With Instagram growing insanely, more and more people are using this social platform for various purposes. For some people, it is their source of entertainment, while some people make money from their posts. At least once, you must have found yourself wondering how do these influencers get sponsorship from brands.
Let us walk together through the process of acquiring a sponsorship on Instagram.
Find your niche
Let your imagination run wild and spice it up in your content. Identify your strong points and focus on them. If you are good at painting or singing or dancing, do that and show people your uniqueness. Or do you want to be a food blogger or a fashion influencer? It does not really matter.
You have got to have a unique approach to how you showcase and do your work. This will help in establishing your brand. It all depends on your aesthetic. According to your aesthetic, you will be able to pitch in a brand from your niche.
Switch to a business account
This will make your profile reach more followers and brands in the long run. Gain insights on who is interacting with your post and identify what people want to see more of.
After you identify it, work to gain your follower’s trust and build a brand out of yourself.
Understand your audience
Understanding your audience will definitely earn you some extra brownie points in the long run. When pitching a brand, make sure you do not go for a brand that is in stark contrast to your aesthetic. Your followers will be confused if you suddenly change your course.
Be consistent with your work
After establishing your business account, make sure that you are being consistent with posting on the platform. Keep your followers updated on what is happening in your life; this will keep them engaged with you. Interact regularly with your followers. If you build your brand right from the start, sponsorship will come easy. Use hashtags and geo-location with your post. This will give you organic reach.
You can also tag a brand if you are wearing or using their product to be included in their radar.
Stay authentic
Nobody wants to follow someone who imitates or copy everything from another famous influencer. Find your own aesthetic and stay consistent with it. Tweak and spice it up from time to time. Make your profile interesting and add CTA- Call to Action button on your profile to make brands reach easier to you.
Contact the brand you want to get sponsorship from
Do not wait for brands always to contact you. You should contact them first if it is one of the brands you always wanted to work with.
This will help the brand identify your work and see your capability. Furthermore, if their brand or product aesthetic matches yours, they will be more than delighted to sponsor you or collaborate with you.
Use affiliate marketing
Endorse a brand or product on your profile with their product links on your profile. This usually happens as part of a collaboration. Affiliate marketing is the easiest way to make more brands reach out to you.
Understand your own worth
When brands start pitching in, keep in mind that they may offer you less than what you think you can earn. In such cases, try to negotiate and come to a favorable conclusion that suits both parties.
Things to keep in mind before you pitch for sponsorship
- Do not ever endorse a brand or product without proper investigation.
Maybe some of the brands you will be endorsing might turn out to be non-cruelty-free and harm animals in the process.
This might turn out to be a complete disaster if your followers point it out for you.
This will lead you to losing followers and with a bad reputation.
- If you are an influencer already having brands pitching for you, make sure you endorse every brand through a well-maintained time frame.
- Brands sponsorship will help you grow exponentially and help the brand reach your audience, so it is a win-win situation for both sides.
- Brands usually go with people who have quality followers rather than quantity.
- Because person A might have thousands of followers but only 2-3 people interested in their product.
- While person B might have only 300 followers but with 50-70 interactive people who will buy their products, brands will definitely go with person B in such cases.
- So do not worry about the number of followers but the quality of followers.
I hope all the above-mentioned steps will help you get the sponsorship from the brand you have always wanted to work with. All the best for your work.
