Influencer to Passionate brand Advocate
In today's world of creative entrepreneurs, it is not far fetched to hear terms such as content creation, unboxing and creative photoshoot bandied in the context of product promotion and marketing. A well thought out strategy for collaboration can be beneficial to the parties involved. How do you know whom to reach out to for collaboration ?"
Answer - do your homework. With the internet and access to social media, here are a few tips:
1. Influencer to Brand Advocate - Influencers include those with the experience and creative talents such as bloggers, vloggers and social media authorities who are focused on your target audience for your brand. Learn about the influencer through their influencer's social media platforms to determine if their niche or and following would be a good fit for your brand. Evaluate if your brand would be appreciated by the influencer's following? A paper based products business may be a fit for a lifestyle blogger that focuses content on events planning. A vlogger that focuses on natural beauty regimens may have an audience that would appreciate natural beauty hair and body products. An influencer that understands the language and style of your brand and can passionately communicate that to their following is critical to a successful collaboration and the best brand ambassadors.
2. Making the Introductions - Ideally it would be nice to have someone who knows the blogger or stylist or other influencer make the introductions, but that should not be a deterrent. A lot of influencers make it easy by providing information on their social media platforms including their preferred mode of contact for inquiries or business collaborations. A simple direct message or email expressing the purpose of your inquiry is a good start.
3. Budget - What is your budget for a collaboration? This includes the costs of the products and blog posts. Also be open to their suggestions on how to collaborate and determine if your budget can cover the expenses.
Influencers with the right expertise are there to direct the conversation and persuade others about the product or service and the collaboration can be through one or more channels including:
Social Media Shout out- Promoting your business for a fee. An image of your choice may be required.
Gifted Stylized Shoot - Provide the stylist or influencer the product for the review. They take pictures of the product and post to their social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) and tagging your business. An additional component is to offer their followers a discount or products for a giveaway or both.
Gifted Stylized Shoot and Blog Post(s). This is similar to the stylized shoot but with an accompanying blog post(s) about your business and its mission and why they choose to collaborate with your business.
4. Memo of Understanding - A summary of the collaboration between the parties is also a good idea. This should be clear on the nature of the collaboration including any applicable deadlines, products to be reviewed and product images and blog posts that will be part of the arrangement.
Happy Collaborating!
“an influencer is one with an online presence with the potential to influence the opinions and behaviors of your target audience ”
