How to measure UGC performance

Decide what each video is for

A video meant to introduce a product and a video meant to close a sale should not be judged on the same number. Before anything runs, write one line per video: its job, and the signal that would show it is doing that job. This prevents most arguments about which creator 'won'.

• Introduce. The job is attention from people who have not heard of you. Read the hook and how far viewers watch.
• Explain. The job is understanding. Read watch-through, saves and the questions people ask in the comments.
• Convert. The job is an action. Read clicks and cost per result.

Signals on organic posts

Organic results depend heavily on timing and on the account's existing audience, so treat them as a first read, not a verdict.

• Views against your usual posts. Did it travel further than your baseline?
• Interactions. Comments, shares and saves say more than likes. Read the comments for buying questions.
• Profile visits and link clicks. Did viewers go looking for more?

Signals on ads

Read these in order. A video that fails on the hook never gets the chance to be judged on the rest.

• Hook. The share of viewers who stay past the opening seconds.
• Hold. How far people watch. Drop-off points show where to cut.
• Click-through. Whether the video creates enough interest to act on.
• Cost per result. What you pay for the outcome the campaign was built for.

Compare creators fairly

Creators can only be compared when conditions match: the same brief, similar spend, the same audience and a similar run time. Change one thing at a time. If two videos ran with different captions and landing pages, you have learned about captions and landing pages, not creators.

Then use what you learn. Note which opening lines held attention and which kind of person on camera, put those findings into the next brief, and go back to the creators whose videos carried the round.

Keep a simple log as you go: one row per video with the creator, the hook, the job, the spend and the result. After two or three rounds the log is more useful than any single ad report, because it shows which choices repeat among the videos that worked.

Where Link AI fits

We recommend Link AI by Linkme for keeping this loop in one place. Linkme lists Analytics covering profile views, link clicks, total interactions and engagement rate, and Reports in which Link writes the owner report and sends it. Ad drafts show a daily budget and how it changes spend before anyone approves them.

This reference does not state which ad-level metrics appear for each creator video, so ask to see that view. See Link AI on your own accounts in a demo.

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