How to master UGC operations, Shopify updates, and a glimpse of the future
Lock in brethren, the year is not over yet
In December the internet always feels overwhelming. Last ditch attempts to push agendas, the flood of gift guide and spending, while everyone just tries to make it the promised land… a few days to think about their rebirth.
That gap, those few weeks, are often where stars are born. That perfect idea for the next year, the commitment to a habit, that final push to hit the number. Just a reminder… it’s alright to be all in. In fact, in today’s days and times, where fortunes can shift in a single video, you should never feel bad about going for it.
This week in HYPER, we dive into UGC operational strategy, predictions for 2026, AI marketing workflows and Shopify’s new updates for brand owners.
But, fefore we dive in…
I am working on a new longform show with my friends at Hubspot where we visit businesses and work on their funnel - identifying a key place in their marketing loop where they need help and working together on a plan.
If you operate or run marketing at a growing org (let’s say, over $2m/yr?) business and would be interested, we have a form here where the team will be reviewing applicants (US only… for now!).
https://forms.gle/zj8gNfAjuc2tb5Vb8
Lets get to it.
Paid Ads Strategy
I am hosting a webinar with a number of friends and Motion next week specifically about paid creative strategy on Meta going into 2026.
You’ll leave with a list of new ideas to try, new formats to master, and a deeper understanding of what is working on social platforms (and yes it will be recorded for after!).
UGC Operations
We get asked a lot about UGC - people here about it, or have tried a creator or two for ads, but don’t understand a full program. This is an overview of what to do if you want to build a legitimate, scalable UGC operation for your brand, the key is to create a repeatable system that brings in new creators, tests new formats, and builds institutional knowledge.
Think about this part of your business like a growth engine.
What makes a strong UGC program?
A well-run UGC engine should:
Easily onboard new creators
Regularly test new styles and formats
Maintain a centralized creative library
Share learnings across creators
Incentivize both performance and community
Operational best practices
1. Segment your creator types
Not all creators are built the same. Segmenting your roster by style helps personalize onboarding, guidance, and content briefs.
Here are three common segments (create your own as needed):
Personality creators – Think talking heads, advice, or rants to camera.
Storytelling creators – Vlogs, narration-driven content, “day in the life.”
Scenario/skit creators – Skits, humor, or dramatized customer scenarios.
Visual creators - that specialize in edits or unique visual styles
Match each creator to their segment early. This makes creative guidance 10x easier.
2. Build and maintain a creative library
A centralized, living resource keeps everyone aligned and accelerates iteration. The best teams tag and organize their content like product teams do code.
Include:
Hooks – Openers or formats that have driven engagement.
Angles – Strategic messaging or customer pain points that landed.
References – Links to styles to mimic or test.
Winners – Top performers based on KPIs.
Tag every asset by creator segment, so each person sees what’s relevant to them.
3. Tight onboarding + ongoing management
Start every new creator on a trial period. Set clear KPIs (e.g. 2 test videos, 1 benchmark to hit) and tie performance to ongoing work or bonuses. Align incentives for both the creator and the internal strategist or coach guiding them.
Set them up for success with:
Access to the creative library
A dedicated briefing sheet that maps to their style or niche
A simple asset tracker, like a spreadsheet, with the following fields:
Software to consider for sourcing and managing:
Hummingbirds (retail focused)
This is an excerpt from the longer Creative Operations guide you can grab here.
Shopify New Features
The Winter Shopify Edition dropped yesterday, with lots of new updates for ecommerce owners. I recapped the top updates in 60s if you want the quick notes.
Quick callouts brand owners will care about
“Rollouts” means you can schedule your theme updates for new product launches, web changes etc, and also now a/b test theme changes with the same functionality
ACH payments for B2B (I have felt this pain point many times)
Sidekick can edit theme sections and styles now in chat, and generate and save common automation flows. If you aren’t using Sidekick I would definitely give it a shot.
Read the beautifully designed full edition.
Workflows
In this latest Youtube I talk about the creative reactions and integrations to AI, and I break down how I’m using AI tools in ways that aren’t just about stirring people up on the internet.
Perplexity Comet for research
Claude for 2nd marketing brain
Excel agent mode for data analysis
Leonardo for generative workflows
2026 Predictions
Air asked Clayton and I for predictions for next year in their new 2026 Zoltair guide.
I contributed a few, and two particular notes for you to consider below.
A. IRL 2.0
Everyones talking about IRL events, but here’s what actually matters:
The real goal isn’t just to connect the brand to the customers, but to connect customers to each other, facilitated by the brand
Get outside of NY and LA, real impact with community happens where its not normal
Algorithms have regional content focuses, so content around events and regional creators, storefronts etc has outsized impact
B. Content networks
Main accounts aren’t the end-all of brand social, and often are limiting. With followers mattering less than ever for on-feed performance, experiment more.
Dedicated series accounts, social accounts, creator accounts for brands, collabs between them, use them for whitelisting.…
Savvy paid teams will use this as their creative testing ground too:
Full predictions here.
Kitchen Sink
Beechinours sound design guide
Viral out of home elevation
Effect editors from Paper
Ralph Lauren making up for the prior Team USA uniforms with some absolute heat.
Hyper Reports
Check out our market reports. We spend many hours researching markets, categories, and brands & products within the consumer space so you don’t have to.