Are you entering into contracts to pay for or provide influencer marketing for companies?  If you are an Instagram model, have a huge Twitter following, tons of Facebook friends, are a Snapchat star, vlogger or YouTuber, and businesses want you to test products and post, tweet, chat or blog about how great they are, then you need a lawyer to review the contracts. Many businesses complain that Influencers don’t read their contracts and having their mom review or a law student cousin is not enough. When you end up in breach of contract for getting the complimentary product, but ignore deadlines to post, businesses can come after you for breach of contract.

This law firm helps you not only avoid costly litigation, but also can negotiate the influencer deal for you to obtain the most favorable legal terms as possible. We help you understand what you have to do, when you have to do it by and how you can possibly get paid faster and under more favorable terms.

If you are the brand, such as a business with goods or a professional services, for example, a medical practice, and want to implement influencer marketing to increase your brand recognition and help with product launch marketing and service advertising, we can help protect your brand by drafting an influencer or social media marketing agreement. We also assist with vetting and conducting due dilligence on the potential influencer to increase the chance that you get what you are paying for, and also know how to draft a structured payment system to pay for performance. Many brands don’t understand the importance of not only protecting their investment, but also their intellectual property in these types of arrangements.

Some important terms that should go into your agreement with the influencer might include:

1)   Who are the parties to the agreement?

2)   What is the purpose of the agreement?

3)   What are the services that need to be provided by one or BOTH parties (such as when the business needs to provide data and products to the influencer, but the influencer obviously has to provide a certain number of posts or videos by a certain date)?

4)   Timeline for completion?

5)   What should the deliverables look like?

6)   What are the fees for the services?

7)   Is there a fee schedule?

8)   What is the term or length of time necessary?

9)   What are the terms for termination?

10)   What is considered breach or default?

11)   Will the business share confidential information with the influencer?

12)   What type of relationship exists? Is this an independent contractor or employee?

13)   Will a party be creating content?

14)   Does it need a work for hire provision?

15)   Does it need a license?

16)   What regulatory provisions need to be included to prevent legal exposure, such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC’s) endorsement requirements?

17)   What should the indemnification provision state and is it mutual?

18)   What representations and warranties need to be in place?

19)   What type of dispute resolution would the parties prefer?

20)   What limitations on liability should be included?

21)   Assignment should probably be prohibited unless approved in writing.

22)   What if there is a breach, what happens if it’s waived?

23)   Is this the entire agreement?

24)   What exhibits should be included to best depict the expectations of the parties?

A lawyer can draft the social medial or influencer agreement, which is similar to a sponsorship agreement for athletic sponsors, to best protect the interests of the client. Don’t make the mistake of just having one party draft if by their lawyer and not having your own lawyer review it. A lawyer’s job is to protect the necessary interests of the clients and help the client get their wish list, without killing the deal, unless the client makes that determination. A lawyer can also help clear up misunderstandings when there seems to be an impasse.

Representing both the talent and the business gives us specialized knowledge of negotiation points.