Clear communication is key in influencer marketing. The best way to communicate clearly with influencers is with an influencer campaign brief. A brief is a document that acts as a set of guidelines, spelling out objectives, expectations, and deliverables for a marketing campaign.
A good influencer campaign brief ensures that everyone is on the same page at the beginning of a campaign and offers a guideline as to what the campaign will look like.
Read on for more on how to write a perfect influencer campaign brief.
Key Elements of the Perfect Influencer Campaign Brief
The right influencer campaign brief will set expectations and minimize confusion – it will accurately spell out deliverables and due dates for the influencer. A good influencer campaign brief will also ensure brand consistency and message alignment, as well as build trust and professionalism with influencers. Finally, the brief will likely prevent missteps or misinterpretations, or at the very least, act as a guide in the event of a mistake down the line.
Make sure you assess Long-Form vs Short-Form Content: Which is Better for Your Brand?
1. Campaign Overview
The campaign overview will outline what the campaign is about. It will outline the products, events, services, or otherwise that the influencer is promoting. It will outline launch dates and duration, and it will give the influencer everything they need to know about the product, event or service they are promoting.
2. Objectives and Goals
The brief will then outline what the brand hopes to achieve. Perhaps they are looking to drive brand awareness and reach a wider audience. Perhaps they are looking to tap into some of the influencers’ audience and reach dedicated buyers, therefore upping conversions.
In this section, you will want to include your KPIs or key performance indicators. KPIs might include calculating reach, engagement or sales.
Be sure to check out Alex Cooper’s The Unwell Network: A Complete Breakdown.
3. Target Audience
This section outlines your target audience. Ideally, your brand is partnering with an influencer with a similar target audience or an audience your brand is looking to expand and reach. Here you will outline audience demographics, interests, and behaviors. Here, you will also want to explain why this audience is the focus of the campaign brief. The influencer should know about their audience, but here is where you will get specific about the audience habits that will drive conversions. Is this an audience that is likely to convert to buying a product or service? If they are not purchasing something, are they active on social media? These are the questions you’ll want to be asking when outlining your target audience.
4. Content Guidelines
Not every influencer will have the same visuals and tones as your brand. It’s here that you’ll want to outline the expectations for this specific campaign. Be sure to list out messaging do’s and don’ts, as well as required hashtags and tags. Brand voice and visual and tone expectations will be communicated here as well. Use specific language ie. “fun and playful” or “elevated and aspirational” to get your message across.
This is also where you can include your brand’s media kit, should the influencer need access to your brand’s fonts, colors, and overall media.
Be sure to check out how TikTok users are manipulating the algorithm for good here.
5. Deliverables and Platform Details
The influencer must then be briefed on what content is expected and on what platforms. Here you will outline the number of posts, stories, Reels, or videos that are expected on the influencer’s part by the end of the campaign. You will want to outline to which specific platforms this content will be posted, such as Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.
You can even include a mood board for what you want the visuals to look like – be a little creative here! The more inspiration you provide for the influencer, the more empowered and creative they will feel.
6. Timeline and Deadlines
In this section, you will outline content due dates, as well as review/approval windows and a posting schedule. Deadlines and timelines will vary between campaigns, and it is here that you can clarify approval windows and how much time the influencer has in case they need to re-shoot, re-edit, or restructure the content. Here, you will also clarify the posting schedule.
7. Compensation and Legal
In this section you will outline payment terms or product exchange, FTC compliance as well as usage rights and reposting policy.
Discover how to curate a memorable brand image as an influencer.
Tips to Make Your Influencer Campaign Brief Stand Out
To ensure a balance of professionalism and creativity, keep it visually clean and well-formatted, but don’t be afraid to use examples or include other inspiration. That may include putting in example visuals and captions, or including your brand’s colors. You will want to personalize your brief if possible. The influencer wants to feel like a partner, not a contractor, and personalizing the brief to them is a nice touch. This is also a small piece of ensuring a good relationship with the creator. Additionally, be sure to use friendly, brand-aligned language to further solidify your brand and vision.
Take a look at Creators and their Creator Networks and how they work to platform smaller creators here.
Conclusion
The power of a strong influencer campaign brief cannot be underestimated. For marketers, the campaign brief is a collaboration tool, one that will encourage creativity on the part of the influencer while also letting the brand carefully outline guidelines for the campaign. A good influencer campaign brief is the groundwork for a successful marketing campaign down the road, as well as a strong possibility for future campaigns.
This article was written by Ava Fischer
Still need help writing the perfect influencer campaign brief? Start a campaign with us!