UGC videos – short, natural videos that don’t feel like ads – are now among the best-performing creatives in paid social. They work especially well with athletes: they have authentic settings, real experience with the product and credibility. Here is how we produce these videos for brands such as Under Armour and Alaskan Fisherman.
What is a UGC video
UGC (user-generated content) originally meant content customers create about a brand themselves. Today the term also covers videos a brand commissions that look like a natural video from a real person: they talk to the camera, show the product in everyday life and share their own experience. They blend into the feed, so people watch them to the end more often than traditional ads.
Why athletes
An athlete brings what an actor or a regular creator doesn’t: real experience with performance and a setting you can’t recreate in a studio. Boxer David Popovič filmed for Under Armour in the gym where he really trains. Aerobatic pilot Marek Veselý talked about eating before a flight straight from the cockpit. Viewers don’t see a model but someone they can trust.
It works best for products linked to movement and performance: nutrition and supplements, sportswear and equipment, recovery, health or technology. But thanks to their authenticity, athletes also work for products outside sport.
What a good UGC video looks like
- Hook (0–3 s): a line or shot that stops the scroll.
- Story or problem: why the athlete cares, what they have experienced.
- Product in action: how they use it in their training or day.
- Benefit: what the product gives them, specifically and in their own words.
- Call to action at the end (CTA): what the viewer should do – buy, try, use the offer.
Technically: vertical 9:16, roughly 20–60 seconds long, bold subtitles (most people watch without sound) and good audio for those who turn it on. The Under Armour videos were about 30 seconds; the Alaskan Fisherman video just under a minute.
Several hooks, one video
The first two or three seconds decide whether someone keeps watching. That’s why we film several openings for the same video. For Under Armour we produced seven versions with a different opening and first line, for Alaskan Fisherman six hooks. The brand then runs all versions against each other and moves the budget to the one that performs best.
Filming an extra opening during the same shoot takes very little extra time, but in ads it can decide whether a campaign makes money.
Script or improvisation?
A combination works best: the brand provides the key messages, what must and must not be said, and the athlete says it in their own words. A word-for-word script sounds stiff. It helps to prepare a few versions of the first line and let the athlete choose the one that sounds natural to them.
Rights and use in ads
Before filming, agree where and for how long you can use the video, whether you will run it from your own account or as a partnership ad from the athlete’s profile, and whether you may edit it and cut more versions. Without that you may end up with a great video you can’t use where it would make money.
How to evaluate the videos
- Hook rate – how many people stay after the first seconds.
- Hold rate – how many watch to the end or to the call to action.
- Click-through rate (CTR) and cost per click.
- Cost per lead or purchase compared with your other creatives.
Compare versions against each other, not in isolation. You can then combine the winning hook with other bodies or other athletes.
How to start
We film UGC videos with athletes from our portfolio and with other athletes we select for the brand. Athletes who want to create content for brands learn to film in our Athlete Creator Program. For how to start working with an athlete in general, see our guide for brands.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a UGC video with an athlete cost?
The price depends on the athlete, the number of versions and hooks, the length and the scope of rights for use in ads. Filming several versions at once is much cheaper than ordering each video separately. It’s best to send a brief and ask for a specific proposal.
Does the athlete need lots of followers?
No. A UGC video runs mainly in ads from the brand’s account, so the size of the athlete’s profile matters less. What matters is that they can talk naturally to the camera and fit the product.
How many versions should we film?
We have found 3–7 different openings for the same body to work well. We filmed seven versions for Under Armour and six for Alaskan Fisherman.
Which platforms do UGC videos work on?
Most often in ads on Instagram and Facebook (Meta), TikTok and YouTube Shorts. A vertical format with subtitles works everywhere; just adapt the length and first line to the platform.
