Guide

A Brand Wants to Run Your Video as an Ad. What Are You Agreeing To?

Before sharing a Spark Ads code, agree the content, campaign dates, platforms, edits and paid-use fee. A practical guide with a 30-day example.

By
PIN-AGENCY KOREA
November 7, 2026
7
min read

PIN Agency Insights articles are created through collaboration between people and AI tools. AI assists with research, drafting and translation where needed, with people setting the editorial direction and deciding what to publish.

Updated
AI-generated editorial illustration of a creator video passing through an approval gate into advertising placements.

A brand messages you: “We love your video. Can you send us a code so we can boost it?”

That can be a worthwhile opportunity. It can also be a much bigger request than a repost. Before sending anything, establish what the brand wants to run, whose identity the ad will use, how long it can run, and what you will be paid.

The useful distinction: platform permission makes an ad possible. Your written agreement should define the deal. Check any existing agreement first; you may already have granted paid-use rights, or reserved them for a separate negotiation.

First, ask what “use your video” means

These are different proposals, and they deserve different answers:

  • Organic repost: the brand shares the agreed content on its own channels without paid distribution.
  • An ad using your existing post: the brand pays to distribute the post through a platform's creator-ad format, such as TikTok Spark Ads.
  • An uploaded ad: the brand wants your video file to publish as advertising, potentially with new versions, destinations or placements.

Do not assume the first includes the other two. Equally, do not assume a code limits everything the brand can do under a broader contract you have already signed. Ask for the exact post URL, platform, advertiser and proposed use in writing.

A Spark Ads code is not just a courtesy

TikTok documents both account-based authorization and authorization for individual posts through video codes. In its Smart+ instructions, the creator's post-code flow offers 7, 30, 60 or 365 days. The same guide says the caption cannot be edited after authorization, a private video becomes public when used in a campaign, and a code can be deleted only when every ad using that video has been deleted in Ads Manager. Source: TikTok's Smart+ Spark Ads guide.

Do not assume every request starts with those choices. TikTok's separate Content Suite guidance says Spark authorization requests default to 365 days. Read the request you actually receive, rather than relying on a tutorial for a different workflow. Source: TikTok's Content Suite guide.

For a one-post test, our recommendation is to use the narrowest permission that supports the agreed campaign. If someone requests account-level access instead, ask why that broader access is needed. Use the platform's official permission flow, not a shared password or verification code.

Agree these seven details before you authorize

  1. The content: identify the exact post or final file. Specify whether the deal covers only that version or also cutdowns, translations and additional edits.
  2. The advertiser and account: name the brand and who will operate its campaign. If an agency is involved, make the relationship clear.
  3. The platform and placements: distinguish TikTok-only paid use from other social platforms, the brand website, marketplaces or offline advertising. Do not use “all media” casually.
  4. The dates: write an actual start and end date, including time zone. Agree whether the paid-use period starts at authorization, first delivery or another defined event. Check that the platform window supports those dates.
  5. The scope: agree target markets and, if useful to your negotiation, an ad-spend limit. These are proposed commercial controls, not promises that a post code automatically enforces them.
  6. The fee and renewal: separate making the video, posting it and allowing paid distribution. They can be bundled, but the bundle should say what is included. Specify renewal terms rather than leaving continued use implied.
  7. The approval and stop process: decide who approves edits, ad copy, the destination link and any new claims. Name the person who will stop ads and confirm closure when the period ends.
AI-generated editorial illustration of a video, agreement, calendar and lock representing time-limited advertising permission.
Define the content, scope and campaign dates before granting access. AI-generated illustration.

What should you charge for paid use?

Start with the scope, not a supposed universal percentage. A short test of one existing post is a different proposal from a year of multi-platform advertising, extensive editing rights or category exclusivity.

Give the brand two clearly defined options if that makes the conversation easier: a limited initial campaign and an extended package. Quote your fee for each, state when payment is due, and make any renewal a deliberate decision. We are not suggesting a standard market rate: the right price depends on your work, audience, negotiating position and the rights requested.

Do not confuse the creator's paid-use fee with the advertiser's media budget. One compensates you under your agreement; the other buys distribution. If the brand says “we have $500 to spend,” ask which budget it means before accepting.

A worked example: a 30-day TikTok test

Imagine a skincare brand wants to test your existing product-demo post. You are happy with the product and interested in the offer, but the initial message just says “boosting rights.”

A clearer proposal could be: one identified post; TikTok Spark Ads only; a named advertiser; an agreed 30-day campaign with exact dates; specified target markets; no new creative versions or added claims without approval; a separate paid-use fee; and a fresh agreement for any extension.

Before sending the code, check the permission shown in the app and confirm that it fits the campaign. A 365-day request is not the same as your proposed 30-day deal. If the available workflow and the agreement do not line up, resolve the mismatch first. Do not generate a code so early that its available window fails to cover the planned campaign.

This is a negotiation example, not a contract template or a guarantee that the platform enforces every term. Keep the written approval and campaign details somewhere you can find them later.

Your permission does not clear every right in the video

Check music, footage, artwork and anyone else's contributions before agreeing to advertising use. TikTok's October 2026 TikTok One guidance describes Commercial Sounds as intended for TikTok, notes that rights can vary by track, region, account or campaign, and warns against downloading those sounds for reposting on other platforms. A video that is cleared for one use is not automatically cleared for another. Source: TikTok One music guidance.

For the music side, read Can Your Brand Actually Use That Trending Song? Keep the rights check separate from the question of whether the creative performs well.

Disclosure also matters. For endorsements affecting U.S. consumers, the FTC says material brand relationships should be clear, including payment or free products; its guidance cautions against assuming a platform disclosure tool is sufficient on its own. Other markets have their own requirements. Agree how disclosures will remain clear in the final ad rather than treating an ad code as compliance approval. Source: FTC Disclosures 101.

Plan the end before the campaign begins

Put the agreed end date in your calendar. Ask the advertiser to confirm that delivery has stopped and to complete any platform steps needed to close access. TikTok's code-deletion condition is one reason not to promise yourself that a single creator-side click will undo every active campaign.

If the brand wants to continue, discuss the new period and fee before extending permission. If you need an early stop, refer to the agreed process and the current platform controls. Ending platform access and ending contractual rights are separate questions; get professional advice if the agreement is disputed or the stakes are substantial.

A reply you can adapt

Thanks, I’m open to paid use of this video. Before I authorize it, could you confirm the exact post, advertiser, platform, campaign dates and target markets? Please also share any proposed edits, ad copy and destination link, plus your budget for the paid-use permission. I’ll confirm the scope and fee in writing before sharing access. Any extension or additional platform use will need a separate agreement.

The aim is not to make a promising collaboration difficult. It is to make “yes” mean the same thing to both sides.

Sources

Platform documentation checked 7 November 2026. Interfaces and permission options can change. This is practical editorial guidance, not legal advice.

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