How To Write A Content Brief That Attracts And Excites Influencers

When you’re working with influencers, clear communication about your goals and expectations is key to a successful partnership. The starting point for that success is your content brief. 

A content brief details the ins and outs of your influencer campaign: the instructions, creative direction, and deliverables you’re looking for from the influencer(s) you choose to work with. It also functions as a sales pitch, grabbing the attention of creators and conveying why they should want to work with you. 

On top of all that, it should be concise so as not to overwhelm your influencer partners. Easy peasy, right? Well, some things are easier said than done. 

To attract authentic, creative influencers and make your campaigns with them run as smoothly as possible, follow these tips for writing winning content briefs. 

1. Set clear goals

Without predetermined goals, your influencer campaign won’t amount to much more than a set of pretty photos. Before any money changes hands, get clear on the key message you want your influencer posts to convey, the call to action that will be used, and the tangible return you’re hoping to achieve from your investment (impressions, clicks, purchases, sign-ups, etc.). 

These goals are meant as a guide for you and don’t necessarily need to be included in the brief, but they’ll inform many of the details in the brief like the format you’re looking for (still photos? videos?) and the tone the posts will take. Even if you don’t share explicit KPIs in your content brief, it can be helpful to give your influencers an idea of what you’re hoping to achieve--like spreading the word about your summer collection, gathering beta testers for your app, and so on. 

We talk more about setting influencer campaign objectives in this post. 

2. Use an inverted pyramid

Inverted pyramid is a style of writing most commonly associated with newspaper articles. It places the most important information at the top--i.e. the biggest part of the pyramid--and drills down to smaller, more granular details as the piece goes on. The idea behind this format is that readers have limited attention spans, so you want to be sure the most important information comes across right away.

Take advantage of the inverted pyramid format for your content brief, leading with the need-to-know details like the campaign concept and the type of influencers you’re looking for. This will help you weed out candidates who aren’t a good fit right off the bat while reserving the more nuanced details like your company background for later on in the document. 

3. Provide inspiration

Chances are you have a picture in your mind of the look and feel of your ideal influencer campaign. Don’t make your creators guess what this looks like--show them!

Provide inspiration images that convey what you like and, perhaps more importantly, what you don’t like. A Pinterest board can be helpful for gathering  and sharing inspiration on colors, setting, photography style, lighting, language and more. 

Again, this contributes to the clear communication we talked about earlier and greatly increases the chances that you’ll get the kind of content you’re looking for from your campaign. 

4. Don’t box them in

While a little inspiration is good, too much direction can be stifling to creators. That’s exactly what you don’t want. Remember, the value of the influencers you’re working with lies in the trust they’ve built with their audience, and they’ve done that by using their unique, authentic voice. 

Once you’ve selected your pool of influencers and armed them with the information and inspiration they need, put your trust in them to use their voice to positively communicate your message. Don’t be afraid to check in with your influencers as the campaign rolls out to answer questions or provide additional direction if they need it.

5. Hit the key points

Before you send your content brief out into the world, check that you’ve covered all the bases by hitting on these key points:

• The overarching goal of the campaign
• The call to action they’ll be promoting
• The criteria you’re looking for from influencers (number of followers, niche, etc.)
• Campaign deliverables and deadlines
• Creative inspiration 
• Company background and relevant product details

If you’ve included all of the above, you’re in good shape to get your campaign off to a great start. 

Are you new to influencer marketing and looking for some guidance on how to incorporate it into your overall marketing strategy? Not getting the returns you’d hoped for from your current influencer efforts? Let’s talk. Browse our services or schedule your free marketing consultation with our team of eCommerce experts by clicking here.