Content Guidelines

We’re all here for the same reason: to sample free products in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. But what makes a great review? What’s the difference between a photo for a review and for social media? How do you avoid getting your review rejected?

We’ve got answers to all of these questions below! But we know that sometimes you’re just looking for the bullet points to get started, so here’s a quick summary of what makes awesome content:

Reviews

Focus your review on the product itself and your experiences with it. What did you like? What wasn’t so great?

Photos with Reviews

Keep your photos that accompany your review focused on the key points you mention in your review.
These can help to highlight your experience (good or bad) with the sample you received
No flat lays, please! We want to see the product out of packaging in action or you wearing the apparel items.

Social Media Posts
1. PG13 feed (no nudity or over sexualized images in your feed)
2. Minimal religious nods in your overall feed
3. No guns in your feed
4. Inclusive (or no) political statements in your feed

These photos should be more curated and inspirational - show us a day in your life with the product. Please DO NOT use the same photos you submitted for your review.
Make sure you tag @Target and #heybullseye
Please disclose that you received your products for free from the Hey, Bullseye™ sampling program within the first 125 characters of your post. You may copy the following sentence: “I received these products for free from the Hey, Bullseye™ sampling program in exchange for my honest review.”
If we like what we see, we’ll ask you for permission to use your photo(s) on our website and other digital properties. If you want to give us permission to use your photos, all you need to do is reply to the comment on your Instagram saying “@Target #ShareMyTargetStyle” and you’ll be good to go.
Profile Requirements

Of course, we have a lot of great tips, tricks, and recommendations below. Please read on for more information!

Review Writing Guidelines

Here are some helpful tips for writing the BEST reviews! Remember, high quality reviews lead to high quality offers! Make sure you’re leaving your review shortly after you receive your free samples. We’ll send out some reminder emails, but at the latest, please ensure you’ve left your review within 7 days of receiving the second reminder email or you could jeopardize your ability to receive future product offers.

When crafting your reviews, you must comply with the following to ensure your review(s) are not rejected:

Please focus your comments on the reasons why you like or dislike the item.
You may not submit copyrighted images or other content unless you own the copyright to such content, or have the express authorization of the copyright owner to do so.
Product reviews must be written in English.
Any Target team member or employee of a Target vendor, agency or contractor who writes a review must disclose that they are affiliated with or compensated by Target. Your reviews are your opinions. Do not state or imply that Target endorses your reviews or that you are speaking on behalf of Target.
Please be sure to review only the item itself. If you have any site related, guest services, shipping, or other issues please contact us using the "Contact Us" link under "My Account" at the top of the page. For any reviews you submit, you grant to Target a non-exclusive license, as set forth in our Terms and Conditions. Your review will be posted in one to two days. We'll post your screen name and location with your review. If you choose to answer reviewer profile questions such as age or gender, your responses will also be displayed with your review. Any submissions that do not follow our Review Guidelines will not be posted. Target does not endorse, recommend or sponsor any guest product reviews, ideas or advice.

Below are some topic starters:

Talk about your personal experience with the product (not with Hey, Bullseye™ or Target)
Tell other customers what is great or not so great about it
Explain how you are using it
Attributes to consider include: quality; durability; design; ease of use; key product attributes; etc.

Below are some ideas by category:

Apparel: size; fit accuracy; color; quality of material/fabric; value; warmth; styling; washing instructions
Baby: ease of assembly/set-up; durability; value; maneuverability; styling; convertibility
Beauty: application; does it blend well; coverage; easy/hard to remove; natural-looking; aroma; lasting effect; light/heavy; hydrating; healing power
Cameras: battery life; sound quality; video quality; photo quality; compatibility; ease of use; included in the box
Decor or Home Textiles: Design; Quality; Durability
Electronics: compatibility; ease of assembly/instructions; networkable; speed; wireless; quality; size
Hair care: adds shine; adds volume; controls curl; repairs damaged hair; rinses out well; fragrance
Headphones: sound quality; style; fit; color; compatibility; size & weight; performance
Fitness: efficient use of space; fast results; lightweight; suitable for variety of people; packaging; size & weight; meets expectations; sturdiness’
Furniture: Design; Style; ease of assembly
Kitchen Appliances: good use of space; noise level; size & weight; performance; energy efficiency
Pets: ease of use; clean-up; pet likes it; entertaining; size; value
Printers & Scanners: compatibility; ease of use/instructions; networkable; speed; wireless; print quality; size
Skin Care: heals & clear skin; hydrate; immediate results; nice finish; revitalize; effectiveness; moisturizing; rejuvenating; thickness; fragrance
Speakers: ease of use; compatibility; sound quality; size; use of space; style; value
Sports & Outdoors: convenience; ease of assembly; family enjoyment; durability, price
Tablets: battery life; ease of use; user friendly; compatibility; streaming device; sound quality; picture quality
Toys: fun; educational; play life; battery life; imaginative; size; easy to understand; entertaining; facilitates child's learning; fun for hours; good for all ages; minimal parent assistance
Vacuums: cleans edges/corners well; good for all surfaces; size & lightweight; cord length; dust chamber; energy and suction efficiency; noise level; storage space; weight; good for pet hair
Video Games: fun; entertaining; age ranges; appropriate; expectations; quality

Review Rejection

If your reviews are being consistently rejected, this may lead to fewer product offers or removal from the community. Target reserves the right to not post a review or to remove a posted review for any reason, including if the review contains any of the following:

Profanity, obscenities, spiteful remarks or other language not suitable for this forum.
Political campaigning, commercial solicitation, chain letters, mass mailings or any form of "spam."
Time-sensitive material (e.g., promotional tours, seminars, lectures, etc.).
Phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, URLs or other forms of contact information.
Solicitations for helpful votes.
Inappropriate images. Please see the “Photo submission guidelines” for more information regarding images associated with reviews.
- Do not include images that contain shipping stickers/labels
- Do not include images of a sleeping/napping baby
Please do not mention pricing in your review. The price of products is variable and changes frequently, and this may be irrelevant information to other members. Please focus your review on the functionality, features, and other details about the product itself.
Product suggestions or improvements - please do not include this information in your review.
Medical advice should not be offered in any reviews
- Off-label usage should not be highlighted in a review - please stick to the recommended product uses in your review(s)
- Negative health effects should be reported directly to Target and should not be included in your review.

All submitted reviews are subject to the terms set forth in our Terms and Conditions, including Target's right (but not an obligation) to monitor, alter, remove or refuse to post or allow to be posted any User Content. Reviews constitute "User Content" under our Terms and Conditions, and for any reviews you submit, you grant to Target a non-exclusive license.

Target reserves the right to make changes to Review Writing Guidelines at any time and such changes will be effective immediately upon being posted. Each time you write a review, you should review the current Review Writing Guidelines.

Any review that we believe to be in violation of these Review Writing Guidelines may be removed at our sole discretion and without notice.

Photo Submission Guidelines

Photo Submission

Target frequently requires photo submissions with your review - this information is called out in the offer emails and product descriptions, so please make sure you are reviewing all communications thoroughly to ensure that you are prepared to meet the requirements of a given campaign. Below are the guidelines for photo submissions, along with tips and tricks for creating the best photos to accompany your reviews.

Dos and Don'ts when uploading a photo

Hey, Bullseye reserves the right to reject photos/reviews that do not meet the below guidelines:

DO:

Clearly showcase the product and ensure it is recognizable
Capture your product experience in the photo
Focus on the product attributes mentioned in your review
Provide visuals that shoppers will find useful
Ensure your photo is high quality and clear

DO NOT:

Submit stock photos or inauthentic photos
Take a photo of the product in the box
Include any personally identifiable information, such as full names or address
Include other brand's products in the photo
Don't use inappropriate imagery or explicit content
Do not include images that contain shipping stickers/labels
Do not include images of a sleeping/napping baby

Tips & Tricks:

Step 1: Identify the best lighting to capture your winning photo. Natural lighting is best.

Step 2: Only capture photos in high-resolution.

Step 3: Make sure the product reviewing is clearly visible.

Step 4: Have fun with it! Capture lifestyle imagery using the product in your everyday life.

Step 5: Make this relatable to others, capturing the most important uses for this product in your opinion. Your review photo must show how the product fits or works in your life.

Examples of Great Review Photo Content

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, we thought it might be helpful to share some examples of what a great review photo looks like, and what isn’t a great fit for Target reviews.

Check out our photo guide here!

Social Media Post Guidelines

The more that you post, the more campaigns you’ll be included in, so make sure to share your favorite products! Please make sure that the photos you share on social media are not the same as the photos you include in your reviews.

If we like what we see, we’ll ask you for permission to use your photo(s) on our website and other digital properties. If you want to give us permission to use your photos, all you need to do is reply to the comment on your Instagram saying “@Target #ShareMyTargetStyle” and you’ll be good to go.

Steps to post on Social for Hey, Bullseye™

Share your photos as a post (not a story!) on your public profile. If your profile is private, we won’t be able to see your awesome photo(s). If you post a story, we won’t be able to save your photo(s) for any longer than the story lasts.
Make sure you tag @Target and #heybullseye to make sure we see your fabulous post!
Disclose that you received your products for free from the Hey, Bullseye™ sampling program within the first 125 characters of your post. You may copy the following sentence: “I received these products for free from the Hey, Bullseye™ sampling program in exchange for my honest review.”

Dos and Don'ts when sharing a photo

Hey, Bullseye reserves the right to reject photos/reviews that do not meet the below guidelines:

DO:

Showcase the product and ensure it is recognizable
Capture your product experience in the photo
Provide visuals that will inspire your fellow shoppers
Ensure your photo is high quality and clear
Use natural light
Disclose that you received your products for free from the Hey, Bullseye™ sampling program within the first 125 characters of your post. You may copy the following sentence: “I received these products for free from the Hey, Bullseye™ sampling program in exchange for my honest review.”

DO NOT:

Post the same photos that you used in your review
Submit stock photos or inauthentic photos
Take a photo of the product in the box
Include any personally identifiable information, such as full names or address
Include other brand's products in the photo
Don't use inappropriate imagery or explicit content
Do not overexpose your photos

Rights Requesting

After you post your photo(s) to social media, you will see what we refer to as a “Rights Request” posted as a comment from @Target on your post. This comment will ask for your permission to use your photo on their website.
If you want to let Target feature your social media post on their website and other digital properties, all you need to do is respond to the comment with “@target #ShareMyTargetStyle” - that’s it!
From there, Target will use your photo(s) to help other shoppers just like you decide if the featured product is a good fit for them.
Don’t worry, you’ll receive credit as the owner and creator of the content - we’ll link back to your Instagram account, too. Credit goes where credit is due!

Profile Requirements

PG13 feed (no nudity or over sexualized images in your feed)
Minimal religious nods in your overall feed
No guns in your feed
Inclusive (or no) political statements in your feed

Tips & Tricks:

Shoot it where you’d use it. We’re all about real, honest content. So pick a place where you’d really use the product you’re featuring. For example, if you’re posting about a facial lotion, the bathroom might be the perfect place.
Do a background check. Be sure your background is clear from other distractions (other brands/products, general clutter, etc). That way the product you’re featuring is front and center.
Please no flat-lays. Flat-lays are pictures on which we can see the product laying flat on a background. We want to see the product in action, so please avoid these types of photos.
Lights, no. Camera, yes. There’s no need for any fancy lighting equipment—natural lighting, like the sun, is best. Just be sure your product is lit from the front (products lit from the back tend to look flat and more like a painting).
Forget the filter. Color shifts and touch-up features are amazing for vacation pics, but not so much for #heybullseye.
Just say no to zoom. Zooming in on photos can make them lose quality and start to look blurry. And blurry is never a good look.
Find an interesting angle. Don’t be afraid to play around with different perspectives. High. Low. Bird’s eye. Eye-level.
Be creative. Once you have the basics, feel free to have some fun with it. Texture shots. Matching color swatches. Beautiful component pieces. Whatever you want.
Utilize the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is a guide for how to compose your photos. Imagine your photo frame has three evenly spaced vertical lines and three evenly-spaced horizontal lines. This gives you a nine-part grid. Where the imaginary lines intersect are where your focus items should be placed.
- Pro tip: Turn on the gridlines for your camera in your phone’s settings. You can use them to practice aligning your photos.

Captions - where to start!

Besides crafting the perfect photo, you’ll also want to make sure to craft a captivating caption! Try saying that three times fast :) We encourage you to be creative and put your personal flair on your caption (don’t forget to tag @Target #heybullseye and to include this sentence “I received these products for free from the Hey, Bullseye™ sampling program in exchange for my honest review.”), but we know that sometimes getting started is the hardest part.

Creating a great caption

Make your first few sentences count! Instagram shortens your caption to display only 3 or 4 lines, so make sure that your first few sentences contain the hook! Why should your friends and family care about your post? Let them know up front!

Make sure that you disclose that you received your products for free from the Hey, Bullseye™ sampling program within the first 125 characters of your post. You may copy the following sentence: “I received these products for free from the Hey, Bullseye™ sampling program in exchange for my honest review.”

Ask a question or include a “call to action”. Communicating directly with your family and friends through your caption will encourage conversation and engagement with your post!
Share your own tips and tricks! Your followers are interested in what you have to say and how to live your life - make some recommendations or tips and tricks that relate to the product you’re highlighting to add some further value.
Use your voice. Everyone cares about authenticity, so make sure that you’re using your own unique voice when creating your caption. Your personality is the coolest thing about you, so let it shine!
Spice it up! Instead of just describing what’s in your photo, why not tell us a story about it? Describe the details of your experience - describe the touch, taste, feel, or emotion that correspond to how you felt when you took the photo.
Emojis are your friend. Everyone loves an emoji! Don’t be afraid to use them to emphasize the experience of your photo, and get creative with your emoji combinations!
Use hashtags. Hashtags can be a great way to expand your reach. If you want your post to reach far and wide, include some relevant hashtags that people can use to find you. Of course, don’t forget to include @Target and #heybullseye in your caption, too!

Examples of great captions or hashtags to use

I’m feeling #grateful for the @Target #heybullseye program today! Check out this awesome _________ I just tried out - it’s fantastic! What are you grateful for today? 🙌
Life isn’t always perfect but hey! Your outfit can be! Check out this awesome _________ I got from @Target! I love the way this compliments the _________ vibes of this time of year. What are your favorites for this season? #heybullseye #fallfashion #springvibes #hotgirlsummer #cozywinter
👀 Cute #vibes alert!! 👀 Fell in LOVE with this fabulous ________ from @Target! Let me know what you think about this new _______! #heybullseye
#fallvibes
#outfitoftheday
#naturelovers
#foodstagram
#momlife
#goodhairday
#yum

Click here to see some examples of GREAT social media submissions (and what you should avoid)!