6 Things Your Brand Influencer Agreement Might Be Missing

The Influencer market is a multi-billion dollar industry and will only continue to grow. Whether you’re an influencer or a business trying to partner with one, you MUST have a contract in place to govern the arrangement. A well-written agreement is just as much for you as it is for them.  

As with most partnerships, a brand influencer agreement contract will vary based on lots of factors including the promotional schedule, campaign goals and compensation.

I’ve drafted and negotiated several brand influencer agreements. These contracts establish the terms of an influencer’s participation in a company’s promotional campaign so both parties know what to expect every step of the way–like what to include in campaign posts, when payment will be issued, and more–while laying out the things influencers can and cannot do, keeping both parties legally protected.

Here are 6 things you need to make sure are covered in your contract:

1. Code of Conduct: This section will outline specific conduct standards an influencer is expected to follow during the duration of the campaign. This would cover things like the influencer’s use of offensive language, behavioral standards, use of inflated engagement tools on socials, and more.
2. Endorsement Disclosures: This section will require a brand influencer to comply with both the social platform’s paid partnership disclosure rules and the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Guidelines Concerning Endorsements and Testimonials. The burden will usually fall to the influencer to make sure they know and understand the law behind these disclosure requirements.
3. Statement of Work: This section will outline everything concerning the partnership’s deliverables including the posting schedule, length that content should remain on the influencer’s page, whether posts and content require pre-approval by company. This section also will usually cover payment and compensation, travel expenses, and campaign tracking. 
4. Communication: This section will lay out who the influencer’s main point of contact is at the company and the best method of reaching them for questions and things like content approval requests.
5. Intellectual Property Ownership + Usage: This is an important clause that will lay out whether the influencer or the company owns the intellectual property and content that the influencer creates in satisfaction of the partnership.  It should also cover whether either party can continue to use the content when the contract has expired. #2: Exclusivity: An exclusivity clause in your agreement should include whether you can enter into a partnership with another brand (often listed competitors) during the campaign period.
6. Partnership Exclusivity Clause: This is a clause in the contract that will specify whether the influencer can enter into any other agreements or partnerships with other brands or competitors during the duration of the agreement. It would also lay out the damages owed should the influencer violate this provision of the contract.

If all of this sounds like a lot… Well, that’s because it is. 

The legal stuff might not be the most fun part of running a thriving business, but it’s 100% necessary! 

I’ve taken my experience in working with brand influencers and created our Brand Influencer Agreement contract template to simplify this particular legal headache for your business. Hop on over to the shop and check it out!