In short: To review UGC videos well, check each one against your brief, not against your taste. Approve it if it passes, ask for a fix if one thing is wrong and can be corrected, and reject it if it fails on something that cannot be fixed. Give feedback that is specific, time-stamped and sent once, and keep your checks to what you agreed in the brief.
The three outcomes of a review
JoinBrands describes three decisions a brand can make: approve a video that passes every critical check, request a revision when there is one fixable issue (a scene to re-shoot, audio to re-record, framing to adjust), or reject it when several checks fail or the problem cannot be fixed. Its advice for imperfect content is to approve unless there is a hard failure, and to reject for quality only if a video is unwatchable, far off-brand or ignores the brief.
On Usicri the decision is simpler: you approve or reject, and you are charged only when you approve. A rejection can carry a note, and after a rejection the creator can upload one corrected version for that campaign, unless you tick “Don’t offer a corrected version” when you reject. In practice, a rejection with a clear note is how you ask for a fix.
What to check, in order
Influentials suggests a four-step approval checklist. The table below follows it.
| Check | Look for |
|---|---|
| Brief and message | The hook you asked for in the first 3 seconds, accurate product benefits, the agreed do’s and don’ts |
| Picture | Vertical 9:16 if you asked for it, good light, product clear and in focus, no distracting background |
| Sound and captions | Clear speech, music that is licensed or royalty-free, captions without spelling errors |
| Rules | Disclosure included, no competitor logos in view, only claims you approved |
JoinBrands adds a few simple tests from its own checklist: the product visible for at least three seconds, the creator audible, and the length within the range you set.
Hard failures and soft issues
Not every flaw deserves the same response. JoinBrands separates problems that call for rejection from ones that do not:
- Reject: profanity or slurs, unsubstantiated health or legal claims, other people’s faces or names shown without permission, unlicensed music, sexually explicit content, violence or illegal activity.
- Usually reject or revise: competitor mentions, unclear audio, a tone that conflicts with a clear brief.
- Often acceptable: background clutter, small framing issues, a slightly dark or grainy picture unless it is barely watchable.
- Never a reason: how the creator looks. JoinBrands states this plainly.
For skincare and cosmetics, the claims check matters most. See skincare and cosmetic claims in UGC and give creators the wording they may use in the brief.
Revision, reshoot or new work?
Before you ask for a change, decide which kind it is. Twirl’s test is whether the feedback improves what was originally agreed or asks for something new:
- Revision (within scope): fix a caption or subtitle, trim a clip, change the order, swap the music, correct a missed agreed requirement, use another shot from the same footage.
- Reshoot: justified when the creator missed an agreed requirement that editing cannot fix, for example the wrong product, the wrong format or no demo.
- New work: a new concept, a different hook, a rewritten script, another person on screen, or something you did not put in the brief.
MakeInfluence says most agreements include one or two revision rounds, scoped to claims and brand accuracy rather than the whole concept. State the number in your brief. The UGC brief template has a line for it.
How to write feedback creators can act on
Three guides agree on the same habits: be specific, tie each comment to a moment in the video, and send one combined message. Vidovo recommends one person collects every internal comment so the creator is not given contradicting instructions. Twirl suggests labeling what is required (accuracy, a missed requirement) separately from what is only a preference.
Feedback template (copy and adapt)
Thanks for the video. One change is needed before I can approve it:
Required: at 0:08 the claim “[wording]” is not one we can use. Please say “[approved wording]” or cut the line.
Optional: the opening takes four seconds to show the product. If you can, start on the product, using the same footage.
Everything else is great.
Avoid notes such as “make it more engaging”. Influentials and JoinBrands both call vague or purely subjective comments unhelpful.
Writing a rejection note
Reject when a hard failure cannot be fixed, or when the video ignores the brief. Say what is wrong in a sentence or two and, if a corrected version is welcome, say what it would need. Keep it factual: “The product is not shown in use and the audio is unclear” is clearer than “not what we were looking for”.
“Thank you for the video. We can’t approve this version because [reason from the brief]. A corrected version that [what is needed] would work for us.”
The final check before you approve
Vidovo lists what to confirm at the end: the file is complete, usage rights are clear, captions and tags are right, and the disclosure language is in place. MakeInfluence also advises checking the file has no platform watermark and that the format and length match the brief. Approving is the moment you pay, so check these before you click. Subtitle checks are in captions and subtitles for UGC videos.
Reviewing is one step of a campaign; the whole sequence is in how to run a UGC campaign, and the habits for working with many creators are in UGC workflow at scale.
On Usicri
You watch every submission and approve or reject it, with an optional note to the creator. You are charged only for approved videos: the payout you set, with no platform fee at the moment. An approved, paid video comes with a non-exclusive, worldwide license without time limit that covers advertising (section 5 of the Terms of Service).
Usicri does not check videos for advertising-law compliance, so the claims and disclosure checks above are yours to make. See disclosure rules for creators and brands.
Quick checklist
- Compare the video with the brief, not with your preference.
- Run the four checks: message, picture, sound and captions, rules.
- Sort problems into hard failures and soft issues.
- Decide whether a change is a revision, a reshoot or new work.
- Send one specific, time-stamped note.
- Check rights, captions and disclosure before approving.
On Usicri the review is also the payment: a brand’s card is charged only when it approves a video. See pay per approved video.
Word your notes with UGC feedback note templates, and see how to choose between UGC submissions when several videos arrive.
If a video does not look genuine, see how to tell if a UGC creator is real. When another person appears in a video, read model releases for UGC.
To keep reviewing light for a small team, read a simple UGC routine for a small team. For the risks to check before you approve, see the risks of a UGC campaign and the safeguard for each.