# The Influencer Brief: Crafting Creative Briefs That Get Great Content A brief informs without dictating, giving creators the guardrails to do their best work for your brand. Eight practitioners share what a great brief looks like. ## Key Takeaways: - **A brief informs, it never scripts:** give creators your brand story, product details, and objectives, then let them create in their own voice. - **Include ten essentials:** objectives, brand guidelines, product details, audience insights, key messages, content requirements, visual direction, timeline, deliverables, and a contact. - **Align on core messages and non-negotiables upfront** to cut revision rounds and compliance issues later. ## Creative Brief 101 9 tactical lessons from this chapter's experts, one click from the full video. ### Creative Brief 101 by Lissa Regets What is a creative brief? Lissa Regets shares the outcome-specific format that gets brands past mediocre first-attempt creator content. ### Creative Brief 101 by Maurice Rahmey Creative brief format flip: Disruptive Digital's Maurice Rahmey on why brands should write, direct, and edit while creators focus on delivery. ### Creative Brief 101 by Molly Savage Creative brief advertising tactics: Boba Bam's Molly Savage on bundling multiple campaigns upfront to save budget and lock long-term creators. ### Creative Brief 101 by Mike Newton Creative brief samples that learn from mistakes: Mike Newton on the brief versioning approach that catches loopholes you never saw coming. ### Creative Brief 101 by Lydia Lee Creative brief templates that prevent reshoots: Lydia Lee on the 4 messaging questions (what, why, how, where) every paid creator brief must answer. ### Creative Brief 101 by Korina Sanchez Creative brief sample from Chomps: Korina Sanchez on the 2-section template (brand overview + dos/don'ts) and her no-pets-on-screen rule. ### Creative Brief 101 by Delaney Henson Creative brief examples from Oura: Delaney Henson on the 3-tier brief (dos/don'ts, brand usage, thought starters) that replaces the script entirely. ### Creative Brief 101 by Bren Daniel Creative brief example from Caraway: Bren Daniel on hyper-specific don'ts (no pans in the dishwasher) and accepting creators don't read briefs. ### Creative Brief 101 by Ali Appelbaum Creative brief template fundamentals: Ali Appelbaum on the deliverables outline, dos/don'ts, and mood board structure that keeps content on-brand. Social media creators are experts at engaging and connecting with their audiences. They know what content resonates, and when and how to deliver messages for maximum engagement. Creators don’t necessarily know YOUR business, however. As brand managers and influencer marketers, we help creators understand our brand, our products, and our business. When we marry the three together effectively, magical things happen! This is where creative briefs come into the picture. While your early conversations with influencers will add a lot of context, sharing detailed guidance in a creative brief will really set your partnership up for success. > “This is your opportunity to communicate to the creator what you would like to see and then let them do their own thing.” > \- Bren Daniel, Associate Director of Partnerships at Caraway. ### What is a creative brief for influencers? A creative brief is a document that provides detailed guidance to help creators understand your brand, products, and campaign or program objectives. A solid brief sets up a partnership for success by communicating clearly what you would like to see in their content, while also allowing room for the influencer's creativity and understanding of their audience to shine through: > “There is a fine line between scripting your partners and no direction at all. The benefit to working with influencers is their inherent organic nature, that the content feels perfectly positioned within their existing content. We don’t want to force narratives.” > Lily Comba, CEO at Superbloom ### An influencer creative brief should include: #### Clear campaign objectives What do you want to achieve with this campaign? Whether it’s raising brand awareness, driving sales, or promoting a new product, stating what success looks like in your creative brief will set the tone for the entire collaboration. #### Brand story and guidelines Every brand has a story and a list of “brand safe” guidelines. Give them a glimpse into your founder’s story, history, values, and mission, and highlight what makes your brand unique in your category. Also share any important guidelines or facts that must be accurate in copy or speech, and content “do’s” and “don’ts” upfront. #### Product details If you plan on promoting a product or set of products, tell your creators as much about the product as you can. Most likely, you will have gifted the product to the influencer so they can develop their own testimonial, but it’s a good idea to recap all of the key information, such as: - **Relevant ingredients** - **Customer testimonials** - **Key USPs (unique selling points)** - **Materials** - **Pricing** - **Where to buy it** - **How to buy it** ### Audience insights Creators know their audience well, but they may not know yours. It’s best practice to provide insights into your brand’s target audience, including demographics, interests, and behaviors—and if you want to go one step further, into the feelings: their dreams, struggles, and what excites and motivates them. ### Key messages and themes You should always align on the core brand messages that you want to convey via an influencer’s creative. These should tie in your campaign objectives and reflect your brand’s values. ### Content guidelines and requirements While it’s important to give influencers creative freedom, providing clear guidelines ensures consistency and alignment with your brand, and avoids needing to re-shoot content to fix problems. ### Visual and aesthetic direction Influencers are visual storytellers; providing visual guidelines helps them to create content that aligns with your brand’s look and feel. Share examples of existing brand and influencer content and any specific visual elements you want to incorporate. ### Timeline and Deliverables A well-planned timeline allows influencers to schedule their work effectively, avoiding last-minute rushes. Specify all your key dates, such as the content creation deadline, review periods, and the go-live date. ### Contact Information and Support Finally, provide contact information for the primary point of contact. Encourage open communication and make it clear you’re available to answer questions and provide support. ## Additional considerations when writing your creative brief > “Be intentional. Personalize your creative brief for each paid creator partner you’re working with and ensure the direction you’re suggesting matches the style of the creator's content.” > Molly Savage, Omnichannel Growth Marketing Leader at Bobabam. When putting together a brief for a creator, it’s a good idea to bear in mind the “what, who, how” framework. ### The ‘what’ Is there a specific platform or placement you’re hoping to test? ### The ‘how’ Are you planning on using the content as UGC or creative outside of the organic environment? ### The ‘who’ Is this creator a customer or someone who knows your brand well? Creative briefs are integral to working efficiently with influencers. By providing creators with all of the information they need to produce relevant, educational content, your partnerships will run much more smoothly and achieve better results for your brand. ## Frequently asked questions **What is an influencer brief?** An influencer brief is a short document that gives creators everything they need to produce on-strategy content: campaign objectives, key messages, product details, deliverables, deadlines, and any guardrails. **What should an influencer creative brief include?** Include campaign goals, target audience, product talking points, content deliverables and formats, posting dates, required disclosures, brand do's and don'ts, and visual direction or example content. **How detailed should an influencer marketing brief be?** Detailed on logistics, light on creative control. Specify deliverables, deadlines, and compliance requirements precisely, but leave room for the creator's voice. **Should you include talking points in an influencer brief?** Yes, but frame them as themes rather than scripts. Give creators two or three product benefits to convey in their own words, plus any claims they can’t make. **How do creative briefs improve influencer campaign results?** Briefs reduce revision cycles, prevent compliance issues, and keep content aligned with campaign objectives.