5 THINGS FOR BRANDS TO REMEMBER WHEN COLLABORATING WITH INFLUENCERS

There’s been a lot of talk in the media lately about influencer marketing. If you don’t live and breathe social media like we do, allow us to introduce you to it. ‘Influencer marketing’ is having influential people within the media such as celebrities, Instagram stars, sports or business people endorse your business by sharing their experiences with their audience, usually via social media.

Influencer marketing has been getting a bit of a negative rap in the press recently, but we’re here to tell you that influencers are not the enemy of your brand. Rather, poorly written agreements or lack of any agreement at all might actually be the issue. In this new territory of influencer collaborations, you need a contract. Always.  

If like most of us, you’ve just read the word contract and you’re starting to sweat a little, don’t worry, we’re here to help. We’ve put together a check-list of the 5 ‘must haves’ for any influencer collaboration agreement so you can give it a go yourself. Let’s dive right in…

1. Start with the basics.

Make sure you have all names (including brand names) and the start and end dates of your collaboration in the agreement. It might sound easy, but often the easiest steps are the ones we forget.  

2.    Specify the key deliverables required from both your business and the influencer.

We think one of the biggest things to keep in mind when navigating influencer agreements is to ensure that the value is even. You need to work out what value the influencer can offer your business (to do this, you could ask for their media kit if they have one) and then match that with something of yours that is of equal value. Clearly list each thing that the influencer will need to provide as part of this collaboration, and what they will receive from you in return, whether it be monetary payment, products, services, advice, etc. If both parties are happy and feel that the collaboration is worthwhile, it’s much more likely that it will run smoothly and both parties will feel satisfied with the results.

3.    Provide clear details.

Once you’ve written down your deliverables, make sure you provide exact details on the content itself. This includes the format of the social media posts, the platform, the number of posts, specific hashtags, how long the posts should be visible for, the process of editing, and any deadlines. Never assume that someone will do things that you may think are common sense, write everything down!

4. Include any and all terms of the agreement.

Terms can differ depending on the type of collaboration, however you will almost always need terms on cancelling the collaboration, deleting content and exclusivity. This is so you can manage expectations for yourself and for the influencer.

The easiest way to decide on your terms is to ask yourself the following questions:

• What will happen if the influencer or yourself wants to terminate the collaboration or if they cannot meet set deadlines?

• Can the influencer delete the content they’ve provided after a certain amount of time?

• Does the influencer need to be exclusive to your brand, or can they promote other brands?

• Does the influencer need to provide results on how their content performed?

• Are there any terms around payment?

• Do you need to approve the content before it is posted?

All of these details need to be decided on and included in your agreement, so there is no confusion or grey areas.

5. Get consent and a signature.

Finish the contract by asking the influencer for consent to use their content, along with a dated signature. Consent ensures that you have access to the influencer’s content to use across your own marketing and social media, whilst the signature acts as confirmation of all of the terms provided in the agreement.  

There you go! Our top 5 steps to help bring clarity to your influencer collaborations and most importantly, get the most value out of your influencer marketing.

If you’d like advice on partnering with an influencer or if you’re interested in having us write an agreement and manage your collaboration for you, send us a message!