Reels and TikTok reactions look like the same product and are not. The distinction that matters commercially is not aspect ratio, which everyone gets right, but the opening beat and what the platform does with content it can tell has been somewhere else first.
What to put in the public brief
- The platform, explicitly, and that it is for Reels
- Whether they deliver a file or post to their own account
- If posting: that the paid partnership label is required
- Clip length and whether they appear on camera
- The markets or languages you need
Keep the asset private until a spot is reserved.
What to put in the private instructions
Ask for a clean export
No captions burned in, no platform stickers, no watermark. You want footage you can adapt, not a finished post from somewhere else.
Specify the first two seconds
A spoken hook rather than text-on-screen usually travels further here. Say which you want, because the worker's default will be whichever platform they use most.
Give the disclosure mechanism, not just the obligation
"Paid partnership label plus a line in the caption" is actionable. "Disclose it" is not, and the liability for getting it wrong is yours.
Say a lukewarm reaction is paid
Same rule as everywhere else on this marketplace, and the reason any of the enthusiastic ones are worth having.
Proof worth requiring
Ask for
The clean file, and where they posted, the public link plus a screenshot showing the disclosure as a viewer sees it.
Do not ask for
Reach or engagement figures. You bought a clip, not performance, and tying approval to numbers turns an honest reaction into something the worker can only deliver by gaming.
When this task type is the wrong tool
If you want the same reaction across both platforms, commission the clean export once here and brief the platform-specific opening as a second, cheaper task rather than paying full price twice.
If what you need is a song reaction specifically, the TikTok version covers the rights and disclosure questions that only come up with music.