This One Thing Can Make or Break Your Influencer Campaign
Have you wondered what arguably the #1 thing is that can determine an influencer campaign’s success? It isn’t the product. It isn’t the platform. It isn’t the budget, or even the influencer (though those are all important to creating really great content).
We’ve found that the #1 determinant of the success of a campaign is simple: a really great influencer brief. Think of the brief as the ultimate guide that keeps influencers on-brand, creative, and aligned with your campaign goals.
A great influencer brief doesn’t just cut down on confusion and edits—it sets the stage for engaging, high-performing content. We’ve created thousands of influencer briefs, so we’re sharing a few must-have elements that take a brief from meh to moneymaking. If you’re planning to kick off a campaign soon, take note.
1. Define Success from the Start
Want more engagement? Brand awareness? Clickthroughs? Be upfront about influencer campaign goals so influencers can craft content that drives the right results. Setting clear content goals ensures everyone is working toward the same vision. And, it’s always best to have one primary KPI for measuring campaign success so that the content and call to action can be as focused as possible. In this campaign for Gold Bond, the primary KPI was to move samples (thousands of them), and our creators like @janiechicstyle delivered.
2. Prioritize Key Messages
If everything is important, then nothing is. Prioritize the top 2-3 key messages you want influencers to hit, making their content more impactful without feeling overloaded. Keep it snappy, simple, and digestible so they can weave it in naturally. If influencers feel like they have too much to say, the key messages get lost, and audiences will tune out. Before a campaign, we survey our SheSpeaks Community to determine what messages will resonate with shoppers, then our influencers make the magic.
3. Show, Don’t Just Tell
They say a picture’s worth a thousand words—so why not make it easier for influencers by including strong visual examples? Whether it’s successful past influencer campaign posts, mood boards, or key brand aesthetics, giving creators a clear vision of what you love ensures they’re on the right track from the start. We look at historical content performance and share the best of the best examples with our influencers for inspo.
4. Clear Content & Brand Guidelines
A great brief lays out the must-haves—brand colors, fonts, messaging dos & don’ts, and any non-negotiables. The more clarity you provide, the less back-and-forth you’ll have later. (Bonus: Fewer edits mean faster turnaround times!) It’s especially important to include required product disclosures – failing to do so can spell big legal consequences. We’ve worked across multiple product categories that require disclosures, like the example below from a Prudential campaign which drove 160K+ engagements.
5. Let Influencers Do Their Thing
The best influencer content doesn’t feel forced—it feels real. Influencers are professional content creators who know how to make content that moves the needle. Give influencers room to infuse their personality and style while staying true to the brand. Authenticity = engagement, and engagement = success!
Spotlight: Drybar x Alyssa Genevieve
One influencer who nailed the brief? @alysssagenevieve! With the help of her and our other influencers, the SheSpeaks Drybar campaign showcased engaging, high-energy content that drove major interest—and Drybar gift card sales. Check out her reel here to see how a clear influencer brief + creative freedom = magic.
The influencer campaign brief is only one step in a process we’ve perfected over the last 15 years. If you want to learn more, get in touch with us!