Briefing Creators: A Crash Course with Examples

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By the end of 2022, nearly 80% of marketers are expected to be using influencer marketing as a tactic, up 14% from only two years earlier. Many new participants will skip some of the critical measures that build winning campaigns because they are anxious to cash in using internet creators.

It’s one thing to find creators and integrate them into your social media strategy. Many marketers have to learn the hard way how to keep them organized and on the right track.

The greatest method to ensure your creative’ success is to provide them with campaign briefs. We’ll show you all you need to know about establishing clear briefs in this blog, including links to our influencer brief samples and templates, so you can stay ahead of the competition and get the most out of your influencer collaborations.

Campaign briefs for my creators

Campaign briefs for influencers are your road map to a successful campaign. They establish clear standards and expectations for both the brand and the creator, so everyone knows what to anticipate and when to expect it. When corporations don’t convey what they require, influencer marketing efforts go awry because influencers are left to figure it out on their own.

Simply said, campaign briefs ensure that everyone on your influencer marketing team is working toward the same campaign goals.

How does an influencer campaign brief look

Briefings for campaigns should be straightforward and to the point. Your creators must be aware of what they must deliver and what they will receive in return without becoming overwhelmed by data. Give them the essentials, but keep the lines of communication open if you need to adjust your strategy.

The following should be included in an influencer campaign brief:

  • Campaign overview. Include the campaign’s name, budget, launch dates, and campaign kind (evergreen, seasonal, etc.). Leave a few lines for a few phrases explaining the campaign’s major objectives.
  • Compensation. Will you compensate your influencers with cash, commissions, products, or a combination of the three? Include all payment details and product delivery information, as well as any discount codes or affiliate links utilized in the campaign.
  • Campaign tasks. Let your creators know what you need them to post. Include the channel you want them to post on, any hashtags to use, and a broad description of what you expect from the post. 
  • Brand assets. Include any branding needed to complete the task, i.e., inspiration posts, important product messaging, or photos of successful post collaborations.
  • Content Rights. To indicate how you will repurpose the content provided for this campaign, draft content rights. It should include, but not be limited to, where the content will be repurposed and how long the brand will own the creator’s property. In a separate document, attach this information to the brief.

Popular influencer campaign types

Giveaway

You can use these campaigns to promote a product giveaway among your target audience by leveraging your creators.

The following are some of the advantages of giveaway campaigns:

  • High engagement. Audiences have a compelling reason to interact with the brand online, allowing it to accumulate likes, shares, comments, and tags on branded content. 
  • Predictable Budgets. Influencer compensation and the cost of the products or services included in the giveaway are the only costs that brands must account for.
  • Platform Independence. Brands can use the same campaign to promote themselves across all social media platforms.


Make sure you do the following before launching your giveaway campaign:

  • Make your contest entry rules clear and explain how you’ll choose the winners.
  • Choose a prize that will pique the interest of your target audience.
  • To make sure your campaign doesn’t violate any guidelines, check with local legislation and social media platform rules.

Gifting and unboxing

Your creators unwrap a bundle of things you’ve sent them in gifting and unpacking campaigns. The creator describes what’s inside the present as they “unbox” it for their audience.

The following are some of the advantages of gifting and unpacking campaigns:

  • Developing relationships with creators. Your creators will feel valued and appreciated if you send them complimentary stuff.
  • There’s an element of surprise here. Brands should stuff the boxes with interesting items while keeping the specifications hidden from the creator. As a result, creators and their audiences are able to discover the contents together and give honest feedback on the items.
  • Feedback on the product. Creator postings can help you measure how people are reacting to your product and get useful feedback.
  • The hype of the Product. Giving producers early access to products helps spread the news about a forthcoming release and gets audiences enthusiastic.
  • Tutorials. After unboxing a product, creators should demonstrate how to use it so that their audience knows how to utilize it when they’re ready to buy one.

Community building

Community-building campaigns require a network of micro-influencers that meet your buyer persona. With a creator community, brands can target specific audiences like niche groups, people located in particular regions, or communities with shared, firmly held values. 

Benefits of community building campaigns include:

  • Cost-effective. Micro-influencers are often less expensive to hire than larger influencers, but they frequently create higher engagement rates among a more targeted audience.
  • Co-authored content. Co-authored content is simple to create with creator communities. In addition, encouraging collaborations fosters friendships and creates a tighter-knit creator community.
  • Strong Consumer Ties. If your creators feel like they’re part of a true community, so will their viewers. Consumers will have a stronger sense of brand connection and trust as a result of this sense of community.

The life cycle of a creator campaign

Define and create your campaign

Determine the campaign’s goals, objectives, and key performance indicators (KPIs). This ensures that you and your marketing team and creators are on the same page and that everyone understands their roles. Plus, the only way to know for sure if your campaign was successful and worth repeating is to compare results to your goals and objectives.

Identify and recruit influencers 

Because not all creators are suitable for your campaign, be selective in your selection. Ensure that the creators involved in your campaign share your brand’s vision and values are active on social media, and communicate well with the campaign manager.

Launch campaign

It’s time to let the appropriate creator work their marketing magic after you’ve chosen the proper ones to help you achieve your campaign goals. Make sure your creators have clear instructions on deliverables and campaign expectations, but also give them enough creative leeway to do what they do best.

Evaluate results

Allow at least 3-5 weeks for your campaign to run before comparing results to your initial targets and evaluating the success of each creative. This can assist you to determine whether you need to rethink your campaign strategy or if any of your creators are just not meeting your expectations.

Invest in winners

After a campaign, you don’t have to keep all of your creators on board. It’s actually preferable if you don’t. Consider forming long-term connections with your top performers. Explain your explanation to any influencers you let go, and tell them what they can do to better if future collaboration possibilities emerge.

Keeping influencer campaigns fresh

Be in it for the long haul

Shared values and styles are essential for long-term influencer partnerships. The amount of time you devote to such relationships has an impact on the success of your creator’s efforts. But, more crucially, they have an impact on the content’s legitimacy. Remember, you’re creating a community of creators that are intimately familiar with your brand’s story and can effectively communicate it to their audience. The more time you spend together, the more successful you will be.

Let the creativity flow

Your influencers are social media professionals who know how to communicate with their followers. Instead of imposing rigid limitations on your campaigns that may limit their creativity, provide suggestions for pictures and styles that have worked well for your company. Your creative will execute if they understand the campaign goals and have a sense of what has worked in the past.

Always be evaluating

After you’ve finished your campaigns, evaluate what worked and what didn’t. Pay attention to the colors, styles, and calls to action that appeal to the most people. Determine which influencers worked well in terms of content, engagement, revenue, and so on, so that they may provide feedback on future initiatives. Inquiring into what your influencers want from the next campaign generates new ideas and strengthens ties.

Make it an event

Your campaigns should incorporate a variety of media (picture, video, audio, reviews, etc.) and allow audiences to interact with your brand and artists in different ways. The more opportunities you provide an audience to get to know you, from sponsoring a contest to producing a live stream event with an influencer, the more impactful your message will be.

Shake up your content game

Experiment with multiple platforms or mediums to go out of your comfort zone. Try live streams, blogs, or Stories if you primarily publish images. Try TikTok if you’re exclusively on Instagram. Using new social networks gives you access to a wider range of influencers and can help you reuse some good, authentic content.

The influencer takeover

Takeover campaigns are a great approach to get your influencers’ audiences excited. These campaigns are a terrific way to introduce new products, spread essential information, or simply “shake things up” with your influencer content.

Automate whenever possible

You’ll eventually require automation software to free up time for your team as your influencer marketing program grows. You can set your tracking and deliverables, send goods to creators, track conversions, and measure campaign success all with the push of a button with the proper software. With automation in place, your staff can spend less time on mundane tasks and more time on creating relationships and achieving long-term objectives.

Conclusion

To generate successful influencer marketing campaigns, brands must set their creators up for success. Creator briefs help achieve this by laying out clear deliverables and expectations that keep everyone on track throughout the engagement. Briefs will not only help you crush your next project, but they will also demonstrate to your finest creators that your company has what it takes to become long-term partners.