Finding UGC references

Start by finding brands already running UGC in your category. Their main brand accounts may not show posts from UGC creators. You may have to dig through their follower lists to find the dedicated accounts their creators use.

Account names often follow a pattern. For a learning app, you might see names such as “learnwithjess” or “jessteachesxyz.” The name changes, but another part stays consistent across creators. Once you notice the pattern, search for other variations. That can uncover a much larger creator roster than the one or two accounts you first found.

I look at these accounts for two things: videos that are going viral and new hooks the brand is testing. The exact topic matters less than the way the video earns attention. Look at the opening line, the text on screen, the way the creator starts the shot, and how quickly the product enters the story.

Build a library that is large enough to reveal patterns, not a folder of five reels you happen to like. Label each reference by format and add one sentence on why it worked. “Make something like this” is not useful direction.

You have to do this continuously. A folder of old references becomes stale, and checking dozens of profiles by hand every day is tedious. I set up a simple workflow with Apify. It scrapes posts from selected profiles once a day and sends them into Slack. That gives me a regular feed of new videos without having to open every account.

The feed becomes raw material for scripting. When we want a creator to try a particular style of hook, we share the reel and add shooting instructions. The reference removes ambiguity. The creator can see the pace, framing, and delivery we have in mind, while the script tells them what to say and what part of our product to show.

Keep the research tied to an experiment. Save a reference because you want to test its hook, format, on-screen text, or delivery. Then run that idea across creators and see whether it unlocks views in your niche. If it works, write iterations. If it doesn’t, move to the next idea in the feed.