The product review as a UGC format: structure, authenticity and how Brazilian creators do it well.
Why product reviews work so well in Brazil
Five reasons specific to the market.
Online buying leans heavily on reviews, in a context where quality varies a lot between sellers.
Recommendation between friends remains the first purchase trigger, and video is its extension.
The public is very attentive to signs of sincerity, and spots a learned speech in seconds.
Price counts, so the question of value for money dominates all others.
And the most bought categories, beauty, home, affordable technology, lend themselves particularly to demonstration.
Resenha, depoimento: mastering the local vocabulary
Four terms that do not mean the same thing.
The resenha is a detailed, argued review, with strong and weak points.
The depoimento is a personal testimonial, centred on lived experience.
The unboxing shows the opening and the first impression, with no judgement over time.
And the comparativo puts two products side by side, the format hardest to hold without bias.
One practical consequence: when a brief asks for a resenha, it expects nuance. Delivering an enthusiastic depoimento instead is delivering something other than what was ordered.
The structure of a review video that converts
Six steps, in order.
The opening naming the situation of use, not the product.
The reason you got it, in one sentence.
The real demonstration, with the gesture and the product in hand.
The weak point, dealt with above: who it is not for.
The strong points, with one precise detail the product page does not give.
And the conclusion: who you recommend it to, phrased as a recommendation to one person and not to an audience.
Authenticity is the real product
Six signals that carry it, and cost nothing.
The real setting, with its flaws, rather than a neutral background.
A hesitation left in the edit, which proves the take is not acted.
A stated duration of use, because a review given on the day of delivery is not a review.
Ordinary vocabulary, without the words from the brand's site.
The price mentioned, when the brand allows it, because it is everybody's question.
And clear identification of the partnership, an obligation whose arrangements are checked with the competent authority.
The habits of Brazilian creators who excel
Six practices observable in those who live off this format.
They use the product before filming, for several days, and say so.
They prepare three questions the public always asks, and answer them in the video.
They film a short version for advertising and a long one for the product page, in the same session.
They answer the comments during the first hour, when the practical questions arrive.
They keep a list of recurring objections by category, and reuse it from one brand to another.
And they refuse products they cannot recommend, because a single dishonest video damages all the following ones.
What makes a review credible on screen
| Element | What it brings | What destroys it |
|---|---|---|
| A stated duration of use | Proof of perspective | A review shot on delivery day |
| A flaw mentioned | Sincerity | An entirely positive speech |
| A precise context | Recognition | A studio set |
What must always appear
The partnership disclosure, from the start and legible. A review that is paid, or obtained against a free product, remains commercial communication, and omitting it exposes the brand as much as the creator.
What never goes into a review
An unverified figure comparison, a result promise, or a health claim. Those three wordings are confirmed with the manufacturer and a lawyer before the shoot, never after.
Getting started in UGC product reviews
Five concrete steps to begin.
Film three reviews of products you already own, respecting the structure above.
Choose a category and stick to it, because specialisation reassures brands.
Offer the format in a batch: one long review, one short version, two different openings.
Target online sellers and small brands first, as they decide fast.
And keep your rushes, because a review can be reworked six months later without reshooting.
One last marker: in Brazil, a good product review does not try to sell, it tries to help somebody decide. That is exactly why it sells better than an advertisement, and why a brand has an interest in letting through the sentence saying what the product does not do.
Sources
Checked on 27 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
