Agreements are important for brands to leverage the power of digital creators. Are you planning to start working with a digital creator or are you already working with digital creators and wondering how and why you should draft an agreement? Then this article is for you.
Why do you need an agreement?
An Agreement can take many forms and does not necessarily have to be in writing. However, it’s usually recommended to sign a written Agreement with the digital creator before they start to work on a project. This will ensure that the structure of the relationship is defined and will protect both parties’ interests. The agreement is a good way to clarify the scope of work, compensation structure, and responsibilities of each party. The relationship being slightly less traditional, it is even more important to have a clear agreement ensuring that each party follows through on its obligations. We recommend having a legal professional review the agreement before it's signed, to ensure that it covers all the necessary legal aspects relevant to the relationship at hand.
Have different standard agreements ready!
Having multiple standard agreements for influencer partnerships is essential for the effective and efficient management of influencer marketing campaigns. Influencer marketing sometimes relies on viral content and the ability to quickly secure partnerships with influencers can make or break a campaign. Drafting an agreement can be time-consuming. Having pre-drafted templates for your agreements saves time and can help to streamline the negotiation process, leading to more successful partnerships with influencers. It also allows for flexibility in offering different types of partnerships tailored to the agreement lengths and different influencer profiles. This will help your brand to reach a wider range of audiences.
Fair agreements
Influencer marketing is an effective way to build trust and credibility with consumers by partnering with influencers. Fair and equitable treatment of all influencers, regardless of their follower count, helps build strong relationships. By creating fair agreements, the brand establishes a sense of trust with the influencer, and ultimately, with the influencer's audience. This includes fair compensation for the influencers’ services.
It's important to note that all influencers, regardless of their follower count, have the potential to influence their audience, and therefore brands should not value them differently just based on their follower count. Treating all influencers fairly and equitably will help to build strong, long-term relationships and will be beneficial for both the brand and the influencer. Micro-influencers with smaller, engaged audiences can also be effective in promoting a brand. Clear, fair agreements that focus on audience quality and engagement ensure mutual benefit for both the brand and the influencer.
Influencer Marketing
Another important point to consider when working with influencers is compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. As influencer marketing becomes more popular, laws and regulations have been put in place to protect consumers from misleading or deceptive advertising.
Misleading or deceptive advertising may affect the brand in a negative way. Brands have the opportunity to inform and guide the influencers on best practices when it comes to influencer marketing. This will both have a positive effect on the quality of the marketing and lower the risk that the influencer makes any false or misleading claims regarding your brand or your products. Developing a comprehensive and sound approval process before the content is posted on social media can lower the risk of infringing applicable laws and regulations.
Parts of agreement
When drafting an agreement with an influencer, several key components should be included to ensure that the partnership is framed correctly.An agreement between a brand and an influencer should include standard contractual terms. On top of that, it may be relevant to address topics such as the scope of the partnership, compensation and payments terms, tax and social costs responsibilities, the duration of the partnership, obligations, and expectations, content approval process, value alignment, intellectual property, and confidentiality and non-disclosure terms.
