Everything You Need to Know about Influencer Agreements
What should be included in your influencer agreement? Get a free template.
Table of Contents
- Why Do I Need an Influencer Agreement?
- When Should We Create an Influencer Agreement?
- What Is the Difference Between an Agreement and an Influencer Brief?
- How Do We Send and Sign Agreements?
- Influencer Contract Checklist Sample
Collaborating with an influencer is like any other business partnership. It requires planning and cooperation from both sides. Influencer agreements are a great way to navigate professional relationships, be it a one-time collaboration or an ongoing partnership.
With the growth of influencer marketing, agreements have become an essential part of healthy influencer relationships. An agreement, or contract, outlines the legal and regulatory framework of your influencer marketing relationship, ensuring that no stone goes unturned and both parties feel confident they will get the most out of the relationship.
Not sure what to put in an influencer agreement? We’ve got you covered with an influencer contract template. Scroll to download, or keep reading to learn more about how to create your own influencer management contract template.
Why Do I Need an Influencer Agreement?
The real question should be, why don’t you need one? An influencer agreement will set up the terms of the relationship between a brand and a social media influencer.
A social media influencer contract is vital for all types of influencer marketing, whether you’re working with micro influencers, mega influencers, celebrities, or someone in between.
Additionally, the FTC has created stricter guidelines for influencer advertisements on social media. Your agreement can ensure that your influencers properly disclose sponsored content, keeping your brand FTC-compliant.
Influencers are brand ambassadors who should be approached the same way you approach freelancers (e.g., copywriters, social media experts, or graphic designers). You need a legal framework so all parties are protected. Providing full disclosure upfront will ensure there are no surprises for you or the content creator later.
How Influencer Agreements Help Brands
- They detail each obligation of the brand and the influencer.
- They list all required influencer marketing deliverables.
- They establish an overview of the project, including social media channels (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, etc.), submission dates, promotion timeline, and duration.
- They clearly state compensation, payment methods, and procedures to invoice.
- They address potential reasons for contract termination (such as not meeting performance requirements or not adhering to a morality clause).
- They establish the exclusivity of the content and whether it can be repurposed.
- They outline the content review and approval process before it goes live.
- They ensure FTC compliance.
- They express any confidentiality provisions.
Some brands choose to have different influencer marketing contracts for different platforms. For example, you might have a separate TikTok influencer contract template and Instagram influencer contractor template. It’s not necessary, but it can be helpful to tailor the language based on the specifics of the relationship.
When Should We Create an Influencer Marketing Agreement?
Your influencer agreement template will govern the entirety of your relationship, so it should be signed before any content is created or distributed. This will give you full control over the ability to approve content before it goes live. It also lets you set content approval and feedback requirements, so you’re in full control.
Such guidelines will protect the integrity of your brand and make you the key decision maker for all campaign content. Influencer campaigns are meant to support brand goals, and your agreement will keep everything on track.
Plus, once you create an influencer contract template, you can use it for all of your influencer marketing. Do it once and keep getting value from your efforts!
Klear makes sending your social media influencer agreement and protecting proprietary information easy. Quickly learn how to approach influencers by email, find your best-fit influencers, and build a relationship for a campaign or a long-term partnership.
What Is the Difference Between an Agreement and an Influencer Brief?
An influencer agreement sets up the legal framework of your relationship, while an influencer brief sets up the creative framework for your relationship.
When you collaborate with influencers, you have certain expectations and content requirements. It’s easier to communicate these requirements when they’re all outlined for the content creator to refer back to.
Influencer briefs are a detailed outline of campaign and output expectations. Briefs often include mood boards, content examples, info about your target audience, the social media accounts you’re using, do’s and don’ts, and additional references that offer inspiration. This document helps influencers understand the goals of a campaign and provides enough information so that they can create the best content.
For example, you can use your influencer brief to specify KPIs and other details that might be specific to each platform. A YouTuber will have vastly different goals compared to Facebook. Vloggers and bloggers create different types of influencer content.
You can learn more about influencer briefs and get a free template here.
How Do We Send and Sign Contracts?
It’s not uncommon that brands and social media influencers are not located in the same city, and sometimes they’re from different countries. So, how are contracts signed in such circumstances?
Most influencer agreements rely on e-signatures. There are several services that support e-signing, including DocuSign and Adobe Sign.
Some influencer marketing tools, including Klear, let you send and sign contracts directly within the platform. Klear’s in-app communication portal lets you seamlessly manage influencer relationships down to every detail, like signing agreements, pre-approval of content, and processing payments.
Influencer Contract Checklist Sample
You should always consult your legal department before you finalize and share your influencer contract checklist. This is a valid legal document, so you want to make it as airtight as possible. Legal professionals can help you navigate any tricky influencer contract terms and conditions and avoid loopholes.
A standard influencer agreement should include the following:
- Names & Date
- Purpose of Agreement
- Timeline
- Campaign Deliverables
- Payment Terms
- Content Exclusivity
- Regulations & Compliance
- Non-Competition Clause and Confidentiality
- Morality Clause
- Cancellation Clause
- Signatures
Klear can help you create and send agreements and briefs, along with helping you manage every aspect of the content creation process. Create TikTok campaigns with Klear, develop pre-production and post-production workflows, store your influencer agreement checklist, and manage every influencer marketing campaign, all from a single source.
Ready to move to the next stage of your influencer campaign, but first need to send your partners an agreement? Get your FREE influencer contract template!