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How to partner with a company on instagram


How to Get Sponsored on Instagram (Even if You Currently Have 0 Followers)

It's no surprise you want to become a paid Instagram influencer -- heck, the average price for a sponsored Instagram post is $300, and if you become more successful, like yogi Rachel Brathen, you could be making $25,000 per post.

But the idea of getting your posts sponsored might seem laughable to you. You're not posting pictures skydiving in Australia -- you're posting pictures of your brunch. However, you could be more marketable than you think.

Instagram has become an insanely popular channel for brands to promote their products. In fact, Influencer Central found consumers consider Instagram to be the sixth most effective at influencing their purchasing decisions.

Instagram's popularity might make you feel the platform is already too crowded for you to stand out. But here's the thing -- brands are quickly realizing the power of normal people to promote their products. Micro-influencers, or people with a small number of followers compared to the big players, see the most engagement out of their audience.

Think of it this way: I'm going to trust my best friend's advice over Kim Kardashian's when I'm purchasing a product. I trust my best friend, we share similar interests, and I know she's genuine with her advice (no offense, Kim … ).

It's the same concept for micro-influencers -- with the right strategy, your audience will begin to see you as one of their real friends. The more they trust your advice when seeking out purchasing decisions, the more likely you are to get sponsored.

Here, we're going to show you everything you need to do to get sponsored on Instagram, even if you currently have zero followers. Keep reading to get started or click the links below to jump to a specific section of this article.

  • How to Get Sponsored on Instagram
  • What's a Sponsored Instagram Post?
  • Using #ad and #spon Hashtags

How to Get Sponsored on Instagram

  1. Define your brand.
  2. Know your audience.
  3. Post consistently.
  4. Use hashtags and geotags.
  5. Tag brands in your posts.
  6. Include contact information in your bio.
  7. Pitch paid sponsorships.
  8. Know your worth.

1. Define your brand.

You'll see the best engagement if you're able to define your niche. Do you want to post food and health related content, or focus on fashion? Whatever the case, it's important to establish your brand.

Besides the type of content you post, branding has a lot to do with your overall aesthetic. How do you want to style your posts? What's your messaging? To further solidify your brand, you might want to consider creating a cohesive feed theme (use these feeds for inspiration).

Specificity is key. A good influencer's posts are distinguishable and unique -- when a user is flipping through her feed, she'll be able to pause and recognize every time she sees a post from that influencer. As she continues to see similar content, she'll grow to trust that brand as an expert in the field. If the influencer suddenly and randomly changed course, the user might not understand or trust the content anymore.

Additionally, you might want to connect your Instagram brand with an online presence. Creating a website with similar aesthetic and messaging is a good way to do this -- the more you unify your social media accounts, the easier it will be for brands to distinguish how you can help them.

2. Know your audience.

Knowing your audience is critical for convincing a brand to work with you. It's mutually beneficial for you, as well -- if you understand your audience, you're able to correctly identify which brands will see the most success from using you as their sponsor.

Start by gathering the basics -- what is the gender, age, and geographical location of your core demographic? Which of your posts do they like the best? What times of day do they respond best to content, and what can you infer from this?

The demographic information you gather will help you pitch partnerships with brands. Brands want to know who they can reach if they work with you. Explaining "You'll be reaching thirty-something, working women, primarily from New York, who often use Instagram first thing in the morning and prefer fitness content" is certainly more powerful than saying, "You'll be reaching women."

3. Post consistently.

CoSchedule gathered research from 14 studies to identity how often you should post on social media sites. For Instagram, they found you should post a minimum of once a day, but can post upwards of three times a day.

CoSchedule also found 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM, and 2:00 AM, are the best times to post.

To grow your following, it's critical you post at least once a day. Instagram's algorithm favors new and fresh content, and you don't want your audience to unfollow you or forget about you from lack of consistency.

However, you'll need to figure out what works best for you and your audience. Perhaps your audience feels bombarded when you post three times a day, or maybe they prefer it. Maybe your audience engages most with your posts at noon. It will take some trial and error, as well as Instagram metrics tools, to figure this out.

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4. Use hashtags and geotags.

Hashtags make your content more discoverable, so they're necessary for growing your following. You can use up to 30 hashtags per post, but TrackMaven found nine to be the optimal number for boosting engagement.

You'll want to use hashtags as relevant to your content as possible. You'll also need to check to make sure the hashtags you use aren't broken or banned (take a look at this list of banned hashtags if you're unsure).

It's critical you choose hashtags that aren't too broad. #Healthyliving, for instance, has over 20,000,000 posts, while #healthylivingtips only has 13,000. The less competition, the easier it will be for your content to get discovered.

When you peruse a hashtag's page, you can also get a deeper sense of what types of content your post will be up against. #Healthylivingtips might typically feature posts with food recipes, while your post is about cycling -- this could defer you from using that hashtag.

Geotags are equally important, but for a different reason. Geotags can help people find you if they're interested in a certain location. This helps you gain more followers, and it also helps you appeal to brands that are interested in reaching a certain demographic. For instance, maybe a boutique sees you often post fashion tips from the California area, and they're looking to appeal to people in that region -- it's a win, win.

5. Tag brands in your posts.

Okay, now you're officially ready to begin reaching out to brands. You've defined your brand and audience and have created some quality, authentic posts. Now, you should have a pretty good idea what types of businesses would benefit from a partnership with you.

It's important to start small. If you're interested in skincare, don't go straight for Estee Lauder -- instead, try tagging small skincare start-ups you've seen across Instagram already.

Let's take a look at an example -- @Tzibirita, a travel influencer, posted this image of herself wearing a Paul Hewitt watch. The image is high-quality and fits with her brand, and she tags @paul_hewitt in her description. Even if you're not paid by Paul Hewitt, you can still post the same type of content and tag their brand in the post. Ideally, it will at least put you on their radar.

Begin with small brands and tag them in your descriptions. Engage with your audience by responding to comments like "Where can I get one?" or "How much?" and the brand will soon see you've proven yourself a suitable sales partner.

6. Include contact information in your bio.

Consider your bio a chance to signal to brands your interest in becoming an influencer. Include an email or website so they can reach you, and include a press kit if possible.

For instance, @tzibirita doesn't waste her bio space. She includes her email and website, and even adds a title -- "content creator". Brands will have no doubt she's open to doing business with them.

Furthermore, you should use a website or blog as your chance to expand on your brand and demonstrate your versatility. Consider adding a Press Page to your website, so brands can take a look at your services. Once you begin sponsoring brands, you can add them to this page so brands can see you have influencer experience.

7. Pitch paid sponsorships.

There's nothing wrong with reaching out to brands and offering your services. With the right pitch, you might be able to land some gigs without waiting for brands to find you.

Look for brands that clearly invest time and money into their Instagram presence. You might start by researching what similar influencers in your industry already sponsor. Remember, it's okay to start small. Working with smaller brands will allow you to build a portfolio.

Once you've curated a list of brands that might want to partner with you, send them an email. In your pitch, clearly and briefly outline who you are, what you do, and any achievements you have in the field that make you an expert. Then, explain why you're a good fit for the brand, and include data such as follower count and average engagement rate.

Alternatively, you might consider sending a brand a DM straight from Instagram. It's certainly more relevant to the job you're vying for, but it might get lost if a brand get hundreds of DMs a day.

8. Know your worth.

Make sure you know how much you're going to charge when brands reach out to you. The industry standard is $10 for 1,000 followers, but it could also vary depending on how many likes you get per post. Additionally, as you grow, you'll be able to charge more.

While you'll want to have a minimum set, you can negotiate to encourage brands to pay more. Perhaps for $300, you'll throw in five Instagram Story posts, and a link in your bio to their website for 24 hours. You can use other Instagram features to sweeten the deal.

Once you have your pricing structure nailed down, you'll need to know how to sponsor a post on behalf of the brand you're working with. Now, keep in mind there are two different kinds of "sponsored" posts: those for which brands pay Instagram, and those for which brands pay another user.

Confused? Here's what I mean:

What's a Sponsored Instagram Post?

A sponsored post on Instagram is paid for by the poster to reach a wider audience. There are two main types of sponsorships: In one, a brand creates a post and pays Instagram for access to a custom audience. In the other, a brand sponsors another Instagram user -- often called an "Influencer" -- who creates a post that features the brand in some way.

Here's more detail on each type of sponsored post:

Promoted Posts & Ads

Just like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, Instagram comes with a native ad management platform. Advertisers can use this tool to customize a target audience -- using attributes like age, sex, location, and interests -- and invest a specific amount of money to getting their post in front of Instagrammers who identify with this audience.

The thing to remember here is that the advertiser is making and publishing the post. They're paying Instagram for the audience they want access to, but the post is theirs to create.

Paid Sponsorships

Paid sponsorships take place between a brand and another Instagram user. Typically, this user has a personal brand and attracts an audience of his or her own. This user is often called an "influencer."

This person can then use the steps explained earlier in this article to find and work with brands that appeal to a similar audience. When they find a brand who wants to sponsor them, they can charge this client a certain amount to create a post that features their product or service. Think of it like social media product placement; just like a business might pay a TV show to have their brand of soda on the countertop in the series finale, they can also pay a person on Instagram to hold that same soda in a picture on their Instagram feed.

Clearly there are more creative sponsorship ideas you can come up with -- I decided to go with a cliché . ..

Influencers are similar to Instagram's ad manager in the sense that they both draw an audience that brands might not otherwise have access to. However, the differences in this type of sponsorship are that the brand is paying the influencer -- rather than Instagram -- for access to their audience, and the influencer -- rather than the advertiser -- is the one creating and publishing the post.

There are numerous influencers for each industry. Here's a big list of today's known influencers and the types of audiences they attract.

Using #ad and #spon Hashtags

In the past couple years, brands have come under fire for hiring influencers but not making it clear to the audience that these influencers were getting paid.

Department store Lord & Taylor, for instance, settled charges with the FTC in 2016 after paying 50 influencers to wear a dress in their posts without hashtagging #sponsorship or #ad.

Influencers are supposed to hashtag #ad or #sponsored in posts they're being paid for, but these tags make some brands uncomfortable because it makes the post appear inauthentic.

In 2017, Instagram released a paid partnership feature to combat this issue -- if you tag a brand in a post and the brand confirms the relationship, the ad will be marked at the top with a "paid partnership" label. This also helps the brand gather data regarding how well the campaign is performing.

It's critical your followers know if you're getting paid to promote a product. Ethics aside, it could destroy your account's credibility if you're caught, and lose everything you've worked hard to build -- namely, an authentic, trusting community.

If you truly don't want to post #ad or #spon, there are some ways around it -- for instance, Airbnb created the hashtag #Airbnb_partner, to signal a paid partnership without using the word "ad".

When in doubt, adhere to Instagram's policies. You can read Instagram's branded content policies in full here.

Ultimately, getting sponsored on Instagram isn't easy -- it takes time, effort, and perseverance. But if you work hard to differentiate yourself in the industry, and connect on a personal level with your followers, it can be extraordinarily rewarding.

Originally published Nov 12, 2020 5:02:00 PM, updated October 06 2022

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What You Need to Know About Instagram Paid Partnerships

Opinion

by Kayla Matthews

Here's why Instagram paid partnerships are important, how to get started with your Instagram paid partnerships, and what mistakes to avoid.

It’s easy to waste a lot of money on social media partnerships that don’t do anything for your business. If your business is centered around a product or service that photographs well, you’ll probably be looking at Instagram as a potential marketing option. What do you need to know about Instagram paid partnerships before you start investing?

What is an Instagram paid partnership?

First, what are Instagram paid partnerships? If the average user sees a post tagged with “Paid Partnership With…” and a brand name, that means that the person who shared it has some sort of commercial relationship with the brand. It also means that they received compensation for their post, though depending on the relationship this could be money, product, discounts or other forms of payment. 

Initially, these partnerships were limited to the audience that the poster had on their account, or what they could manage with hashtags but Instagram’s new paid partnerships tool gives creators and brands the option to allow brand accounts to promote an individual creator’s posts on an account with a larger following. 

Not only does this make it easier for brands to showcase product-forward content created by their brand ambassadors, but it also helps to support the platform’s dedication to transparency and clarity when it comes to sponsored posts. This is due to the change in FTC guidelines when it comes to sponsored advertisements. Before the change, more than 90% of influencer and celebrity endorsements were in violation of those guidelines.

Why are these partnerships important?

If you’re setting up a partnership program, this gives your brand more exposure — both through your brand’s page and your partners — than you would normally receive through regular traffic and hashtag navigation. These posts can also be added to your brand’s stories, for more exposure.

For the average user, these partnership programs help them tell the difference between authentic posts and paid advertisements. It’s useful for people who don’t want their feed peppered with ads — users can just unfollow the influencer that’s making the posts if necessary. 

As an added incentive, using the partnership program gives both the brand and the influencer the tools to see exactly how well their content is performing. Both parties have the option to analyse those metrics, so they can work together to see what’s working and what’s not. Influencer marketing is expensive, costing anywhere from $1,000 to $1 million per post, so it’s important to keep track of those metrics so you’re not wasting money on things that don’t work. 

Setting up your Instagram paid partnerships

Setting up an Instagram paid partnership is fairly simple and straightforward for business owners. First, you need to be approved by Instagram as a partner. Once you’ve been given that feature, start by accessing Business Settings and scroll down to Branded Content Approvals.

Toggle on the “Require Approvals” switch, and from there you’ll be able to approve influencers as business partners. Once they’ve been approved, you’ll receive a notification any time they create a post or a story and tag you in it. From there, you can either decide to remove yourself from the tag or approve it as a sponsored post. 

Mistakes to avoid with IPP

Setting up an influencer marketing campaign is easy, but it’s also easy to waste a lot of money on posts that don’t bring you any traffic. What mistakes should you avoid when you set up an Instagram paid partnership?

Firstly, don’t go into any sort of influencer program without a plan, objective and goal in mind. Ask yourself what you want from and what you expect to achieve with this marketing investment. Setting up a plan and having an objective in mind will keep you from making simple but costly mistakes.  

Be smart about who you choose to partner with. Using random influencers that don’t align with your brand will just end up costing you money. Working with micro-influencers that hang out in your niche rather than macro-influencers and celebrities that might not really know or like your brand will help you create more effective advertisements and more authentic engagement. 

Instagram is a great platform to use if you can find great influencers to partner with. Getting started with the Instagram paid partnership program can help you whether you’re trying to build a media empire or just bring some new organic trafficto your website.


Tags: FTC guidelines instagram Instagram advertising Instagram paid patnerships opinion paid partnerships Paid Social

Published by Kayla Matthews

Kayla Matthews, a technology and digital marketing writer, has written for Convince and Convert, Outbrain, PerformanceIN and more. To read more from Kayla, follow her on Twitter or check out her tech blog, ProductivityBytes. com.View all posts by Kayla Matthews

What are the types of cooperation with bloggers on Instagram

Any type of business involves partnerships. On Instagram, bloggers are business partners. Did you know that 63% of marketers today partner with 10 or more bloggers to run their ad campaign? And all because customers trust social signals and recommendations from real people more than traditional advertising. Bloggers help to attract new subscribers, increase interest in the brand, and improve sales. If you find a suitable partner and competently build cooperation with him, then it will be beneficial for both parties. We offer to figure out what types of cooperation on Instagram are, to consider their features, advantages and disadvantages.

Collaborations

The first step to success in influencer marketing is choosing the right blogger. The second is the right kind of cooperation with him. Consider the most effective collaboration formats on Instagram.

Product Review

Emilia Clarke in Clinique's

Campaign This is by far one of the most common Instagram collaborations. You simply send an opinion leader or blogger a sample of your product and ask them to express their opinion through a post on a social network. Product testing is ideal for new product promotions, regular promotions and communication with customers.

This format of cooperation has many advantages:

  • simplicity for both parties;
  • economy;
  • demonstration of the product in action;
  • social proof of effectiveness.

If you have a wide range of products, choose the one that best suits the blogger's topic for testing.

Collaborations

Collaration is a mutually beneficial cooperation between bloggers and brands, the purpose of which is to achieve a common goal. Together, they help each other increase sales, attract new subscribers, increase brand loyalty and expand into new markets.

How it works: For example, a shoe manufacturer contracts with a well-known model with a large following and they launch a new pair of shoes together. After that, she tells on her Instagram that she took part in the design of a new pair, after which the blogger's fans begin to buy this product. The brand's sales and subscriptions are growing, and the influencer in return receives not only a reward, but also additional attention from the brand's fans.

The main condition is that everything should be as natural as possible. Users should see that their idol really uses and admires the brand's products, and the subject of the post should not stand out from the general style of the blog. It is better to entrust the promotion of sportswear or protein bars to a fitness blogger, and a beauty blogger should not advertise a computer game.

In Instagram, you can see many examples of collaborations with bloggers and famous media personalities.

Ambassadorship

Bloggers are the same people who have their own views on life, values ​​and interests. They have their own audience, which is interested in their opinion, listens to their advice. And all this can be wisely used for marketing purposes, making the influencer an ambassador.

Blogger Alina Frendiy - ambassador of Calvin Klein watches in Ukraine

Ambassador - official representative of the brand, carrying its values ​​to the masses. His task is to tell in social networks about his favorite brand in all possible ways. For example, create native photo posts with products, talk about their benefits in reviews, and participate in official company events.

There are many ways to make your brand known with an ambassador. The most important thing is that the influencer is really loyal to the brand and professes the same values ​​as the company. It would be strange, for example, if a fitness blogger who promotes healthy eating becomes the ambassador of a fast food chain.

Ambassadorship, as a rule, involves long-term cooperation. Within its framework, the influencer formally becomes the face of the company in social networks and refuses such advertising cooperation with other companies.

Collaborative contests

Collaborative contests are another common Instagram collaboration. In this case, the brand and the blogger come together to hold a contest or a raffle.

The brand in this case is the sponsor of the event, and the blogger provides the audience. The gift to the winner is most often the company's products or certificates for paying for its services.

This type of cooperation is beneficial for both parties: the brand gets the attention of the blogger's audience, and the influencer gets the opportunity to increase user engagement through a contest.

Marathons

People go to Instagram not only for beautiful photos, but also for motivation. And to satisfy this need of users, bloggers and brands often organize marathons.

Instagram Marathon is a training session lasting from 3 to 30 days that allows you to learn something new or change your life. For example, a women's clothing store might take part in the Cinderella Style Change Marathon, which requires daily styling challenges from stylists to complete.

Marathon participants must repost entries and share their results. The most active or those who complete all the required actions can receive an incentive prize. For example, a subscription for a purchase in an advertised store.

At the moment, marathons are considered one of the most effective types of promotion. Among the advantages of marathons are:

  • real utility for users;
  • formation of a "live" audience around the brand;
  • attract only targeted subscribers.

The task of a blogger in this case is to involve the audience in participation and become a vivid embodiment of the company's ideology.

Guest posting

Guest posting is a unique and effective way to promote a brand and build an expert reputation around the brand. To publish your expert content, you need to choose a few influential bloggers with the right topic, audience, and high authority. They need to discuss the possibility of hosting guest posts.

In order to interest bloggers in collaboration and attract the attention of their audience, a guest post should be informative and useful to subscribers. In addition, the text should not contradict what has already been written in the blog.

The advantage of guest posts is that they allow not only to advertise a product or service, but also to attract traffic from new users who liked the guest content.

Events

We can say that events are a lighter version of ambassadorship. In this case, we are no longer talking about long-term cooperation, but rather about a temporary action. Within its framework, bloggers undertake to publish content with a mention of the brand.

For example, as part of an event, a company can arrange for a blogger to visit its production facility, demonstrate new products, test services - it all depends on the company's field of activity. The task of the blogger is to cover this event in the feed and Stories.

For a blogger, this is an opportunity to get new interesting content for the account, and for an advertiser, it is an opportunity to create a good image around the company and show its advantages.

Takeover

Instead of constantly trying to create compelling content for your account, you can try collaboration on Instagram in the Takeover format.

In this collaboration, an influencer takes over the management of your brand account for a set amount of time, such as 1 day, and publishes content on your behalf. This format is beneficial for brands mainly due to the fact that the content of the influencer will be interesting to the existing audience, and also can attract new followers.

Live broadcasts


Recently, live broadcasts are gaining more and more popularity. They can also be an interesting option for cooperation with bloggers. Within the framework of live broadcasts, cooperation is possible in two directions:

  • You invite a well-known influencer to your live broadcasts, drawing the attention of people interested in him to your page.
  • The blogger conducts live broadcasts with representatives of the brand or its products, advertising it to their viewers.

Such cooperation mechanics are interesting due to the format and variability of collaborations. For example, brand representatives or an influencer can act as a guest expert, or show a master class live.

Cooperation formats

In a business partnership, both parties must benefit. With the benefit for the brand, everything is clear - advertising, increasing sales and loyalty. Bloggers, on the other hand, most often receive material benefits from cooperation, but this is far from always money.

Barter

Barter is the cherished desire of all advertisers, because it is usually 2-3 times more profitable than cash payment of remuneration to the influencer. As payment, you can offer the influencer mutual advertising, or products of your brand.

As a rule, bloggers with a small audience of subscribers willingly agree to cooperate on barter. Millionaire bloggers, on the other hand, prefer mainly commercial cooperation. But everything is individual, depending on the specifics of the brand and the blogger's beliefs. Sometimes you can barter with a top influencer, and sometimes even a blog owner with several thousand subscribers can refuse.

Commercial cooperation

Commercial cooperation on Instagram involves payment only with money. The cost of influencer services varies depending on the statistics of their account and the type of cooperation.

All details are discussed in advance, after which the brand transfers the payment, and the blogger fulfills the obligations set before him.

Gift for publication

Some bloggers willingly agree to place a mention of the brand on their blog for a gift. As a gift, brand products can be used, which, for example, were sent for testing. In this case, everything is simple - the blogger chooses an interesting product from the company's assortment, writes a review about it on his blog and keeps a test sample for himself.

Promo code

One of the payment methods can be a personal discount promo code. A blogger posts a post with a promo code for a discount in his account and receives an affiliate commission from all sales made using his promo code.

This scheme works great for advertising online stores. But for a blogger to agree to such a format of cooperation, he must be sure of the quality of the company's products and the interest of his subscribers.

Affiliate link

Affiliate link is a very common way of cooperation. In this case, the profit for the blogger is a part of the money from the purchases of the clients he attracted. For a brand, this is the minimum cost to provide a personal affiliate link. Her blogger should place in his posts. Subscribers follow the link, make orders, and part of the money they spend is paid as a reward to the blogger. For Instagram, the promotional code format is more suitable, since there is no way to place active affiliate links in posts.

This format is beneficial due to the fact that only actual clients are paid and the blogger himself is interested in creating a high-quality advertising product.

Item for rent

To create beautiful photos for Instagram, everything is used - expensive jewelry, clothes, accessories, beautiful bouquets, toys, original furniture. If a company is engaged in the sale or manufacture of such things, it can offer the blogger a product for rent for a photo shoot.

After the photo session, the blogger will return the goods safe and sound. The brand, on the other hand, will get an attractive demonstration of its product, as well as the opportunity to tag a photo of a blogger with a product.

Tips and tricks

The effectiveness of a marketing campaign involving bloggers directly depends on how well the cooperation is built. There are many nuances in this matter, and at the same time, any cooperation with bloggers is always built individually. Nevertheless, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the main subtleties that are worth considering:

  • Carry out a “compatibility test”. Collaboration will be successful only if the audience of the influencer matches your target audience. Be sure to choose a blogger with a topic that suits you, and before collaborating, study the demographics of followers and their “authenticity” using the trendHERO tool.
  • Competent specification is half the success. Try to make the influencer as clear as possible about your brand, its values, and what you expect from the collaboration. Only in this way will he be able to capture all the details and create high-quality advertising content.
  • Choose the right size. Make a detailed portrait of your target audience and think about which of the formats will be more interesting to them. For example, if your clients are very conservative, marathons are unlikely to suit them, but rather events that can show your business from the inside out will be interesting.
  • Trust the influencer. Professional bloggers know best what content will be of interest to their subscribers, what characteristics should be emphasized and in what format to present information. Let the blogger shine, but be sure to arrange a preview.
  • Trust but verify. Not all bloggers are the same. In pursuit of making money on advertising, many resort to cheating, so before entering into cooperation, check the blogger.
  • Build long-term relationships with influencers. The best option is at least 6-8 touches with the blogger's audience. In this way, you can achieve a more sustainable result, as well as eliminate the risk that the blogger will soon collaborate with another brand in the same segment.
  • Remember that head-on advertising doesn't work. Make every effort to make advertising content as native as possible.

Another important nuance that many people forget is that you need to prepare for cooperation with a blogger. Before applying for advertising in any format, a brand must first:

  • put your page in order,
  • think over an advertising campaign,
  • draw up a portrait of your clients.

Conclusion

Influencers have long been in demand by brands, and often even become key figures in a company's advertising strategy. But it is extremely important to choose the right type of cooperation. All of the above formats are effective and show good results in terms of engagement and conversion. You only need to choose the best partnership option for your brand so that it is the most beneficial for both parties. You also need to think about the sales funnel. Until you prepare the concept, it is better to wait with advertising.

How to cooperate with brands: Steps and life hacks

Content

  1. Attraction of well -known brands for cooperation
  2. 5 Rules for cooperation with brands
  3. Algorithm for cooperation for cooperation
  4. Walking proposal for cooperation of Brand
    5. Step Step 2. Check the quality and engagement of subscribers
  5. Step 3. Stick to your topic
  6. Step 4. Write!
  7. Step 5. Negotiate
  8. Step 6. Show stats
  9. Step 7. Sign a contract
  10. Step 8. Prepare content
  11. Step 9. Get in touch
  12. Step 10. Get feedback
  13. Propose a brand for cooperation

A blogger who does not think about how to collaborate with brands should not expect big profits and crowds of subscribers. Almost half of the trendsetter's success today consists of collaborations with various brands.

An additional plus is the ability to include a post on absolutely any topic in your feed, which means that it can be about a variety of products - from microgreens to complement your morning breakfast to taxi services.

However, don't wait for offers when you reach a certain pool of subscribers. Each blogger can start cooperation with brands at any stage of channel development. You just need to make your business proposal right. We will tell you further about how it should be so that you can be guaranteed to start working with brands.

Attracting well-known brands for cooperation

Advertising is the main source of income for many bloggers on Instagram. However, you can be a top blogger, but advertisers will still bypass you. This happens because you don't meet the criteria of the brand's advertising departments enough.

In order to be chosen as a brand promoter, you need to do systematic work, such as posting interesting content, self-promotion, expanding your target audience in order to have a sufficient number of subscribers.

The users following your account will be the people for whom the ad is created. Of course, advertisers need to be aware of your desire to host their ads. To partner with brands, you can:

  • indicate your willingness to advertise on your profile by noting how to contact you in the header of the page;
  • use special platforms - advertising exchanges like GetBlogger, Labelup, Sociate, etc.;
  • contact a brand representative directly.

Use the media kit presentation to make a statement: in terms of marketing and PR, it is the most important component. In it, you will tell why advertising on your profile will be beneficial for the brand owner. That is why communication with the advertiser should start with her.

You should give the most important information about your blog in the media kit:

  1. Topic : what topics do you cover in your blog (reviews of new cars, parenting tips, gardening, life hacks from stylists).
  2. Statistics, information about your subscribers : their gender and age range, social status, solvency, interests. It is important for a brand representative to know whether it makes sense to advertise on you, and for this, he needs to obtain data about your target audience.
  3. Options for advertising and its cost . If you want to ask for any price, you need to be more or less aware of the actual cost of advertising. To do this, consult with experienced bloggers. In addition, you can use the inblogs.ru online service, with which you can find out the number of bots and likes on Instagram; he will calculate the cost of advertising in your account.
  4. Limiting conditions, if any : announce them to the advertiser before signing the contract. Let's say you are definitely against underwear advertising on yourself, but you undertake to choose a suitable photo zone for a photo shoot.

Indicate only the main information in the presentation. Since you are not the only one who wants to make money from advertising branded goods and is interested in how to start partnering with brands on Instagram (or another social network) from scratch, consider what exactly you can hook on so that you get the job.

You need to understand how serious the competition is among bloggers who want to get the coveted advertising contract on Instagram. How to make sure that you are always chosen so that the best offers go to your blog? Follow our advice and you will succeed.

5 rules for cooperation with brands

Let's start with the fact that you will have to deal not with the company itself, but with its representative, a living person. Therefore, we do not forget the norms of communication with business people, we do not bombard him with long, lengthy messages at any time of the day or night. You need to write on the case, having thought about your conversation in advance and choosing the right time.

Usually brands have well-defined criteria according to which bloggers are selected for future advertising. However, there is no need to worry if you do not qualify for any of them. The main thing is to comply with the basic principles of the advertising platform:

  1. Do not take all the offers in a row, no matter how tempting it may seem. Trying to make money with quantity, you may not pay attention to a really promising cooperation with a large company.
  2. Honesty is your main credo. Keep in mind that both brands and your followers believe in you - do not let them down by cheating likes and comments and posting fake information.
  3. Work on the brief will show that you are not new to this issue, which means that you will discuss all the subtleties and conditions in advance and will follow them.
  4. Correct your mistakes. In case of unsuccessful cooperation, find out the possible reasons, analyze the errors and think about ways to correct them.
  5. Take quality, not quantity. You can have as many followers as you want on your profile, but if they are passive and unresponsive to you, what's the point? You need to constantly keep in touch with the audience, they must see you as an experienced person in the issues under discussion.

Collaboration Brand Selection Algorithm

Before approaching a brand for collaboration, decide what you can honestly and willingly recommend to your followers. Most likely, these will be products of those brands and brands that you yourself love.

In addition, any brand whose interests match your profile and your target audience can become your partner. Make a list of those who would be attracted to your account as an advertising platform, as well as what products and services would be of interest to your subscribers.

Before you decide to contact a brand representative, be sure that you definitely want to work with him. You can determine this by some points:

  • The blog covers topics related to the brand. A beauty blog would be ideal for promoting skin care products and related services. At the same time, advertising for pet products will look strange and illogical.
  • Complies with CA . The target audience should not be annoyed by advertising posts flickering in you - which means that they should correspond to their interests. You will have to analyze the offered products for their attractiveness to subscribers.
  • Similarity of values ​​ . The principles promoted by the brand must be similar to the ideas promoted by the blogger, otherwise dissonance is guaranteed, and this is fraught with failure in advertising.

We offer you the following plan of cooperation with the brand:

  1. Gather as much information as possible about the brand's pages in social networks.
  2. Think of ways to interact with the brand.
  3. Develop an exclusive format with the brand in mind and in line with your vision and blog ideas.
  4. Contact the advertiser using contacts from the official page or social media profile. You can also use tags containing the brand name, or just write to him in direct.

A step-by-step offer of cooperation to a brand

Brands often look for profitable cooperation, however, as statistics show, 95% of bloggers' offers are rejected at the stage of reading the letter itself. The problem is that it was written incorrectly.

Today, many people still have difficulty composing messages online, especially business correspondence. Meanwhile, a correctly drafted proposal is the key to many signed agreements.

We offer you a guide that will help you successfully put forward proposals for cooperation.

Step 1. Prepare an account

Your page must be flawless, otherwise how can you convince subscribers of the sincerity of your thoughts? Check if everything is in order on your page, namely:

  • The profile has an attractive profile picture.
  • BIO is filled in to give you an idea of ​​your blog.
  • The publications are interesting, the material is of good quality, and the design is stylish.
  • Presence of appropriately used hashtags.
  • Maintaining the page is regular, the posts are varied.
  • The account has permanent, active followers.

Before you decide to apply for cooperation, eliminate any comments that your profile may have. In this case, it will immediately attract the attention of a brand representative.

Step 2. Check the quality and engagement of followers

Brand representatives will be interested not only in the quality side of your account, but also in statistics. And first of all, this is the coverage of subscribers, their involvement.

Step 3. Stick to your topic

There aren't that many bloggers who have a lifestyle blog and they really write about everything. Some brands will find them attractive.

However, bloggers who develop a certain topic are of more interest, and if it is somehow associated with the brand, most likely, cooperation with such a blog will be mutually beneficial.

Think about what you can write a lot and with high quality, what topics are close enough to you to work with them really fruitfully.

Step 4. Write!

Do you doubt whether to take the initiative and write first? Of course it's worth it! But you need to do it right. The word "collaboration" has the meaning of working together, and not just working for yourself.

A brand rep will definitely love it if you discuss not only how you benefit from working together, but also how you can be useful to the brand.

It may turn out that your offer will be rejected. Do not fall into despair, because this is also a kind of lottery. The main thing now is to get out of this situation with dignity and leave on a positive note, because then you will provide yourself with the opportunity for a second attempt.

Step 5. Negotiate

Do not interrupt the correspondence after receiving the first answer. Develop your communication, show interest, tell us exactly what you have to offer and what you expect to receive. So you will save the other side from doubts in advance.

The following items should be discussed:

  • Suggested advertising formats.
  • Time and date of issue of promotions.
  • Work order.
  • Your reward.

Often it turns out that brands already have a certain format for communicating with bloggers, and perhaps it will suit you. While your outlandish proposal may cause them to change tactics, trust the professionals.

Step 6. Show statistics

Provide as much information as possible about your target audience - gender, age, place of residence, hobbies. It is important for a brand to see who and what it is dealing with. Of course, he himself is able to check the data on your account, but honesty and openness are always captivating.

Step 7. Sign an agreement

An official agreement with an influencer is no longer a rarity, but a modern reality. Its advantages are that it guarantees compliance with all the subtleties and helps to avoid pitfalls in cooperation.

For a blogger, his benefit is that the work is guaranteed to be paid. Now you can sign the contract online.

In the absence of a contract, keep your correspondence as careful as possible and do not delete it until you have fulfilled your obligations. Make sure it contains a discussion of the responsibilities and rights of both parties.

In case of disagreement, you can always contact her to avoid further problems in the work.

Step 8: Prepare the content

Creativity is welcomed by many companies, so try to avoid the post-gift format. Creative and non-format advertising can be effective and interesting.

Some brands prefer to coordinate posts. And, of course, they should be aware if for some reason you do not want to do this. Do not strive to please the brand in all points, defend your vision and the right to be creative.

The post should also not look like a press release: neither side will benefit from this.

Any disagreements should be resolved at the initial stage. After all, you know the interests of your target audience better, which means you need to look for mutually beneficial proposals.

Step 9. Stay in touch

If you know that other people's work depends on the speed of your response, do not ignore the deadlines, respond on time, do not keep you waiting.

Human mutually polite relations will lead to a complete understanding between you and the brand, which means that cooperation will be comfortable and fruitful.

Step 10. Get feedback

If you think it's your responsibility to place quality ads, get paid, and forget about this particular case, don't be surprised if you don't get any more offers from this company. A professional trendsetter will never complete a project without receiving feedback.

Feedback allows you to correctly evaluate the results of work, work out mistakes, and the brand will see your interest in work and results, which means that new proposals are not excluded.

A commercial proposal to interest a brand for cooperation

A well-written proposal for cooperation will surely attract the brand's attention. Follow the Rules of Five Cs to form sentences correctly:

  • Text structure

One message per direct message is considered an acceptable volume of a joint work proposal. Make sure it contains the required information, namely:

  • Greeting . Brief description of your blog topic. Avoid long messages with stories about your achievements.
  • The essence of the proposal . Be specific about your offer. Describe why the brand would benefit from working with you - this will generate some interest. Then you can specify what you want to get from this work.
  • End . Say goodbye positively. Write about the fact that you would like to receive an answer, no matter what it will be.
  • Subordination

Watch the manner of writing, be tactful and polite. Respect time limits. Write briefly and to the point. Give a link to your profile so that the interlocutor can immediately read it.

  • Abbreviations

Remember that abbreviated forms of words are not accepted in business correspondence. Do not write in a straight line or abruptly. Compose your message only in a good mood and with clear thoughts.

  • Interlocutors

Do not make a standard letter to send to different companies. Sooner or later, this may come to light, and it will be unpleasant for brand representatives to find out that you treat everyone with a stereotyped, not showing ingenuity in communication.

Make a list of firms you would be interested in working with; then develop your own letter for each of the companies, focusing on its characteristics and requirements.

  • Emoticons

Do not get carried away with emoji: do not use them instead of words, stick to the official style in correspondence.

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