Ad Creative Best Practices
Influencer Ad Creative Best Practices
Influencers are consistently producing engaging, interesting video content in organic environments. But how does this translate over to paid programs?
The true value of an influencer program or campaign isn’t just how organic content can generate awareness or drive conversions, but how high-quality content can be repurposed for marketing efforts outside of traditional influencer marketing.
“What I've noticed in the space over the past five years is social media audiences are getting very, very, very sensitive to what is an ad and what is not.”
Milan Freeman, Influencer Marketing Expert and Strategist.
Demonstrating that influencer content can drive more authentic, successful ad campaigns can be critical to getting buy-in to expand your influencer program. Your C-suite may not even be aware that this is an offshoot of forming productive influencer partnerships—or how to implement it.
Luckily, our Field Guide mentors have invested millions of ad dollars in testing various creator-led ads. So, let’s dive into the bets practices of using influencer content as ad creative:
What are some ways to use creator content in ads?
There are practically limitless ways that creator content can be remixed/repurposed for ad creative, but these are the most common ways:
Ask creators to develop content for your evergreen asset library
Brand assets shot in the studio can be expensive and if a creative concept doesn’t make the shot list or time runs short, some brands have to wait months for the next studio day to shoot additional video. Leveraging creator partners to help you build a deeper asset library of relevant, engaging video content can be more convenient and cheaper.
Ask creators with strong-performing organic posts to give you paid rights
Perhaps a content creator’s organic post is doing well and you’d like to double down on their content. Go back to them and negotiate paid usage rights for 30 days. Work with your ad team to get the new piece of content into rotation and test if they can scale success in a paid environment.
“Take your best-performing creator and your best-performing organic content and shift it to your paid team at the end of every month and ask them to put some money behind them and test.”
Kendall Dickieson, Head of Social and Influencer at Graza.
If your paid team can drive incremental results using advertising dollars, you can always go back to the creator and ask for more time on the license. If the ad isn’t doing as well as you’d hoped, why not? Is it the audience or the asset? Are there variations you might make to the ad to improve performance? You might go back to the creator to brainstorm ideas as well.
THE NEXT STEP: Build a paid environment into your creative brief and contracts from the onset
If you already know you’d like to test creator content in your ads and feel confident in the partner, go ahead and negotiate this into the brief and contract from day one. What you ask for in a paid-specific brief may look different than what you’d typically see in a traditional organic content brief.
For example, organic briefs usually give the content creator much more freedom to create their content. Paid briefs, however, tend to outline more specifically what the brand is aiming to achieve with each piece of ad content, informed by data insights and previous testing by ad teams over time, like:
- This video should have 3 different opening hooks (1-3 seconds each)
- This video should aim to sell X product with Y discount
- This video should mention X key product benefit
- This video needs to be shot in 9x16 with X padding for a specific social media platform placement
- This video should call out Y audience's pain points.
If you plan on making any post-production edits to creator content, build these permissions into the contract and make sure you’re communicating this to the content creator early on. As a friendly reminder, while some edits are necessary, try not to over-produce influencer content. Remember you’re hiring these experts for a reason - they’re really good at making amazing content. Trust them!
Frameworks & best practices for creating top performing influencer ads
High-quality visuals is naturally a must for a great influencer ad. Make sure that creators are investing in good lighting, camera equipment, and editing to ensure the content looks polished and professional.
And while you might have stellar creator content to hand, but you still need a strong narrative framework to make a compelling ad! Encourage influencers to weave products naturally into a narrative or personal story, making the content more engaging and relatable. Remember: Authenticity is key! The most effective influencer content feels genuine and aligns with the creator's style. So, avoid overly scripted content that may come across as inauthentic.
“Remember there’s a human on the other side of your ad. With great creator content that quickly gets their attention, tells them how they’ll benefit, maintains their attention and has a strong call to action, you have all the elements of a good ad.”
Ashley Brock, Founder at Digital Marketing Academy.
In terms of the nuts and bolts of an effective ad, here is a quick checklist:
- Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): Ensure every piece of content has a clear and compelling CTA, guiding the audience on what to do next. CTAs are great to include at the beginning and end of an ad.
- Platform-specific optimization: Tailor content for each social media platform, considering factors like optimal video length, aspect ratios, and platform-specific features.
- Video independence: If this video was shown to someone who has never heard of your brand or product, would it be able to communicate everything it needs to?
- Compliance and transparency: Always adhere to platform guidelines and FTC regulations regarding disclosure of paid partnerships.
Testing ideas with creators
Test. Test. Test. When testing creator content in ads for the first time, consider testing a mix of in-house brand assets, UGC, and influencer content (organic and dark) to see what resonates best with your top-paid audiences.
Wondering ”How do I test influencer content for paid ads?” Consider the following:
- Content format comparison
- Test static images vs. short-form videos vs. long-form content
- Compare carousel posts to single-image posts
- Experiment with platform-specific features (e.g., Instagram Reels vs. Stories vs. TikTok)
- Messaging angles
- Compare emotional appeals to rational/feature-based messaging
- Test different value propositions or unique selling points
- Experiment with humor vs. serious tones
- Creative concepts
- UGC (product experience)
- Mashups featuring several influencers or UGC videos
- Product demos or tutorials
- Routines
- Day in the life
- Product ingredient or single benefit feature
- Product category education (like the difference between serums and oils)
- X reasons why or listicles
- Problem + solution
- Statistics
- Us vs. them (competitor)
- Behind-the-scenes
- Brand or founder story
- ASMR-style
- Seasonal
- Myth vs. reality
- Call-to-action variations
- Test different CTA placements (beginning, middle, end of content)
- Compare various CTA phrases ("Shop Now" vs. "Learn More" vs. "Get Yours")
- Experiment with verbal CTAs in videos vs. on-screen text CTAs
- Influencer selection
- Compare results from micro-influencers vs. macro-influencers
- Test niche-specific influencers against broader lifestyle influencers
- Experiment with different influencer personalities or content styles
- Product presentation
- Compare "unboxing" style videos to in-use demonstrations
- Test before-and-after content vs. lifestyle integration
- Experiment with single-product focus vs. multi-product showcases
- Sound
- Design for sound on and sound off
- Try different text overlays
- Timing and Frequency
- Test posting at different times of day or days of the week
- Compare the impact of a single post vs. a series of related posts
- Experiment with varying campaign durations
- User-Generated Content (UGC) Integration
- Test influencer-created content against UGC reposts
- Compare results when influencers encourage followers to create and share their own content
- Offer and Incentive Testing
- Compare exclusive discounts vs. free gifts with purchase
- Test time-limited offers against evergreen promotions
- Experiment with tiered rewards or loyalty programs
The most important thing? Be intentional with your testing. What do you want to learn by running this ad? The best practice is to control for a single variable at a time (if possible). That leaves a lot for testing, but try to have fun with it, and don’t forget to share what you’re learning back with your creator partner so they can improve the creative quality they provide you with in the future!
Let’s continue with our deep dive by moving onto paid media best practices!
How can I negotiate paid rights for creator content?
To negotiate paid rights for creator content, you need to determine what content you want to use and which rights you need, such as exclusive or non-exclusive rights, duration of usage, and geographic scope. Ask the creator about their pricing or rate card for what you’re asking for. Consider industry pricing before making an offer. Your offer should include a compensation structure, like a flat fee, royalties, commission, or a combination, and any other terms such as revision rights or content credit. Be prepared to discuss and negotiate the terms of your offer with the creator and their team. Consider having a lawyer review the agreement, especially for larger deals.
What are the best practices for influencer ad creatives?
Best practices for influencer ad creatives include giving influencers creative freedom to make their ad feel natural and aligned to their usual style while including 1-3 key product points the brand provides, using engaging visual formats designed for the ad placements you intend to run, adding a clear, compelling call to action, using trackable URLs or links and unique promo codes, and clearly labeling sponsored content to comply with FTC regulations (#ad or #sponsored).
How do I structure a creative brief for influencer ad content?
When structuring a creative brief, brands should include several key elements. Start by providing background on the brand, product, and campaign, along with the objectives. Define the target audience in terms of demographics, psychographics, and behavioral segments. Clearly communicate the key messages and brand content guidelines, as well as a list of deliverables. Specify the desired call to action (CTA), promotional codes, and special offers. Outline the ad platforms where the ads will run and provide relevant ad specifications for the placements. Include the timeline, budget, and compensation (product or fee) for the influencer. Define the success criteria, KPIs, and goals for the campaign. Provide a point of contact at the brand and explain the approval process for content, including the number of rounds of revision allowed.