An influencer does more than to posting sponsored ads. They have a bigger role in amplifying brand awareness and improving customer conversions. An influencer has established authority in their niche. They have huge followers who trust their opinions or suggestions. Brands use this authority to reach the influencer’s followers. The purpose is to build brand awareness, enhance engagement, and improve visibility. To protect the influencer’s interests, an influencer marketing contract is required. The brand benefits more from influencers.
Table of Contents
- 1 Influencer Contract Templates
- 2 What is an influencer marketing contract?
- 3 Influencer Agreement Templates
- 4 What should an influencer contract include?
- 4.1 Business and influencer details
- 4.2 Contract details
- 4.3 Duration of the contract
- 4.4 Payment
- 4.5 Payment terms
- 4.6 Detailed briefing of the marketing content to be used
- 4.7 Campaign approval procedures
- 4.8 Content rights
- 4.9 Content dates
- 4.10 Guidelines for disclosures
- 4.11 Brand influencer contract termination
- 5 Social Media Influencer Contracts
- 6 How do you write an influencer contract?
- 7 Influencer Marketing Contracts
- 8 How to choose a social media influencer
Influencer Contract Templates
What is an influencer marketing contract?
Due to competition, business owners need to create a wide range of strategies to improve brand awareness. One of the strategies is influencer marketing. Influencer marketers use their established authority in their niche to help the business increase brand awareness.
The business owner agrees with the influencer on time they will promote the brand and the pay they will receive. They need to sign an influencer marketing contract before they begin their contract.
It is an agreement between a business and an influencer where the influencer helps broaden the business marketing campaigns. Brand influencers can be celebrities, video bloggers, or social talent bloggers.
Influencer Agreement Templates
What should an influencer contract include?
The business owner should create an influencer agreement template and ensure it includes every important detail. The contract should include everything that safeguards the interests of the business.
The business person should also consider the interests of the influencer. The two parties should agree on the information to include in the influencer agreement template to avoid disagreements. An influencer contract should include the following.
Business and influencer details
This is an important part when preparing an influencer agreement template. This part should provide details of the influencer and the business they are helping to increase awareness. Avoid taking too many details about the influencer. Their basic information is enough. The influencer agreement template should have the following details.
Business details
- Name of the company as it appears in the registration certificate
- Address of the company – write both the postal and email address.
- Telephone contact
Influencer details
- Name of the influencer
- Address – emails and postal
- Telephone contact
Contract details
The contract detail part is one of the most important parts of a brand influencer contract. It provides the details of the contract and responsibilities of both the business owner and the influencer. The section should include the following.
Duration of the contract
The influencer could be more productive over time, but it is important to have a specific timeframe. Fixing contract time gives the business person the opportunity to check the return on investment and decide if they will engage the influencer for another period or not.
Consider whether you want a one-off campaign or you want to engage the influencer for a longer period. Regardless of the period, the contract duration should have the following.
- Start date of the campaign
- End date of the campaign
Payment
Payment might be the part the influencer will put more focus on. To ensure the interests of both parties are considered, engage in sincere negotiations. Most influencers will do better campaigns if they are paid well.
The general rule is to pay an influencer for their content and not the endorsements they make. The more established influencers have bigger expectations than the less established ones.
Payment terms
Most influencers will expect an upfront deposit. On the other hand, the business person should ensure they have a safe payment structure. They do not pay the influencer too much before they’ve any return. The business person should design a payment structure that provides the terms and how the influencer will receive the balance. No payments should be made before the brand-influencer contract is signed.
Detailed briefing of the marketing content to be used
The business person should not leave the influencer to decide on the content to use for marketing campaigns. The management should take responsibility for creating content that will benefit the business.
For each content to be posted, there should be a briefing session. The session will help the influencer know what the business owner expects. Explain to the influencer the goal of the campaign, why you chose the content, and how you want the campaign done.
The influencer campaigns should not conflict with the other campaigns by the marketing team. Inform them when the campaigns should start and when they should end to give room for the next campaign.
Campaign approval procedures
Influencers are different and may be good in specific niches. Before you hire one, make sure you screen them first. You must be sure the influencer you are hiring will meet your needs. That means the audience they have must be the audience the business managers are looking for.
Let the influencer know the approval procedure your company has in place. Before they post, you should be certain they are posting the right content. Let the influencer know the part they should play and the disclosure agreements of the company.
Content rights
The business owner should retain all the rights to any type of content the influencer creates. The business should have the right to modify it if they feel it will work better to meet the campaign goals. Other rights should be the right of the company to the following:
- The influencer’s name
- Their photo
- Business logo anytime they want to connect the work created
- The rights duration. This is how long the company will hold these rights.
Content dates
Content dates mean the dates within which each type of content must be available online. If the business owner is engaging the influencer for a longer period, they will keep changing the content to make it more effective. The influencer should have the timelines for each content and the goals/expectations for each.
Guidelines for disclosures
Part of the brand-influencer contract should include non-disclosure agreement guidelines and regulations. The rules should align with the guidelines of the state or country where the content will be posted.
If the jurisdiction marks the content as inappropriate or illegal, that will be a breach of law which can make the company suffer penalties. In most cases, mutual trust between the two parties is what is required.
Brand influencer contract termination
Sometimes the influencer may make wrong decisions when promoting the brand. The decision might impact the company negatively. The business owner must have ways to manage the influencer effectively to ensure they are posting the right things.
A time might come when the contract must be terminated before time. There must be guidelines on how to terminate the contract. These guidelines affect both parties throughout the contract period.
Social Media Influencer Contracts
How do you write an influencer contract?
- Names of the parties
Start by downloading a professionally designed influencer agreement template. The first part should give detail on who the client is and who the influencer is. Provide the date when the contract was entered into.
Both parties should sign and write the date they signed the contract. By signing, it means both parties have agreed to be bound by the terms of the contract.
- Contract details and payment
The next step in the social media influencer contract should provide details of the contract and payment. It should cover the following details.
- The project:State the project and why you are hiring the influencer. You must be specific on the project the influencer will be engaged in. If they will engage in social media campaigns, be specific and state social media. Some contracts will go further to state the specific social media platform.
- Work schedule:Give details on how the work will be done. That is, give the date when the campaigns will start. Further, give a breakdown of how the posts will be done and the timing. You might want the campaigns to start at a specific time each day. It depends on when your target audience is most active on social media.
- Provide payment details: The payment can be done using per hour rate or as agreed. You may also give details on how the payments will be made. It could be daily, weekly, or at the end of the contract. It depends on how you agree with the influencer.
- Provide details on how the expenses will be covered: There will be expenses the influencer will incur during the campaign. The business owner must agree with them on how they will recover them. They can be reimbursed after the campaign period. The influencer should not spend before the business owner approves. It helps to keep the budget under control.
- Invoices: The influencer will provide invoices as per the agreed schedule. If they agree payments will be made after every week, the influencer should ensure they send an invoice weekly.
- Rights and licenses: This part provides the following details
- Rightsholder: The client should hold all the rights to the campaign content
- Content use: Provide details on how the content will be used
- Licenses: These are rights to the licenses. State who will provide the licenses if needed.
- Access to the company system: If the influencer will need to access the company system/website, provide guidelines for access due to security reasons.
- Liabilities and contract cancellation: Recently, US Federal Trade Commission passed a guideline that requires influencers to state in their campaign posts whether they are receiving compensation for the posts or not.
According to the guidelines, both the client and influencer will be liable for penalties if the influencer fails to state whether they are benefiting. The business owner should be careful to state that the influencer will play their part responsibly. If they fail, they will take full liabilities.
- Cancellation procedures
The final part is to provide social media influencer contract cancellation procedures. If there is a need to cancel the contract before maturity, state how it shall be done. Reasons that may necessitate cancellation can be as follows:
- Failure by the influencer to meet instructions
- When an agreement deems to likely damage the image of the company
- Either party breaking the contract out of malice
- Unavoidable circumstances could lead to contract cancelation.
Influencer Marketing Contracts
The business person must take the time to choose an influencer. They will be working for the company during the duration of the contract. That means they will be carrying the business image. If the influencer is not reputable online or in society, they may damage the business image.
Every influencer is experienced in a specific business field. The process of hiring an influencer is like hiring a worker for the company. They must meet all the qualities desirable by the management. When choosing a social media influencer, consider the following qualities.
- Describe your marketing objectives
The influencer you hire should be able to meet your marketing campaign objectives. You should first outline your marketing goals and let them guide you in deciding the type of influencer you want.
Describe the marketing campaign you are targeting
There are different types of marketing campaigns as follows.
- Improvement of brand awareness
- Increasing your list of followers
- Promoting a specific product
- Promoting sales campaigns
Depending on the type of marketing campaign you are targeting, choose an influencer who will help you meet that need.
- The market niche you want to target
There are different types of market niches that you can target to promote your brand/products. It can be divided in terms of demographics or class. Your influencer will be more productive if they fall within the demographics you are targeting. They will help you get potential leads.
- Check the influencer’s influence
Some influencers might have a large following but fail to have influence. What makes them have influence is the authority they have in their niche. Evaluate to help you know the level of influence they have. Influence goes hand in hand with reputation. If they are reputable, they will have influence. Their audiences will consider the posts they make and take action.
- Consider your industry
Some influencers will do well in the sports industry, while others will be good in the fashion industry. The best thing is to consider your industry and get an influencer who will be effective in it. The main aim of hiring an influencer is to help the business make more revenue, and this should be the bottom line when searching for one.
