Creator video ads in Saudi Arabia: why UGC beats polished ads

Most brands in Saudi Arabia already spend on Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram ads. Fewer of them have enough good videos to put behind that spend. The same product photo or studio video runs for weeks, results slide, and the answer is usually to raise the budget. Often the better answer is a new creative, made by a person, not a studio.

This guide explains why creator videos tend to do well as ads, how many you need, and the different ways you can work with creators on Trendly, whether you want influencer posts, videos for your own account, or ads.

Why creator videos work as ads

People on TikTok and Snapchat scroll past anything that looks like an ad. A creator holding your product, talking to the camera in Saudi dialect, looks like the content they came to watch.

The platforms say this themselves. TikTok’s creative best practices for advertisers recommend:

• featuring people, such as creators, employees or customers, to capture attention,
• a DIY, not overly polished style that fits in with user content,
• a hook in the first seconds and a clear call to action at the end.

Snapchat’s business site highlights an apparel brand that leaned into UGC-style creative and reported about 3x incremental return on ad spend. That is one brand’s case study published by the platform, not a promise, but it points the same way as TikTok’s advice.

We do not publish ROAS figures of our own, because we do not see your ad accounts. The only way to know what works for your product is to test creator videos against your current ads.

Why one video is not enough

Ads wear out. The same people see the same video, and results drop. TikTok calls this creative fatigue, and its advice is to keep a supply of new creatives and refresh an ad group when results keep falling.

TikTok also suggests testing 3 to 5 different creatives per ad group, and making them genuinely different, not five cuts of the same video. For a brand, that means a steady flow of videos, from several creators, with different hooks.

This is where most brands get stuck. Booking a studio every month is slow and expensive. Asking the marketing team to film everything burns them out. Working with creators one by one on WhatsApp means chasing files, prices and invoices.

Four ways to work with creators on Trendly

You do not need to choose between influencer marketing and ads. On Trendly, you post a campaign, creators in Saudi Arabia apply with their own price, and you hire the ones you want. What you ask for depends on your goal.

1. Influencer posts on the creator’s account

The creator posts about your product to their own followers. You are paying for their audience and their voice. This suits launches, openings and awareness. Prices depend mostly on audience size; see our guide to influencer ad prices in Saudi Arabia.

2. UGC videos for your own account

The creator films the video and sends it to you. Nothing goes on their account. You post it on your TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram. This is the fastest way to keep your own accounts active with real people, not stock content.

3. A creator who posts for your brand regularly

Some brands want the same face every week. You can hire a creator for a series of videos for your account, so your audience gets used to them. Agree on the number of videos, the dates and the price in the offer, as you would for any job.

4. Creatives for paid ads

The creator films videos made to run as ads: a strong hook, the product in use, and a clear call to action. You agree in the offer, before filming, where and for how long you can use the video in ads. For TikTok, you can also run the creator’s own post as a Spark Ad with their authorization, so the ad shows their name and the engagement stays on their post.

For ads, the creator’s follower count matters much less. Your budget brings the reach; you are paying for a video that stops the scroll. On Trendly, the median first asking price for a UGC video is SAR 500, and every creator quotes their own price.

How it works on Trendly

1. Post a campaign for free. Say what you need: posts, UGC videos, or both. There is no subscription.
2. Creators apply with their price. Look at their videos and pick the ones whose style fits your ad.
3. Hire and agree the details. Number of videos, dates, usage rights. Trendly’s 10% service fee applies only when you hire.
4. Payment is held until you approve. The creator is paid once you approve the work, so you do not pay for a video you never received.

A simple plan for your next ad month

• Hire three to five creators, not one, so you have different faces and hooks to test.
• Write one short brief with the product, the one message that matters, and what not to say. Our campaign brief guide has a template.
• Ask for two or three hooks per video: the first seconds decide whether anyone watches.
• Agree on ad usage up front, including platforms and duration.
• Run them side by side, keep the winners, and book the next round before the current ads wear out.
• Give your best creators a discount code, so you can also see sales from their organic posts. See how discount codes per creator work.

Common questions from brands

Is UGC the same as influencer marketing? Not quite. Influencer marketing buys a creator’s audience. UGC buys the video. Many brands do both: a few influencer posts for reach, plus UGC videos to run as ads.

Will a video that worked organically work as an ad? Often, but not always. Test it. A video that did well on a creator’s account is a strong candidate for a Spark Ad.

Can I use the video forever? Only if the creator agrees. Usage rights are part of the offer, so agree on them before filming.

If your ads are running on the same few creatives, start small: post a campaign for UGC videos, hire three creators, and compare. You can also read more about UGC on Trendly.