Can I use your video forever in paid advertising?
When you purchase a video from a content creator you will either buy ‘organic’ usage rights or ‘paid ads usage’. I just want to explain the difference for those of you who dont already know and also touch on how this works - in a practical sense.
WHAT I CHARGE FOR PAID ADS UGC AS AN AUSTRALIAN CONTENT CREATOR
When a Brand purchases a paid ad from me, I allow 90 days usage and charge (*currently) $399 AUD. This means the brand can put ad spend behind my video for up to 90 days, on and off.
*Yes, I have ways of checking how long a brand is running a particular ad for and can see allllll the ads they have running.
PAID AD CONTENT VS ORGANIC CONTENT
Paid ads content is strategically crafted and targeted to reach a specific audience. It often has a clear call-to-action and is designed to generate immediate results or conversions.
Organically used content, on the other hand, is created to engage and connect with the audience in a more authentic way. It’s shared through the brands own channels without paid promotion and focuses on building relationships and brand loyalty over time.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT - HOW IT WORKS
Back to the example of a paid ad. After the time is up (90 days), the brand gets to keep using the video, organically. Meaning, they post it to their instagram feed, story and or Tiktok/Facebook. They can continue using it of course, but they are not permitted to keep profiting from the video in an ad capacity after the time is up.
Sometimes you may decide that you want to try the ‘organic’ style video as an actual ad. At this point you’d need to go back to the Creator who made the video for you and request to purchase usage rights for ads. You would let them know that you intend to run it as an ad (or ‘boost’ it).
*Now, I can only tell you what I do in this circumstance as every creator will do different things, have a different level of experience and therefore charge a different rate.
I have, however, seen A LOT of brand new creators trip up over this part and absolutely mess up what they do and what to charge so I hope this is helpful to you if you’re a newbie creator reading this too.
WHAT TO DO IF A BRAND WANTS TO TURN ORGANIC UGC INTO PAID ADS
When a Brand asks to try running an organic piece of UGC as an ad, they have two options (according to me):
They can pay the difference between the organic video price that they originally paid and the cost of an ad. In my case, it costs $150 more for an ad than it does for an organic video so I could just invoice them the difference and send a contract stating that they now have permission to use it in an ad capacity for 90 days.
They can purchase the video outright (sometimes called ‘in perpetuity’) which means there is no time limit to its usage - the brand is then able to use it on-and-off in an ad capacity as long as they like. It doesn’t mean that the brand owns the intellectual property or copyright ownership of the video as this is something different (that would mean that, I as the creator, no longer own the video and am not permitted to post it or use it without permission).
*I have also seen Creators charge (for example) 30% per month that a Brand keeps an ad running past their included usage time. For example, If I were to do this I’d say to the brand that they need to pay 30% of the original cost of the video (say, $399) for an extra month (or, insert time that they request).
Like I said, this is just the way I operate within my business.
I hope that makes sense to you! If you have any questions, you can always reach out via instagram DM’s or email me rebecca@thatachellesgirl.com
Much love,
Rebecca
AKA ThatAchellesGirl
I help brands stand out online, create binge-worthy content. I’m also a freelance fashion model, content creator, reels-in person training.
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