The UGCHooks field guide

Captions and messaging

Make on-screen text support the footage instead of competing with it.

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Shorten an opening caption

Opening text should fit the visual beat it accompanies.

A headline and a supporting detail need different visual roles.

Text that works on the first frame may disappear as the background moves.

Captions should avoid faces, hands, and the product feature being demonstrated.

A caption can be conversational without copying slang that does not fit the speaker.

An opening promise creates an obligation for the rest of the clip.

Useful caption variants express different angles on the same footage.

Punctuation should make the sentence easier to read in a brief exposure.

Line breaks affect how quickly a viewer understands a short caption.

Specific copy names the task or item involved.

A translated caption needs to preserve the idea and reading rhythm, not the original word count.

Sound-off viewing requires the visual and text to carry the basic context.

Generated copy is a draft that can introduce unsupported features or claims.