Key to a great collaboration with influencers is a well-prepared brief. Many marketers underestimate the role of a good brief in the success of their promotion. While this is your tool to achieve results, it's not the influencer who cares about what's important to communicate about the product and know it perfectly. Let's talk about the main steps to create the perfect brief.
Step 1: Understand your goals
Before creating a brief for influencers, try to understand what you want to get from this promotion.
What are your KPIs and how are you going to measure them?
This leads to two points that we need to add to the brief:
Call to action that influencers have to pronounce. Without directly encouraging viewers to complete a very specific action, don't expect to get results. It might sound too promotional while everyone's talking about the organic nature of this type of marketing, but consider that you'll have close to zero results for investments if you don't have a CTA that matches your goal.
Tracking of results. It makes sense to think about it in advance - how will you measure whether this integration worked? You can do it through a UTM code or a unique promo code. Don’t forget to add this to the brief.
What message do you want the audience to understand?
This is also called 'message takeaway'. Basically, it's what the audience has to remember after watching your ad. It has to be simple and easy to understand. Can you say it in up to 10 words?
For example:
"Videogame N is perfect to play with friends".
"Chair X correctly support the spine".
You will later develop that message to answer questions on why it's better than other solutions, how much it costs, or why I need this at all.
Which format can help me deliver the message and achieve the results?
There are many formats of collaborations that are also different depending on social media platforms. The main of them are:
- Dedicated post, video or stream — this may be the best option when you need to explain in detail how it works or what kind of problem it solves.
- Integration into a post or video — when an influencer makes their video as usual but organically incorporates the usage of the product into the content.
- Sponsored integration into long-form content — a popular format for videos on YouTube or newsletters.
- Banner placement — especially useful on Twitch where a streamer can add to a profile a banner with information and a link.
Choose which format or mix of formats works best for you.
Step 2: Translate to influencer language
Now let's start drafting a brief for an influencer. Yes, they understand clearly that you are pursuing your business goals but avoid delving too deeply into details. Provide context and explain your expectations, yet leave room for them to be creative and convey the message in their unique way - this is why you're hiring them, to produce content that appeals to their audience.
- Intro:
In one sentence, introduce who you are (your brand or product) and what you're doing. - Message to Deliver in This Campaign:
Begin with the sentence we defined earlier and add 1-2 paragraphs to elaborate further on what it entails. If your product is more complex and there's much to convey, still focus on one primary message and include as bullet points the additional aspects influencers should mention. Don't create an essay; allow influencers the freedom to phrase it in their way. - Call to Action:
Provide the phrase, link, or promo code to be used. - Format of Promotion.
- Do's and Don'ts:
Here, you can detail more of your expectations. Again, keep it short and simple. - Details on Delivery:
Timing, expected stages of approval, etc.
Step 3: Provide Additional Materials and Access to the Product
Now it's time to add more. Here is what to include:
- Link to brand assets (logo, images, banners, colors) and guides on how to use them.
- The product itself (link or a way to get it) — it will be much better if you give the influencer the opportunity to try the product and share their own testimonials.
- Link to detailed product descriptions, presentations, or manuals. Yes, you should provide many detailed pieces of information as well, but as optional materials for further study.
- Good examples of previous promotions you've conducted. If it's your first campaign, you can also provide examples of how this or another influencer promoted another product. Be sure to add comments on what you liked in those examples.
Step 4: Make it pretty!
It's your product pitch, the same as when you present your product to potential investors, partners, or other stakeholders, do it for influencers. They are also one of your audiences.
Simple files with text can also work. However, spending an additional 20-30 minutes will help to build a better emotional connection with the person who is going to translate your idea to thousands of people.
Here are a few ways to enhance the appearance of your brief:
- Use Canva: a favourite design tool for non-designers.
- Create a presentation with Pitch: a tool that helps in creating engaging presentations.
- Use Figma: if you're a bit more hands-on in design, you can make slides and export them as PDFs.
- Make a Notion page: embed images and videos and link all extra materials on additional pages.
- Use a brand presentation template. If you're working in a larger company, your designers might already have made ready-to-use examples of slides.
Step 5: Stay in touch with an influencer
The brief is only one of the touchpoints with the influencer. Build expectations of what you need from the promotion through the entire process of communication. And don't forget to agree on deadlines and the number of revisions that will be comfortable for both sides.
If you need help, don't hesitate to reach out to TrapPlan — we will help you not only find the right influencers and manage negotiations but also translate your expectations into a brief that will lead to great results!
