify by watching the video once:
- Musts: real screen recording, app name said aloud, the money screen by second 5, vertical format, length range.
- Don'ts: health or income claims, "free" if you have a paywall, competitor names, ratings or download numbers you can't show, other apps visible on screen.
Beauty, fitness and food apps need the don'ts list most. "Cleared my skin" or "lost 5 pounds" from a paid creator is a claim you would have to back up. Rule those lines out before filming.
When the draft arrives, go through the list line by line and send back only what failed: "Must #3 missing: the scan isn't shown on your fridge." Creators can act on feedback like that, and it reads as fair.
Disclosure: TikTok's commercial content toggle
A creator you pay to post about your app has to disclose it. TikTok has a built-in setting for this. In the post settings, the creator turns on Disclose commercial content and picks Branded content, which is the option for promoting a third party. TikTok's help article on the setting says this adds a "Paid partnership" label. The same toggle can be switched on for an already published post from More options > Ad settings.
The FTC also advises not to rely on a platform's tool alone, so ask for #ad in the caption too. The UK and Canada have similar rules. Write both into the brief so it isn't a surprise at posting time.
Usage rights and Spark Ads, agreed before filming
If there is any chance you will put money behind the video, agree it now. Raising it after the video does well is where most disputes come from.
There are two separate things to agree:
- Spark Ads authorization. The creator posts on their own account, then generates a code in that post's Ad settings. They turn on ad authorization, pick a duration, and send you the code. TikTok's Spark Ads help page lists 7, 30, 60 or 365 days. Each video needs its own code. Put the duration and a deadline for sending it in the brief.
- Raw file usage. If you want to run the clip from your own ad account, edit it or use it in other ads, say for how long and where. Ask for a clean file with no burned-in text or music.
The ad rights often cost more than the video. Insense's 2026 rate guide puts TikTok UGC at roughly $125 to $300 per video, and DesignRevision's pricing breakdown says usage rights can add 50 to 150% or more depending on duration. Those are their figures. Your creator's quote will differ, which is one more reason to put rights in the brief before you agree a price.
Also ask for a sound from TikTok's Commercial Music Library if the video might become an ad. A trending track from the general library may not be cleared for ads.
Before you send it
Read the brief as if you were a stranger with a phone, a ring light and no idea what your app does. Could you film the right screen, open the video in one second, say only true things and post it with the right label? If not, the gap in the brief is where the rejection will come from.
Some founders do this a few times and decide they'd rather not brief strangers at all. If that's you, this comparison of hiring creators and using a content studio sets out the trade-offs. You can also see what studio-made posts look like on the samples page.