Is a Social Media Influencer an Employee? | Influencers as Employees

Is an influencer considered an employee? In short, no. An influencer is going to have two types of employment relationships. You’re going to have a contract with your agency or manager or marketing firm. That’s one contract, and then you’re also going to have a contract with the sponsors as well. And so, I mean, sponsoring companies is a normal way of saying it. Now, your relationship with these sponsoring companies is that of an independent contractor. A normal employee would receive a W2 at the end of the year, and then they would have taxes taken out of whatever compensation they would receive. They would get benefits such as health, vision, dental, disability, life, and retirement, all of the benefits of being an employee.

Influencer as Employees?

However, an influencer is considered an independent contractor and would receive a 1099 at the end of the year and no taxes are taken out or withheld during the entire year. The influencer is going to be responsible for paying those self-employment taxes at the end of the year. Now, I find this is the dad in me that many influencers don’t understand the tax implications of being a 1099 independent contractor. And then they get to the end of the year, and they have an enormous tax bill and they think, oh, well, I’ve spent a lot of that money and I’m not sure what to do. So, you just need to make certain, and this is what I would suggest, is reaching out to an accountant wherever you live establishing a relationship with them and trying to find the best ways to maximize your tax deductions.

What Happens If You are Working as an Independent Contractor

Now, most of the time, what would happen is an influencer would create an LLC. They’re their own business. They’d get a tax ID number and an EIN from the federal government, and they’d make a bank account. Then they’d run all their compensation and expenses through this account. And that way, they’d be able to deduct several things that go into being an influencer, like travel. Any costs that go with it, depending upon what type of influence you are, equipment, clothes, all that kind of stuff, can potentially be deducted. Still, it needs to be set up correctly. 

Social Media Influencer Employees

Now, is there any time when you would be an employee? The answer to that is most likely no. As I said before, if you have an employment relationship with somebody, you are an actual employee. You’re probably working a nine-to-five full-time job.

Other topics of interest include:

• Are Social Media Influencers Independent Contractors?
• Social Media Influencer Tax Deductions

Whereas most of the time, as an influencer, you’re just kind of coming in, endorsing a product coming out, or maybe you have a year-long relationship where you’re required to do. If you’re on YouTube, maybe you’re required to do a 90-second spot once a month for a company, that type of thing, but it’s not an ongoing employment relationship. It’s just a straight-up independent contractor relationship between the sponsoring company and the influencer. Well, hopefully, that was helpful and that’s kind of whether influencers are employees, and the answer is no, they’re very likely not.

Breaking a Management Contract in the Digital World

Can you break an influencer management contract? One thing that I find kind of gets confused is when someone considers breaking a contract, breaching it, or simply terminating a contract. Let’s go over the difference between the two. Suppose you’ve signed a management contract with an agency or a manager. In that case, a clause in that contract states how the influencer can terminate the agreement, meaning, end it. And for the most part, there are four ways that you can terminate a contract. If it’s for a fixed period and it doesn’t renew, let’s just say it’s a year, either party wants to renew, the contract ends, it’s terminated, and that’s it.

You could terminate it by mutual agreement. At any point, even if there are clauses in the contract that state a certain amount of notice that must be given, you can just say, you know what, it’s not working out. Let’s just move on. If both parties agree, then you can move on. The third way is for cause termination, meaning one party has breached the contract. Let’s just say you’re an influencer, your management company continues to pay you slowly, or they’re not paying you the correct amount. You’d send them written notice they’re in breach of a contract. Then usually, they’d have time to fix that breach.

Social Media Influencer Tax Deductions | Influencers Taxes

What are some of the tax deductions that an influencer can take as an independent contractor? As an influencer, your employment relationship with all the sponsors will likely be that of a 1099 independent contractor. And that means, at the end of the year, you’ll be provided with 1099 from the sponsors. And then, no income tax will be withheld from your compensation throughout the year. So, you will be responsible for the self-employment tax at the end of the year. Now, an intelligent influencer is first going to talk with an accountant, and then that accountant will have you set up an LLC in whatever state you’re living in.

Influencer Tax Deductible Self-Employed Expenses

You’ll create a bank account with that LLC and have a tax ID number. And by doing that, you can deduct many expenses and things that go into being an influencer. For instance, you could do travel expenses, home office deduction, advertising, and marketing, legal fees, travel, whatever industry you’re in, fitness, fishing, or whatever. You can likely deduct a product that you buy to be an influencer in that arena as well. There are dozens of things that you can deduct as an influencer. Now, I’m not a tax attorney or an accountant. I’m just a contract attorney. As I said, I suggest reaching out to an accountant you feel comfortable with. They can walk you through exactly the things that you can and can’t deduct and then things that you can track throughout the year as well.

One of the worst things to see is when you have someone new to the industry. They haven’t been an influencer before, they haven’t made money as an independent contractor before, and they just simply don’t realize that no income taxes are being taken out. And then they will be responsible for potentially a large amount of money paid to the government, either quarterly or at the end of the year. And it’s a shock to them; some spend more than they save. And then they have a problem at the end of the year. So, just be aware that almost every relationship an influencer will have with a sponsor will be that as a 1099 independent contractor. 

Tax Advantages of an Independent Contractor

There are certainly some significant tax advantages that you can take advantage of as an independent contractor. The main downside to not having an employment relationship is being an employee. You would get benefits that most employees would get, like health, vision, dental, disability, life, retirement, and paid time off. They’ll pay for your licensure and continuing education. They will provide a lot of the things needed to do your job. 

As I said before, as an independent contractor, you can take all those things and then deduct them at the end of the year. But many people just simply hate having to be the ones to initiate getting those things. So, most people I work with hate getting health insurance and disability and life. And that stuff they don’t want to worry about, however, is something you must do when you’re self-employed. So, that’s a little about the deduction of income tax for social media influencers. If you have any questions or concerns about your management contract, feel free to call my law firm.

Taxes That Are Deductible by Social Media Influencers

I guess it doesn’t matter nowadays, but someone familiar with social media influencers is taking deductions of tax. What they’ll likely do is they’ll tell you that you need to create an LLC. You need to get a tax ID number from the IRS, called an EIN, and then you’ll also need to create a bank account under that LLC. And then, you’ll put all compensation and expenses through that bank account, so you can easily track the expenses. And then, at the end of the year, you can deduct many of the things you need to be an effective influencer. It could be travel costs, lodging, meals, or any type of cost associated with meetings, depending on what type of influence you are.

It could be clothing or different products. There are just a ton of things that you can deduct. And so, you may come out ahead if you were just classified as an average employee. There are certain income tax benefits to being an influencer using social media. It’s a different type of job, as you probably know. And I think the professional environment is evolving regarding how they see influencers and what the potential deduction of income tax for them can be. So, does an influencer receive a 1099? Very likely, yes. They would. If you have any questions about your independent contractor agreement or influencer agreement, we certainly can help with that.

How are Social Media Influencers Taxed? | Influencer Taxes

How are social media influencers taxed? First, suppose you are an influencer, likely. In that case, your employment relationship between you and whatever sponsoring company you’re working with or endorsing is via an independent contractor relationship. As an independent contractor, you’ll receive a 1099 at the end of the year, and no taxes are withheld from any compensation you would receive from the company you’re working with. 

As an employee, you would receive a W2, and taxes would be withheld from whatever the regularly scheduled payroll period is. And then, at the end of the year, when you file your taxes, it’s very likely that you won’t have to pay much to whatever state or federal government that you’re working in. As an independent contractor, as I said, no income taxes are withheld throughout the year. So, at the end of the year or quarterly, depending upon how you want to do it, you’re going to have to pay self-employment tax, once again, to the state or federal government. I would suggest a few things: one. 

You need to meet with an accountant before doing any work as an independent contractor influencer. It would be best if you created an LLC, got an EIN from the IRS, got a bank account for that business, and ran all compensation and expenses through that. That way, you can take business expense deductions at the end of the year. If you’re an influencer, you must consider yourself a business. And all the things that go into being an influencer, depending upon what type of industry you’re in. And then you can use it for the most part as deduction of tax at the end of the year like travel or product, depending upon what you are.

Can You Get Tax Deductions?

If you’re in fitness, it could be weightlifting equipment. Collaborations with other sponsors, getting there, and expenses paid can be used as deductions at the end of the year. However, you need to hook up with an excellent accountant to figure out how to structure the LLC you’re creating and then know what types of deductions you can take at the end of the year. What is the distinction between being an employee and an independent contractor? The IRS lists a 20-factor test describing what makes someone an independent contractor versus an employee.

Just a few of them have control over the influencer, meaning a full-time working relationship. Do they tell you where to go? How long to work, exactly what to do, and do they offer benefits? So, health, vision, dental, disability, life, insurance, and retirement are all. It’s doubtful that you will have an employment relationship between you and the sponsor if you’re working as an influencer. Maybe it’s a very strong relationship, and you’re working for them daily. Once again, it depends upon the state that you’re in. But most employment relationships between the sponsor and the influencer will be through an independent contractor relationship. 

How Can an Influencer Terminate a Management Contract?

How can an influencer terminate a management contract? Most influencers will have either an agent, a manager, or maybe even a marketing agency working for them. And then you should have a contract with them. Sometimes, it might just not work out. The influencer is interested in terminating the agreement and then determining the implications if they end it. In any contract, a section states how you can terminate the agreement, customarily called termination. And there are generally four common ways you can end a contract. One, your influencer management contract is going to have a term. And the term simply means how long it lasts. An average amount for an influencer management contract is somewhere between one and five years. 

And then, it will state after that initial term if it automatically renews or not. Let’s say it’s a one-year term. Many contracts will note that if neither party terminates the agreement. And it’ll automatically renew for successive one-year terms that go on forever until ended. Some contracts don’t have that language, and it’s just a fixed term, meaning it’s one year, and that’s it. And in that scenario, if your contract ended after a year, neither party renewed it, it’s done. The contract is terminated. The second way would be through mutual agreement. If either party just said, you know what, this isn’t working out, regardless of what the contract says, I’m just interested in washing our hands of the situation and moving on.

Do Influencers Get a 1099? | Influencer Independent Contractor

Does an influencer receive a 1099? So, what is a 1099? If you’re an independent contractor, which you likely are if you’re a social media influencer, you’ll receive a 1099, which is a form at the end of the year. And then, the compensation received by the influencer from any of the sponsoring companies will have no taxes withheld. At the end of the year or quarterly, which would be preferable, the influencer would need to pay to the government whatever self-employment tax would go with whatever you had been compensated. A typical professional environment would have either employees or independent contractors. Employees would receive a W2, and their compensation would have tax taken out of it during the regularly scheduled payroll.

Can Social Media Influencers Receive a 1099?

As an influencer using social media, you’re not acting as an employee. You’re acting as an independent contractor. You’re just doing a specific amount of work for a sponsoring company for a particular amount of time. You don’t see most influencer agreements go beyond a year. Most of the time, they’ll be 12 months, and then they’ll be renewable by the agreement of both parties. Sometimes it’ll just be an event, so you must show up for a day or a few hours. And in that scenario, it’s a very short-term relationship, and being an independent contractor would be the only way to classify the influencer correctly. I would suggest if you’re an influencer and haven’t done this before. Suppose you’re uncertain how to handle the tax implications of this. In that case, you need to reach out to an accountant, preferably close to you.

What Should You Do to be an Effective Influencer?

I guess it doesn’t matter nowadays, but someone familiar with social media influencers is taking income tax deductions. What they’ll likely do is they’ll tell you that you need to create an LLC. You need to get a tax ID number from the IRS, called an EIN, and then you’ll also need to create a bank account under that LLC. And then, you’ll put all compensation and expenses through that bank account, so you can easily track the expenses. And then, at the end of the year, you can deduct many of the things you need to be an effective influencer. It could be travel costs, lodging, meals, or any cost associated with meetings, depending on what type of influence you are. 

It could be clothing or different products. There are just a ton of things that you can deduct. And so, you may come out ahead if you’re an average employee. There are certain income tax benefits to being an influencer. It’s a different type of job, as you probably know. And I think the professional environment is evolving regarding how they see influencers and what the potential tax deductions for them can be. So, does an influencer in social media receive a 1099? Very likely, yes. They would. If you have any questions about your independent contractor agreement or influencer agreement, we certainly can help with that.

Job

Are Social Media Influencers Independent Contractors? | Influencer Media

Are social media influencers independent contractors? Previous jobs that an influencer has had are very likely employee W2 opportunities. Let’s just say you’re working in retail. You are an employee, meaning the employer has complete control over you. They tell you where to work, when, how much you work, and your duties. And then, you’ll receive a W2 at the end of the year, with tax withheld in your paychecks throughout the year. In that scenario, you’re an employee. Now, as an influencer, your job is different. You aren’t working full-time for any of these companies you sponsor. I guess you’re doing a short-term burst of marketing, depending upon the relationship.

And for the most part, it’s up to you, maybe the exact content you post. I mean, there’ll be some bare bones. We want you to post this many times a month. We want you to do 90-second spots on your YouTube videos once every two months, whatever it is. But you’re not going into a nine-to-five job every day. And when the sponsor does not exert complete control over the influencer, that’s more of an independent contractor relationship. And so, at the end of the year, the independent contractor receives a 1099, and any compensation paid to the influencer has no taxes withheld. At the end of the year, the influencer is going to be the one that must pay the tax on all of the compensation that they’ve received.

Is There an Advantage to Being an Independent Contractor versus an Employee? 

Is there an advantage to being an independent contractor versus an employee? Well, suppose you’re an intelligent independent contractor. In that case, you’re going to create an LLC, and then you’re going to get a tax ID number, an EIN through the IRS, and then you’re going to create a bank account for that LLC. And then you’re going to run all compensation and expenses through that account. As an influencer, you can take many income tax deductions as an independent contractor. Many things that go into being an influencer can be deducted. Like travel, maybe you’re in the fitness industry. You’re trying out new products, well, you can likely deduct the products that you bought as well, meals, gas, cars sometimes. You can deduct a ton of things when you are considering your own business as an independent contractor and self-employed. 

I’m not an accountant or tax attorney, so I’m certainly not a complete expert on this, but I suggest you reach out to an accountant. They can assist you in setting up the LLC and then let you know exactly what you can and cannot deduct. And that way, you can maximize your compensation and tax deductions at the end of the year. If you’re not doing that, you’re leaving a lot of money on the table. Now, there may be scenarios where you’re working so much for one sponsor or doing so much work for them for a week, a month, a year, or whatever that you may be classified as an employee. 

Talk with the Sponsor

A scenario like that would rarely exist. However, there may be times when there’s so much activity between an influencer and a sponsor that they might be considered an employee. Suppose you’re concerned that you’re being misclassified as an employer or independent contractor. In that case, I suggest you speak to the sponsor and let them know your concerns and talk through that. So, that’s a little bit about whether a social media influencer is an independent contractor. They very likely are, and you will receive 1099 at the end of the year.

What Is a Standard Influencer Management Commission? | Influencer Marketing

What is the standard percentage cost of commission that a social media influencer management company will take? Suppose there are influencers, and they get big enough. Then, influencers may want to reach out and find some assistance in securing more sponsorship opportunities. And influencers are supposed to find an individual agent, an agency, a manager, or a marketing management agency. It’s all the same thing. Their role is to go out and bring the influencers deals that they might be interested in. And then, they will get a percentage cost of the compensation paid to the influencer for the sponsorship opportunity. Before the management company starts looking for potential deals for the influencer, they will sign an exclusive management contract.

And then that contract will dictate the terms of their relationship:

• How long does it last
• How to terminate it
• What are the expectations of the influencer?
• What are the expectations of the management company?
• How much or what percentage cost of the influencer’s compensation goes as commission to the marketing agency? A standard amount would be around 20%. 

Choosing Between Agents

Now, everything is negotiable. There is certainly wiggle room to bring that down for influencers. However, like in any industry, the better someone is at their job, the more they can charge. And so, if you find a rockstar agent, they’re certain they can bring influencers from this level to this level. Still, they’ll charge 2% more, 5% more, or whatever percentage cost than somebody else. Influencers have to decide and do a math equation. Influencers could go with someone who may not have as much experience for 10% or go with someone experienced for 25%. Will that 15% difference be worth it all the better? Higher-paying, higher volume of opportunities that a more experienced agent may bring?

I can’t answer that question. Influencers have to make that determination on their own. But those are the standard commission percentages cost. 

Terms After Contract Termination

One thing to think about is any management contract will state what happens after the contract ends. Let’s say the influencers, for whatever reason, decide to move on from the manager. They’ll give notice, and the contract will state how many influencers must give notice. Somewhere between 30 to 120 days is standard. Depending upon the language, influencers would still have to work with the management company for that period.

The important part is a clause that states that if the influencers leave, they’ll still owe a commission percentage cost to the management company. That is for a period after the contract ends. So, for any of the sponsors they brought to the influencer, let’s say the management company brought a meal prep company interested in working with the influencer. Then they’ve been working together for a couple of years. Well, after you terminate the contract with the management agency, you don’t just automatically get to keep all of the money from that meal prep company. Suppose they wanted to continue working with you. In that case, you’d have to pay 20% back to the old management company, usually for one year after the contract termination. It is simply a way for a management company to ensure they don’t bring deals to an influencer.

Influencer Agreements After the Management Contract Ends

And then influences terminate the contract, takes those deals, and avoids paying the 20% to the management company. That’s an industry-standard restriction after a contract ends. Now, influencers could negotiate the length of the restriction. The percentage cost that the management company will get during that period or limiting the look back from the influencer. Most contracts will state any deal they brought you during the relationship between the influencer and the management company. So, if it’s been a five-year relationship and they brought you a deal in year one, you haven’t worked with that brand for four years. Then they return to you after you terminate the contract within that year. Theoretically, the management company would still be owed 20%. So, you want to limit that look-back period. One year is what I would consider a reasonable amount. Someone might consider it longer than that.

But it’s the role of anyone advising you to tell what would be advantageous to you. And I would say limit to one year, looking back, and then one year going forward, that would be considered a reasonable amount. You could also reduce the percentage cost the management company receives, maybe quarterly. Hence, every three months, go from 20 to 15 to 10 to 5. And then, after that one year, it’s over with. So, 20% is an industry-standard amount. It could be more or less, but that’s about the average.

Can an Influencer Break Their Management Contract? | Influencers

Can you break an influencer management contract? One thing I find kind of gets confused is when someone considers breaking a contract, breaching it, or simply terminating it. Let’s go over the difference between the two. 

Breaking VS Breaching the Contract

Suppose an influencer signed a management contract with an agency or a manager. Then, there’ll be a clause in that contract that states how the influencer can terminate the agreement, meaning, end it. And for the most part, there are four ways that you can terminate a contract. If it’s for a fixed period and it doesn’t renew, let’s say it’s a year, either party wants to renew, the contract ends, it’s terminated, and that’s it.

You could terminate it by mutual agreement. At any point, even if there are clauses in the contract stating that you must provide a certain amount of notice. You can say, you know what, it’s not working out. Let’s move on. If both parties agree, then you can move on. The third way is for-cause termination, meaning one party has breached the contract. Let’s say you’re an influencer, your management company continues to pay you slowly, or they’re not paying you the correct amount. You’d send them written notice they’re in breach of a contract. Then normally, they’d have time to fix that breach, called a cure. And then, if they haven’t fixed the breach at the end of that cure period, you could terminate the agreement immediately.

And then the last way to terminate an influencer contract and the most common way, is without-cause termination. That means either party can terminate the agreement at any time, for any reason, with a certain amount of notice to the other party. Somewhere between 30 to 120 days is a standard amount of notice in a management contract. 

The Shorter the Notice Period, The Better

Suppose you are the influencer. The shorter time, the better. Suppose you decided to end your relationship with a manager. You don’t want to work with them anymore. The longer you’re forced to work with them or to sit there waiting to find a new manager is not great. So, you want to keep that as short as possible. A couple of things can also happen after you terminate the contract. Once again, breaking a contract also means terminating the agreement. 

After the Contract Termination

There will usually be a provision in almost any exclusive management contract. That states the influencers will have to pay whatever agreed-upon commission percentage cost after the contract’s termination period. That is usually one year with any brand that the management company has brought the influencer. Let’s say the influencers brought a deal with the skincare company from the management company. Influencers agreed to it, and they’ve been working with them for years.

Suppose influencers terminate the contract with the management company. That doesn’t mean they have to stop paying them the percentage cost with that skincare brand. Influencers would have to continue paying. Let’s say it’s 20% for the entire year after the contract ends because they brought their influencer into that deal. I mean, the management company, their biggest fear is they bring an influencer deal, it’s a great deal. And then, the influencer terminates the agreement, leaves, and doesn’t have to pay any commission to the management company. That’s standard as well. 

When You Don’t Want to Continue With an Agreement

What happens if influencers sign a management agreement with a company and don’t want to go forward with it? That’s where I would consider breaking the management contract. Well, influencers still have to follow through with the notice provision. So, if an influencer signs the agreement and doesn’t want to move forward, the influencer still has to give them notice. Now, no one forces an influencer to accept sponsorship opportunities from somebody. If they were to say, hey, we have all these deals that we want to bring you. But if the influencer already gave them notice that he’ll leave, the influencer doesn’t have to take them. But there may be language that states the influencer can’t contract with any other management company. That is until after that notice period ends and there’s an official contract termination. 

That’s what I would think of breaking a contract. I do a lot of work with physicians, so physicians always will sign a contract and decide not to go through with the job. And then there’s a whole discussion of, alright, what are the repercussions here?

Suppose they’ve signed the agreement but haven’t even started working yet. It’s a little simpler for an influencer because, for the most part, little time, money, or resources are expended. Whereas with other professions, sometimes there’s licensing. You have to go through credentialing, insurance, and all that stuff. Anyway, that’s how you would break an influencer management contract.

Social Media Influencer Manager

Social media has become an essential part of our lives. With a good percentage of the world population on social media. It has become a primary marketing channel. Establishing a social media marketing strategy to grow your reach and increase conversions is critical. Many successful brands include collaborating with social media influencers in their strategy. Influencers are trusted experts in their niches and can influence their followers’ buying patterns. 

Influencer marketing is a lucrative industry projected to grow to $16.4 billion in 2022. As the industry grows, so does the number of influencers and service providers supporting it. Influencer marketing-related services grew by 26% in 2021. Social media influencer managers are among the essential service providers in the industry.

Why Do Social Media Influencers Need Managers?

Social media influencers need managers to handle the business aspect of their careers as they focus on building their brands. Influencers with managers achieve more growth and success in their jobs than those without managers. Influencers can take advantage of their manager’s network and industry experience to get ahead of the pack.

Social media influencer managers guide clients through sourcing, negotiations, and signing contracts. They know how much per brand can pay, so they ensure brands do not exploit or shortchange their influencer’s clients. Managers understand contract details and will see what you are getting into – what brands expect and how they will compensate the influencer.

Having a manager is essential to expanding your career. Influencer managers have connections with different industry leaders. Your manager will put you in touch with other brands, presenting opportunities that influencers without managers don’t get.

How Do I Get a Social Media Influencer Manager? 

You can contact an influencer management agency or the influencer manager you want to work with directly. Agencies and influencer managers also reach out to social media influencers. They think it would be a quality addition to their client list. 

It is not just enough to have a manager for your influencer career. Influencers need to hire a manager who will improve and streamline their career. When looking for a manager, influencers must package their craft professionally. That is because managers sift through many applications to decide who is worth representing. To stand out, you must create unique and valuable content.

Every agency or manager focuses on a particular industry. An influencer has to find an agency that aligns with his industry or the direction you want to take with his career. The influencer can consult other influencers in your industry to recommend managers so that you can spend less time landing your best fit.

You must consider several factors before signing with a management agency or manager:

• How many influencers in your niche do they represent?
• Have the influencers in their roster seen more career growth and success since signing with them? 
• What is the agency’s strategy to help you maximize your social media reach?
• What are their short- and long-term goals to help build your brand?
• How much will they take from your influencer revenue?

Do Influencers Pay Their Management?

Influencers must pay for management services as stipulated in their engagement contract. Typically, influencers do not pay their management out of their pocket. Influencer managers take a cut out of the influencer’s earnings. The average range is from 10% to 20%, depending on the scope of services. The manager’s salary may include a portion of each of the following:

• AdSense revenue
• Brand campaigns
• Affiliate link commissions
• Product collabs
• Merchandise revenue

How Much Does an Influencer Manager Charge?

On average, influencer average management fees range from 10% to 20% of the brand deals. Some influencer managers may ask for a monthly retainer if the contract involves helping you with content creation and brand-building activities. Another option involves managers who will negotiate for a flat fee structure for a specific project, like launching a product or something.

Other factors that managers consider when pricing influencer management services include:

• The industry – influencers in the beauty industry are easier to find and manage than those in tech. Therefore, managers typically charge the latter more.
• The extent of management – the time you involve your manager will impact their fee. For example, do their services include campaign reports? Do they charge a software fee for the same or other services?

Influencer management fees also depend on who found the deal and the deal size. For example, your manager would charge less to handle a deal when clients reach out to you than when they bring you the deal. This setup is ideal because you only pay for what your manager does. If they bring projects, you should pay more because you wouldn’t have gotten the job without their intervention.

When Should a Social Media Influencer Get a Manager?

There is no rule of thumb or a certain number of social media followers at which you should get a manager. It is ideal to hire a manager when you start getting a continuous flow of deals from brands. At this point, it is usually overwhelming to balance negotiating deals, maintaining the quality of your content, and meeting deadlines.

Sometimes an influencer may need to hire an assistant or add a new member to your team and delegate some work. However, social media influencers often need a manager or a lawyer to negotiate brand deals on their behalf and read through their contracts. Ideally, here are the signs it’s time to hire a manager:

• An influencer is getting more than one deal a week
• When the influencer starts spending less time creating content or the quality of your content depreciates
• When an  influencer needs help with the financial management of legal matters

Do Influencer Managers Have Contracts?

Yes, they have Influencer Management Contracts – a legal document detailing the terms of engagement between the manager or agency and the influencer. The influencing industry does not have clear-cut rules and regulations. Influencer management contracts are critical and outline the rules and regulations each party must follow during and after the contract period.

The contract outlines the essential elements of the engagement, including:

• The agreement’s start date
• The rights and responsibilities of each party
• The length of the contract
• The manager’s fee or commission percentage
• Work-for-hire language
• The use rights of the recordings
• Alternative dispute resolution
• Contract termination

Find Out More About Social Media Influencer Managers.

Many social media influencers need professional help with legal contracts and financial management. Many influencing agreements today must follow the FTC Endorsement Guidelines. Influencers need managers to negotiate deals, review their contracts and offer financial counsel on issues like taxes.

Contact Chelle Law if you have any questions about influencer management or want us to review your influencer management contract.

Influencer Management Contract Questions?

Contract Review, Termination Issues, and more!

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