Written Agreements Vital for Successful Influencer Marketing

As influencer marketing grows in importance as a marketing strategy, more brands recognize the value of written agreements with social media influencers.

Contracts help ensure that the relationship benefits both the brand and influencer and help avoid future complications. Written agreements outline expectations on topics such as campaign schedules, content requirements, payments and usage rights.

In addition, agreements can describe how brands measure the effectiveness of influencer marketing. Measurement enables marketers to improve their influencer marketing programs, demonstrate its value to management and obtain increased funding. However, many marketers struggle to measure their influencer marketing efforts.

Meet FCC Disclosure Rules

Agreements also help marketers comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules that require influencers disclose when their posts are paid advertisements. While there may be some ambiguity about what constitutes adequate disclosure, FCC rules mandate that disclosures be clear, unambiguous and visible to all consumers. Proper disclosures are especially crucial since the FCC has signaled it may be preparing to crack down on social media marketers for posting misleading content and failing to include proper disclosures.

Hashtags like #Promotion, #Contest, #Sweepstakes, #Ad, #Spon, and #Sponsored can properly label sponsored content. However, to avoid legal complication, agreements between brands and influencers must be explicit on how to properly disclose sponsored posts, cautions Mediakix, an influencer marketing agency.

Mediakix also suggests agreements address topics such as creative control, image specifications, non-disparagement clauses, compensation details, scope of campaigns, and how brands track campaigns. For instance, an agreement might stipulate that the brand is to provide tracking links and coupons/promo codes for the influencer to incorporate into sponsored content.

Show Me the Metrics

Increasingly concerned about measuring the effectiveness and value of influencer marketing campaigns, more marketers, now require influencers to report metrics. Some agreements include the specific metrics the influencer must report.

“There is so much pressure and cost involved to develop relevant content. It is easy to be seduced by followers, views and ‘likes,” Ash Tailor, global brand and marketing director at Britvic, told Campaign. “The concern I have is ensuring transparency of tracking and data that adds true value to brand performance and growth. It’s hard for marketers to acquire all data to fully measure influencer impact.”

Vloggers say they are willing to share as much information as possible with advertisers and sponsors, although they might not have the verified data that marketers require.

“Whatever metric they want, I would give up. When I can tell you their shoe size, I’ll tell you their shoe size,” YouTube influencer Ben Phillips told Campaign.

An Influencer-Marketing Agreement Framework

ISBA, an advertising and marketing industry group in the UK, recently drafted an influencer contract framework in an effort to standardize relationships between brands and influencers, particularly video bloggers.

Law firm Lewis Silkin drafted the contract with input from Gleam Futures, the talent agency of Zoella,(Zoe Elizabeth Sugg) an English fashion blogger and YouTube influencer. Contract requirements in the U.S. may differ from those in the U.K.

Other Items to Include

Ruth Carter of the Carter Law Firm recommends that social media influencer agreements cover

• Rules for modifying the agreement.
• State law that governs the agreement.
• How to resolve any problems between the company and influencer.
• How the agreement can be terminated.

Bottom Line: Written agreements between sponsors and influencers can help improve influencer marketing campaigns. By outlining details for compensation, content, disclosure, measuring performance and other key issues, they prevent misunderstandings and benefit both brands and influencers.