The art of the influencer brief

If we’re being honest? Half the time, the brief isn’t really for the creator anyway. It’s for the client’s internal peace of mind and agencies chasing quick approvals. Briefs are packed with so many messages, disclaimers, and buzzwords that by the time they reach the person making the content, there’s no room left for creativity.

Too often, one piece of content is expected to do every job at once: push product messaging, engage with trends, drive awareness, and sales. When you overload a single post, you flatten the point of view that makes people care in the first place. If you don’t let creators plug you into culture and shape how the message lands, you’re just renting their reach. In a post-algorithm world, you’re not even guaranteed that reach if the content doesn’t genuinely engage.

As Holly Morris, ex-social strategist turned creator, shared on LinkedIn: “I see so many hashtag #ad’s that have all the USP's listed, all the right tags & brand messaging – but no comments, a sparse amount of likes. This creator’s engagement rate is great?! Why is the content tanking? Because there’s absolutely no value to the audience.”

In brief

Brands invest hours hunting down authentic voices, then strip them of that voice the second the contract is signed. If you want to control messaging to a T, contact a media agency. If you want real influence, let creators talk like themselves.

So what’s the fix? Scrap your briefing template.

Stop treating creators like children. At PrettyGreen, we actually ask talent how they want to be briefed. A process of co-curation, including talent, management, and our clients. We build briefs that speak to talent, not at them.

We don’t hide our KPIs either. We share exactly what the content needs to do, what it’s trying to shift, and how we’ll measure it. Creators know audiences far better than we do, and can speak on behalf of audiences, at scale.

Let creators do what they do best: speak for the audience. Find their angle, and put the audience value back in. Believe it or not, creators want brand partnerships to perform just as much as clients do.

Accessibility counts

Because real inclusion matters, our process can include visual or clear, written briefs. This practice was built from working with blind creator and broadcaster Lucy Edwards – a key member of PrettyGreen’s DE&I board. Edwards helped us to understand that all these fancy, well-designed PDF briefing documents agencies send out aren’t screen-reader accessible. We give every partner what they need to make great work.

If you partner with creators to make content they believe in, the results will prove the value of the relationship. Not just how well you cram messaging into a caption with a dozen hashtags.

Find a style of branded content that works for the brand, the creator, and the audience. And that’s when branded content stops being content and starts actually performing.

And if a creator ever pushes back on putting in the time to co-curate? You might not have found the right partner. You won’t find magic results if you or your creator partners are forcing a fit. The right partnership and a bespoke process will always pay for themselves in results. Lower cost-per-engagements (CPEs), stronger engagement, and cooler content.