Lesson 2 of 7
Working with creators: briefs, rights, disclosure
Briefs, permissions and the label every paid post needs
The idea
Say you ask a popular local baker to post about your new coffee. Send them a script to read, and it sounds like an ad, so their followers scroll past. Tell them what's special about the coffee and let them show it their way, and it sounds like them.
Step 1
Choose
Their audience is your customer, and their style fits yours
Step 2
Brief
The goal, the facts, what to say and what never to say
Step 3
Agree
Fee or gift, what they make, dates, how you may reuse it
Step 4
Measure
Codes, links, and what happened to enquiries
What goes in the brief
The goal
One result: sign-ups, enquiries or saves
The audience
Who should care, in one sentence
The facts
What it does, the prices, what it isn't
Say and never say
Claims to make, and claims to avoid
Dates and formats
When, where and how long
Freedom
Their voice, and their idea of how to show it
Rights and labels
Agree in writing
- A fee, a gift, or both
- What they make, and by when
- Where you may reuse it, and for how long
- Ads with their face: a separate yes
Say it's an ad
- “Ad” or “Paid partnership” at the start, not lost in hashtags
- A gift counts as payment
- The creator and you are both responsible
The US FTC guide for influencers and the UK ASA rules say the same thing. Payment or a gift? Say so where people will see it.
Today, with AI
Finding small creators takes minutes now, and so does drafting a brief. What's left is choosing well and agreeing clearly.
Apps added built-in labels for paid partnerships, and regulators expect you to use them.
What AI does well
Finding creators whose followers match your customers, and drafting the brief and the first message.
Where it goes wrong
It can't tell whether a creator's followers are real and interested. Read their comments yourself.
What stays yours
Choosing the creator, the agreement, and respect for their voice.
Check yourself
Do it in the studio
Try it here first
Write a creator brief
Short enough to read in a minute. Copy it into your first message once the creator is interested.
Yours
Goal: families who plan their first week. Audience: parents of young children who cook on weeknights. Facts: a week of dinners and the shopping list in two minutes; free for a week's plan, Plus $4.99. Please say: try it on this week's dinners. Never: that it's a diet or a health plan. Deliverables: one video and three stories in March. Marked as an ad, at the start.
- 01
Fill in the brief above and copy it.
free - 02
Find creators whose audience is your customer: Partners → Circle shows who a few accounts in your niche follow, with contacts.
20 credits per 100 follows - 03
Agree the fee or gift, what they make, the dates and how you may reuse it, in writing, before anything is made.
free - 04
Check the post carries the app's paid-partnership label, or “Ad” at the start.
free
Done when A brief, a written agreement on reuse and a clear ad label are ready before the first creator post.
Go deeper
University courses on the same topic, if you want to go further.
King's College London
Social Media Marketing and Influencer Strategy (MSc Digital Marketing)Social networks and working with influencers
Harvard Business School Online
Digital Marketing Strategy and AI, Module 4: Owned and Earned Media in the AI EraYour own pages, what others say about you, and working with influencers