Updated January 09, 2023
A social media influencer contract is between a company and an influencer who uses their brand and followers to “influence” attention to a product or cause. Companies often pay influencers on a per-post basis and, depending on the agreement, may require specific things to be mentioned. Standard practice calls for partial or complete payment after contract execution as an advance on future payments.
Table of Contents |
What Should be Included (5 items)
1. Content Requirements
Give easy-to-understand requests of what products and services the influencer will publish on their social media profiles. It’s best to ask influencers to post content relevant to their following.
Example: If the influencer is a travel blogger, request to have content related to traveling (such as suitcases, travel websites, hotels, etc.).
2. Social Media Platforms
Most influencers have one (1) platform with most of their followers. However, if they are prevalent on multiple platforms, advertisers must decide if they want to contract the influencer to publish content on specific or multiple platforms.
The five (5) largest social media platforms are:
3. Posting Frequency
Requesting the influencer to post when their audience is online is crucial. This strategy allows the post to be at the top of their followers’ feeds and have the largest audience viewing their content.
According to SproutSocial, the best times to post on the largest social media platforms are on Monday through Wednesday between 9am to 3pm EST.
4. Payment
Most influencers collect payment on a per-post basis. Companies pay flat fees before the posting and usually commit to a pre-set number of posts on the influencer’s social media.
It is common for influencers to be paid by:
- Flat fee (per post);
- Commission (based on the sales generated and tracked); and
- Free products and services.
5. Exclusivity
Request to be the influencer’s exclusive advertiser during the contract period and for a designated period after termination. This type of request protects advertisers and influencers from potential conflicts of interest.
How to know if Followers are Real?
There are three (3) main ways to find out if an influencer’s followers are real or fake:
Low Engagement
If an influencer has tens of thousands of followers but not many likes or comments on their page, it could be a red flag that their followers are fake and most likely purchased from a service that sells followers.
Followers Don’t Have Photos
When scrolling through an influencer’s followers, if many of the accounts are missing profile photos, there is more of a chance the accounts are fake. Even if a “real life” individual wants to remain anonymous, they generally set a profile photo (even if it’s a cartoon or a picture of their pet dog).
HypeAuditor
Use HypeAuditor to determine if a social profile’s followers are real.
The most critical factors are viewing the engagement ratio (minimum of 1.5%) and follower rate (should be a slow increase over time unless the person went viral). For example, view Tom Brady’s profile:
Sample
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How to Write
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I. The Parties
(1) Contract Date. This agreement documents the terms and conditions between an Advertiser and the Influencer who shall promote that advertiser’s products or services. Before identifying the Advertiser or the Influencer, this paperwork should be given a point of reference. Thus, supply the official date of the agreement made between the Advertiser and Influencer to begin.
(2) Advertiser Name. The legal name of the advertiser behind this agreement is required. If the advertiser is a Company, Corporation, or other formal Entity, then include the suffix that defines it as such (i.e., “corporation” or “inc.”).
(3) Advertiser Address. The mailing address where the advertiser can be reached when this agreement and any related topic must be discussed is needed to fully identify the advertiser issuing this contract.
(4) Influencer Name. The full name of the Influencer being contracted through this paperwork must be presented. This should be the formal name of the Influencer; thus, if it is an individual, their first, middle, and last name should be displayed. If a Business Entity, then the registered name of the company or corporation (including suffixes) is required.
(5) Influencer Address. Document the business address where notices and other official information defined in this agreement can be received (reliably) by the Influencer.
II. Commencement And Duration
(6) Date Of Contract Effect. This paperwork must set the obligations placed on the Advertiser and Influencer to begin on a particular day. Additionally, the lifespan of these contractual obligations will need a definition. To begin, record the exact calendar date when this agreement will first obligate the Parties involved (the Advertiser and the Influencer) to adhere to its contents.
Select Item 7 Or Select Item 8
(7) Ongoing Term. Now that the first date of this agreement’s effect has been documented, the length of time in which its influence is active must be defined. If this agreement exists indefinitely so long as both the Advertiser and Influencer wish to participate, select the “Ongoing Term.” This option allows either Party to terminate this paperwork but only by informing the Remaining Party of this intent ahead of time. This period must be defined as a minimum number of days’ notice before the termination date. That is, document the number of days before a termination date when the Terminating Party must inform the Remaining Party of their intent to leave the agreement. The Terminating Party may give the Remaining Party more notice if desired but may not wait until fewer days (than reported in this statement) to inform the Remaining Party of their intended cancellation date.
(8) Fixed Term. If this agreement is only in effect until a defined termination date, select the “Fixed-Term” option. This statement will require that the date of termination (agreed to by the Advertiser and Influencer) be solidified by documenting it in the space provided.
III. Content Requirements
(9) Commissioned Promotional Content. The Advertiser must define the social media posts they will require of the Influencer. This should include a description of the media (i.e., videos, gifs, music, images, etc.) and text that should make up the posts the Influencer dispenses.
IV. Advertiser Approval
Select Item 10 Or Select Item 11
(10) Required Approval. If the Advertiser has to approve the Influencer’s relevant content before posting, select the “Be Required Statement” of the fourth article. If this is not the case, then leave this statement unselected.
(11) No Approval Required. If this paperwork does not require the Influencer to seek approval for the posts that promote the advertiser’s products or services, select the second statement in Article IV by marking or clicking its corresponding checkbox.
V. Social Media Platforms
(12) Content Placement. Name every social media platform (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) where the advertiser requires posts made by the Influencer.
VI. Payment
(13) Flat Fee. The payment that the Advertiser shall deliver to the Influencer in exchange for the social media content they posts should be discussed. If this will be a set amount of cash, record the dollar amount the Influencer must receive for their services. Use the “Flat Fee” line to document the non-commission payments that will be required of the advertiser.
(14) Commission. Sometimes, the flat fee will either be accompanied by a commission payment based on the income the Influencer generates for the advertiser or may consist entirely of commission payment(s). If so, use the “Commission” line to solidify the commission amount and how it will be calculated. Be advised that you can report either or both amounts for this section, the total amount of money that must be paid to the Influencer, as a per post amount, or both. It will be imperative that an accurate and specific definition be delivered to this area.
(15) Non-Monetary Compensation. If the Advertiser submits “Products,” “Services,” or even “Travel” as a payment to the Influencer, then select the appropriate checkbox and document such items of payment. Remember that this article may specify more than one form of payment.
(16) Other Type Of Payment. Any “Other” type of payment the advertiser must deliver to the Influencer for their social media promotion service should be defined using the space following the checkbox labeled “Other.” If a definition of payment is submitted here, select the corresponding checkbox.
VII. Payment Instructions
Select Item 17 Or Select Item 18
(17) Pre-Payment. The payment schedule the Influencer expects the advertiser to follow is the next topic of discussion. Select the “Pre-Payment” checkbox statement if the Influencer requires payment before posting content on the advertiser’s behalf.
(18) Payment Upon Receipt. If the Influencer submits an invoice before expecting payment, select the second statement in this area and produce the number of days after the advertiser receives the invoice that will be given as a grace period to pay the invoice. This will be the maximum number of days past an invoice’s due date when payment can be made and considered on time. If this option defines when the Influencer will expect a payment, then additional information will be required in items A and B.
(19) Late Fee Schedule. If a late fee is assessed when the advertiser fails to make a payment on time, reiterate the number of days making up the Influencer’s grace period for payment by recording it to the space in Item A.
(20) Late Fee Requirement. Select the appropriate checkbox to indicate whether a late fee will be a predetermined dollar amount or calculated as a percentage based on the overdue invoice. Notice that each definition will require additional information. If the late fee is a predetermined dollar amount, document the required amount, whereas if it is a percentage of the total owed on the late invoice, that percentage must be recorded. Remember that the late fee may only be a flat “Dollar Amount” or a “Percentage Of Invoice” and may not be both, so only one of these statements may be selected and completed with the required information. At the same time, the other should remain unselected and incomplete.
(21) Deposit Status. This agreement must establish if a deposit from the advertiser to the Influencer is required to demonstrate the commitment behind the agreement. If so, locate the bold label “Be Required,” select the adjacent checkbox, then document the amount the advertiser must submit as a deposit. If the Influencer and Advertiser have agreed a deposit will “Not Be Required,” select the second checkbox statement of Item B. Only one of these statements may be selected.
VIII. Copyright
(22) Content Owner. Only one Party should be named as the Owner of the post content made by the Influencer on the Advertiser’s behalf. Select the checkbox to indicate whether the Owner of all subsequent post content will be the Advertiser or the Influencer.
IX. Exclusivity Of Influencer
(23) Exclusivity. One of two statements may be made regarding the exclusivity of the Influencer’s promotional efforts. If they are required to avoid promoting in specific industries (i.e., for competitors of the Advertiser) or must refrain from advertising in this capacity for anyone other than the advertiser, select the “Exclusive” statement and list every industry the Influencer may no longer promote in. If no such restriction is placed on the Influencer’s business, select the “Non-Exclusive” checkbox statement.
XVI. Governing Law
(24) State Jurisdiction. This contract will be effective once it is signed. The State that will hold authority over the Advertiser, the Influencer, and the contents of this agreement must be identified as the home of the court system that will judge any disputes. Place the name of this state in the Sixteenth Article.
Executing The Contract’s Effect
(25) Advertiser’s Signature And Printed Name. To enter this agreement, the Advertiser, or a Representative of the Business Entity issuing this document, must sign their name and print it.
(26) Advertiser’s Signature Date. The date when the advertiser has entered this agreement by signature should be dispensed to this paperwork.
(27) Influencer’s Signature And Printed Name. The Influencer must sign their name as well. Once done, they should provide the printed version of their name.
(28) Influencer’s Signature Date. The Influencer should record the date they provided their signature to this document once they have signed it.
