Deconstructing my top-performing UGC ad for Merit Beauty's BFCM sale

Examining the key factors that contributed to the success of my Merit Beauty UGC ad and the creative strategy I suggested afterwards.

This is my first time doing an audit on one of my ads - and I’m REALLY excited, to say the least. I share some UGC examples on my TikTok, but this ad was reserved for my wonderful newsletter subscribers. I plan to do more future articles featuring my top performers for my clients - so be sure to stick around!

Alright, let’s dive in!

My point of contact, we’ll call her “April” (even though that isn’t her name). April reached out to me when she first got the job at Merit, letting me know that during her interview process, she brought me up multiple times because she wanted to ensure we could work together in a freelance capacity when it came to UGC for paid ads. She told me that as soon as she started her new job, she’d reach out to me ASAP to work on our first project! A few weeks into her new job, she told me she got the green light to hire me for a BFCM ad. April told me I had complete creative control and that she told Merit’s internal marketing team to trust me since I’ve never fallen short in the past three years of working together (I’ve now worked with her as a UGC creator at three different companies - a reminder that your network = your net-worth).

Here is the step-by-step process I took, through ad completion and submission…

Step 1: concept ideation

I asked April for their top-performing ads to date to keep them in mind while coming up with my unique concept inspired by those ads. I noticed a few involved the green screen setting, which I was eager to use for Merit (for a few reasons). Reason 1: I’m not a makeup artist. That said, I can do my makeup in a way that compliments my features, but it just isn’t my strong suit. I wanted to ensure that the concept I would create for Merit would essentially blow them out of the water; my makeup routine just isn’t it! Reason 2: April told me they’d be running these ads on TikTok with the potential opportunity to relaunch them on Meta. I wanted to ensure the concept I was going to create would feel very native to either platform. My goal was to have a concept that visually and audibly came off as your friend recommending the product.

Step 2: script writing

After concluding I'd be utilizing the green screen style, I went back to the drawing board; but this time to write my script. April provided their brand guidelines which helped (a lot). That said, I love to visit my clients' websites, in addition to referencing their brand guidelines, because there are many gold nuggets to include in your UGC concept more often than not. I knew this was going to be a site-wide sale (20% off everything), so I wanted to get familiar with their best sellers; that way, I had a higher likelihood of hitting a home run with my ad - it's a numbers game, and you want the law of averages on your side. Their best-sellers were the perfect place to start! I scrolled through each best seller and grabbed the top 2-3 value props that set this product apart from other competitors on the market.

Remember how in step 1, I mentioned that my goal was to have a concept that visually and audibly came off as your friend recommending the product? I implemented phrases that mirrored “the friend telling you about their favorite Merit Beauty products.”

Step 3: filming

Now there’s no “easy way” to film a UGC concept with the green screen effect AND read your lines (unless you upgrade to an ACTUAL green screen - then you could film against the screen while using your teleprompter app). That said, back in October, when I was filming this, I hadn’t yet upgraded to a physical green screen, so if you’re in the same boat, this is what I did. I made sure to film in a setting that had gorgeous, natural lighting. For me, that’s sitting at my office desk facing the window. This enabled very complimentary lighting, which enhanced the look of the makeup on my face (since I was wearing it during the video - just not applying it on-camera).

Sitting at my desk made it super easy to reference my script since it was on my computer. What I would do is I’d memorize a line or two and repeat it verbatim to my iPhone while utilizing the green screen effect. I wouldn’t move forward until I said the lines multiple times and until I heard a line that I actually liked. One of the biggest mistakes a UGC creator can make is not film enough takes OR move forward without hearing a delivery you truly liked. My advice: don’t stop saying that first line until you’re proud of at least 2-3 takes. Your future self will thank you!

Step 4: editing

I edit in Adobe Premiere Pro on my Mac, but that’s because I’m a video editor by trade. If this is something you’re interested in learning more - stay tuned! I’ll be releasing a direct response video editing course in the coming weeks. Early bird access (and exclusive discounts) will be shared via a newsletter; the only way you’ll gain access to them is if you remain a paid subscriber!

While going through the editing process, I cut out most air bites (without sounding too jumpy or unnatural) but still incredibly engaging. Most creators will be SHOCKED to learn that the length of this ad was almost TWO MINUTES LONG… yes, you heard that correctly (1:45 seconds to be exact). If you follow me on TikTok, you’ve heard me say this already: but there should never be a one size fits all approach to UGC! So the next time you hear someone say, “you should keep your UGC between 15-30 seconds ALWAYS,” - know they’re a lot greener than they’re probably admitting to.

When it comes to video lengths, it’s less about the actual length and more about the:

1. Product(s)

2. Narrative

3. Motivators & Barriers

I say this confidently because I've had clients whose top performers were HD testimonials (not UGC, not paid actors, but customers who love the product) that were 90+ seconds long. Meanwhile, I've had clients whose top performers were UGC concepts ranging from 15 seconds upwards to FIFTEEN MINUTES. Again, you heard me correctly: an ad 15 minutes in length was their top performer. Anyways, I digress… if you take anything away from this step, there's never a one size fits all approach! And if you needed another example to this statement, this concept didn't feature text call-outs OR closed captions; yet it became one of their top two performing concepts for BFCM. I didn't do close captions because I wanted it to feel SUPER native and the least sales-y as possible. And I let the video length be almost two minutes because I believed the format of my delivery was still just as engaging as a 15-second video. It was a bit bold, but I took the leap, and it paid off BIG TIME (ROAS-wise)!

Step 5: performance feedback & next steps

After BFCM weekend, April reached back out to me via email saying:

And I responded with:

The email thread continued with April sharing KPIs (key performance indicators) and asking if we could work on another project together, as well as, if I had any suggestions on the next steps. My response? Let's make THIS top performer evergreen.

Now, if you're reading this and wondering why I'm talking trees with April, this is what I mean by evergreen: when a marketer refers to a concept as "evergreen," it means that the concept can run, rain or shine, at any point during the year (except for sales dates). I suggested we take this BFCM concept and tailor it to be evergreen. And instead of re-filming an entirely new concept inspired by this top performer, what did I do? I re-filmed the hook and CTA to make it evergreen because the rest of the video was already evergreen. It was just the hook and CTA that referenced the 20% off sale and BFCM.

Someone reading this might ask: "why wouldn't you just film a new concept? Maybe you could get paid more for doing more work…" but that's short-term thinking. When I work with my clients, I think of our working relationship as a marathon, not a sprint. I aim to create concepts that offer a ROAS (return on ad spend) because I want them to re-hire ME for future concepts - not another creator; that's business.

So the next time you hear a concept you created did super well for your client's site-wide sale, see if there's a creative way to adjust the pre-existing ad to being evergreen with slight adjustments. This evergreen version just involved me wearing the same shirt, filming in the same setting with the same hairstyle and makeup look. And, of course, bringing the same energy and tonality to ensure the hook and CTA matched the body of the video from that first project.

If you made it this far, here is the BFCM version and the evergreen versions (3 alternate hooks).

I'm still waiting on performance feedback for the latest evergreen version (a reminder that waiting on KPIs can feel like pulling teeth sometimes). But based on how many people I know that have seen this ad and either tagged me in it, sent it to me over DMs, or mentioned it in passing, I'm going to guess the evergreen version is doing just as well - if not better, than the BFCM version. If that's the case, this would be exciting since the BFCM concept references a 20% off site-wide sale, whereas the evergreen version is more condensed (under 60 seconds) and doesn't reference a sale, solely the value props.

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I wish you the best of luck on your UGC and marketing journey. Keep utilizing me as a resource; I'm here to help!