Warm-up posts: why new UGC accounts post before your campaign

A lot of performance UGC now runs on brand-new accounts. A creator opens a fresh account for your niche, and everyone starts at zero followers. That is fine: short-form platforms judge the video, not the follower count. But a new account needs a few posts before it is ready for your first branded one.

What warm-up is for

Warm-up posts are a health check, not a content exercise. Before anything branded goes up, they answer three questions:

1. Is the account shadow-banned?
2. Do its posts reach the feed normally?
3. Is the traffic coming from the audience you are targeting?

How strict to be

Both of these work. Some brands set standards for warm-up posts, even scripts, as long as they are never branded, so the account's early content sits in the campaign's lane. Others let creators post anything, because the post only has to prove the account is healthy. Pick one and tell creators on day one.

Paying for warm-up

Warm-up posts are not judged on views, so do not pay them on views. A small flat amount per warm-up post is fair and keeps creators from rushing to the branded content. On NewWave that is the warm-up payout: a flat amount that sits outside your main payout model.

When a creator cannot open a new account

TikTok limits new registrations per phone number, so this comes up. The usual fix is to reuse an old account: archive the old videos and restart it with the campaign persona. If the account is already active with the right audience, skip warm-up. What it tests is already proven.

Reading low views

Low views have several causes, so compare before you conclude. The best tool is the same script across different creators:

• Others are fine on the script and one creator is flat: that is a creator and format mismatch. Try them on a completely different format before blaming the account.
• Everyone on the script is low: the script or format is the problem. Rework it or follow a newer trend.
• A new account that has only posted branded content: the platform may be reading it as an ad account. A few non-branded posts help.
• A healthy account suddenly stuck under about 1,000 views, with likes mostly from friends: that is what a shadow-ban looks like.

Getting a stuck account back

1. Archive the stuck posts after 4 to 5 days.
2. Pause posting for 1 to 2 days while the creator uses the app normally in their niche.
3. Keep approving their drafts in the meantime, so nothing stalls.
4. Resume posting.

For picking creators in the first place, see how to find UGC creators.