What to Include in an Influencer Brief (Plus a Free Template)
There’s a good reason influencer marketing is so popular — it’s effective. And a strong brief is essential to the success of an influencer marketing campaign. Part of your influencer marketing strategy should include a section on briefs. A well-executed brief and campaign can help your brand generate more overall awareness and attract new customers.
With a good brief, you and your influencers can carry out a campaign successfully. The purpose of a campaign brief is two-fold:
- Influencers are clear on your campaign goals and can keep them in mind while creating.
- Brands can be confident that they have provided all relevant information for the influencer to create their best work in alignment with your goals.
Here, you’ll learn about each component to include in your brief and how they can help you run a successful influencer campaign.
What to include:
- Brand Information, Purpose, and Values
- Campaign Overview and Objectives (including hashtags)
- Campaign Messaging
- Channels and Deliverables
- Content Do’s, Don’ts, and Examples
- Content Process Review
- Payment Process
1. Brand Information, Purpose, and Values
Many influencers are their own brand with their own values to uphold, so they’ll only collaborate with brands that share similar values. Your brief should tell influencers what your brand stands for so they can decide if the partnership is right for them.
In your influencer brief, start with some general brand and product information before talking about your brand’s purpose and values. Include the company founder, the influencer’s main point of contact(s), your brand’s social media accounts, and the top products. This makes it easier for your influencers to connect with you and do their own research on your brand.
Next, talk about your purpose and values. But don’t just copy and paste from your website — tailor the brief for your influencers. Highlight information like why your company started, the values your brand lives by, and why the influencer would want to partner with your brand.
Tell your influencers what your brand and products can offer to their audience. They have their own group of loyal followers, and they want to share only the best products and brands.
2. Campaign Overview and Objectives (including hashtags)
In order to properly execute an influencer campaign, the influencer needs to understand the campaign’s purpose. Influencers should have a strong understanding of what your brand wants to gain from the campaign, how they’re meant to help you reach those goals, and what their role is.
First, write a campaign overview. The overview is a short description of the details of the campaign and its purpose. For example, the purpose of your campaign could be to meet larger content or social media marketing goals, like promoting a new product launch or upcoming event.
Then you’ll want to include your campaign objectives or KPIs. Your objectives should be measurable and easy to track. Common objectives for influencer campaigns are increasing followers on your social media platforms, generating brand awareness through traffic, or increasing sales of a product.
Hashtags: Make sure you have outlined your brand’s preferred hashtags for the campaign. Hashtags can help generate more awareness for the influencer campaign, so let your influencers know which ones they’re required to use.
3. Campaign Messaging
Clear messaging directives in your influencer marketing brief help your influencers plan what they’re going to say in their caption and post. The messaging your influencers use is likely to be more effective for the campaign when you tell them what to include. They don’t have to make assumptions about your brand and how a product works.
In the influencer brief, include a list of key messaging points, or important product features and benefits that should be in their captions or videos. Add the things you want them to focus on about the product they’re promoting, like cruelty-free products, clean ingredients, or ease of use.
4. Channels and Deliverables
Your influencers need to know what channels to post their content on and what specific components they need to deliver so they can properly execute the campaign. For example, if the intended outcome of your campaign depends on multiple influencers posting at the same time, it’s crucial to include the dates and times in your brief.
Include the social media channels to be used in the campaign. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube are all popular channels for influencer campaigns. If they need to post on multiple channels, include that, too.
Also, include the specific deliverables your influencers need to provide. That includes:
- How many posts they need to create
- What formats the posts should be (photo, video, or both)
- Whether they need to post on their main feeds or somewhere else (like Instagram Stories or Reels, for example)
In some cases, you may require your influencers to go live — that needs to be stated, too.
Include the deadlines for when deliverables should be posted. If there are multiple deliverables, tell your influencers when to post each one. A clear schedule helps your influencers stay on track and meet your expectations.
5. Content Do’s, Don’ts, and Examples
Provide clear direction in your influencer brief to guide them in creating their content. Without creative content guidelines, your influencers may feel lost and think, “Where do I start?” or “What should I even post?” But when they feel confident about what they’re posting, followers will likely find it more genuine and authentic.
Mention any specific creative requirements, like “the logo must be visible” or “the influencer must actively use the product on camera.” Consider including a mood board to give influencers an idea of what you want the campaign to look like. You can easily make one on Pinterest or Canva.
Provide more specific content guidelines with a list of dos and don’ts. For example, you might say: do show your face, and don’t display any other brands logos in the content.
Even if you’re giving your influencers creative freedom over what they post, provide an example or two for them. Examples show them exactly what type of content is acceptable, and as content creators, they can use those as a foundation for their own creativity.
6. Content Process Review
Most brands have their own content review process — a process where you look over the influencer’s content before they post it to make sure it adheres to your brand and its guidelines. If you do have a review process, make that clear to your influencers so they can factor it into their content planning.
Tell them what your review process entails. How long does it take for your internal team to review influencer content? What type of feedback are influencers likely to receive? If the content is not approved, what steps should the influencer take to adhere to deadlines? Answer these questions for your influencer so they know exactly what to expect.
7. Payment Process
Influencers expect to get paid on time for their services. Give them peace of mind by telling them how you handle influencer payments and when they’ll be paid. Be clear and up front about payments to ensure your influencers’ experience with your brand is a good one from start to finish, so they’re more inclined to work with you in the future.
In your influencer brief, include payment amount, the form of payment you send (check, direct deposit, Venmo, or another app), when you send it, and whether they need to provide any forms to receive payment from you. If you opt not to include payment process information in your brief, make a note that says you’ll send out a separate influencer contract with payment details. Let them know who they can reach out to if they have any trouble with the payment process.
Aspire’s Influencer Content Guidelines Template Can Help You Kickstart Your Next Campaign
Download Aspire’s content guidelines template to get started on your next influencer marketing campaign. The template includes all of the components we’ve gone over here and sets you up for success in your next campaign.
Check out Aspire to see how we can help you boost your brand through influencer marketing. If you’re ready to take things to the next level, request a demo today.