Caption numbers must match the PDP
Prices, percents and SKUs in the burn have to match the product page the ad opens. ASR is a draft. The PDP is source of truth.
7 min read
One caption family per series
Pin one of nine groups and keep it. Changing family every post reads as a different show, not a refresh.
7 min read
QC captions on a phone, not a monitor
Contrast, CPS and safe area only show up at 9:16 in hand. A desktop timeline will approve a miss the feed will swipe.
7 min read
YouTube ads still want burn-in
Demand Gen and in-feed inventory often autoplay muted. An SRT is for the watch-page CC button, not the ad impression.
6 min read
Two-second lines on fast cuts
Jump cuts kill a caption hold. Re-time after the edit. A two-second line cannot sit on a half-second shot.
7 min read
Word-highlight needs clean speech
Karaoke timestamps follow the voice. Music-under and overlap wreck the clock. Isolate vocals, or drop to a static block.
6 min read
Digital-product UGC is the screen
Digital-product UGC is the screen. Record the template or course UI; do not mint a fake student testimonial to sell the file.
9 min read
Dental UGC cannot invent a patient
Dental UGC cannot invent a patient. Film hands and clinic B-roll you own; YouTube will not pay a synthetic dentist.
10 min read
PDP UGC is the SKU on the page
PDP UGC is the SKU on the page. Animate the pack still that matches the PDP photo; a different bottle is a different listing.
8 min read
Local gym UGC is members who opted in
Local gym UGC is members who opted in. Film the floor, classes, and staff; do not mint a crowd or a body that did not join.
8 min read
Hotel UGC is the room you can book
Hotel UGC is the room you can book. Film those rooms; generate only captioned objection-handling, never a suite you do not sell.
9 min read
Pharmacy UGC is the box, not a patient
Pharmacy UGC is the box, not a patient. No medical talking heads. Pack plus a pharmacist you actually recorded if licensed.
8 min read
PLG SaaS UGC is a workflow, not a mascot
PLG SaaS UGC is a workflow, not a mascot. UI stills plus peer voice. Do not invent a CEO or a fake dashboard.
8 min read
Alt text is not a caption track
Alt text describes a still or post. Speech captions transcribe audio. Do not paste one into the other.
7 min read
Captions on carousel covers are a still
The first carousel frame is a poster. Burn a line into that still. Do not ship a timed track nobody plays.
7 min read
Stories captions sit higher than Reels
Story chrome (reply bar, stickers) eats the bottom. Place type higher than you would on Reels.
7 min read
Chapters are not a caption track
YouTube chapters are description timestamps. Burned-in lines are pixels. They are different objects.
7 min read
DYNAMIC captions on paid are a test
BASIC is the paid default. DYNAMIC costs 2× and is a variant, not the master. Keep a BASIC control.
7 min read
Forced narrative on pack shots
Translate the claim and the legal. Leave the trademarked SKU name. That leftover is forced narrative.
7 min read
Put the hook on screen before the SKU
Spend the first second on the spoken line, not the logo. Burn the claim, then show the pack.
7 min read
PIP the talking head over the product
Film or lipsync the face, I2V the product, then composite. One prompt cannot invent both plates.
7 min read
Dub a UGC ad without a new mouth
Lay a voice-over bed when the face is not the product. Lipsync only when the mouth has to match.
7 min read
Thumbnail from the keeper, not a new still
Extract a frame from the cut you will post. Do not text-to-image a face that is not in the video.
7 min read
Isolate vocals before karaoke captions
Strip the bed first. A dirty mix makes word-highlight land on the wrong syllable.
7 min read