The most effective way for influencers to earn is through brand partnerships. However, finding the right brand that pays well and has a similar marketing vision is an uphill battle, especially today when thousands of businesses emerge constantly. This becomes even more difficult when brands prioritize their objectives over their collaborators’.
Fortunately, there is a solution to this! You can convert a one-time IG collab into a long-term influencer partnership, meaning you won’t have to search for a new collab partner every month! Once you’ve found your perfect match, you can keep promoting their new products as and when they launch — in the form of ambassador programs. This is even beneficial for brands, saving them from tediously looking for the right influencer repeatedly.
If this sparks your interest, keep on reading. This blog will explore seven smart strategies to turn one-time collaborations into continuing partnerships. But first, let us look at some benefits of long-term coalitions.
Turn A One-Time Instagram Shoutout Into A Long-Term Partnership
1. Develop a niche
A defined niche is the most significant differentiating factor that’ll give you an edge over other influencers. When you opt-in for an influencer campaign, brands will scrutinize your IG profile. But aesthetic images of random objects are not what they’re looking for. They will be puzzled if you have stunning photos of delicious food, workouts, beauty products, and landscapes on one account. Why? Because they won’t know the exact industry you belong to and what audience you’re targeting.
Remember, they want to assess if you’re an authority in your field. Brands like to know the “field” you’re in, such as fitness, beauty, or mental health. So, before connecting with them, identify the area of expertise you’re passionate about. A clear understanding of your niche will enable you to pitch to the right brands and help brands decide if you’re suitable for a long-term influencer partnership.
2. Have an authentic voice
There’s a high chance that you have thousands of rivals, regardless of your chosen niche. This is where your unique voice comes into play. An authentic and distinguishing voice will make brands remember and pick you as their ambassador. Therefore, adding your twist to your content and being “you” is essential. This will set you apart from the crowd and attract golden opportunities. The influencer, Alice Bell, is one of the most authentic voices on IG who quit her job at Vogue to establish an astrology business. She doesn’t “try” to be an influencer but is unapologetically herself on the Gram!
The truth is brands want to know you as a person to make an informed decision. So, let your personality shine through your captions, videos, images, and lives. Let the brands know you’re THE influencer they’re looking for. Be sure to be open about your belief systems and values. This will drive the attention of reputable brands with similar values, ensuring your long-term influencer partnership is a breeze!
3. See the value in gifted collabs
Influencers often prefer collaborations with monetary benefits over ones offering gifts. Nonetheless, never overlook gifted collabs as they are the gateways to enduring partnerships. Brands usually pay influencers for their services. However, new businesses trying their hands on influencer marketing for the first time often go the gifted route. They don’t want to go all out and invest a fortune before testing the waters.
However, these brands are open to long-term partnerships when they see massive success in influencer marketing campaigns. And they prefer to go with the same influencers who were a part of their campaigns. Therefore, don’t be afraid to say “yes” to a few gifted collabs.
4. Think outside the box
Getting the attention of brands and becoming their all-time favorite partner is all about going above and beyond. You won’t stand out if you create monotonous videos that blend into the feed. To collaborate with your dream brand, you must go the extra mile and put in the effort. Think of outside-the-box ideas for your Reels and photos to spark interest. This will compel the brands to hire you when they see your IG profile, a.k.a, your portfolio.
And if you’re already running a campaign, don’t forget to leave the brands awestruck. Analyze the content guidelines you’ve been given and add your flair to create memorable content. But make sure you thoroughly understand the brand before doing this. Going beyond the expectations and creating mind-blowing content will highlight your interest in a long-term influencer partnership with the brand.
5. Allow brands to amplify your post
Brands are always on the lookout for ways to lighten their load. And they are likely to hire an influencer for the long term when the latter does more than required. To that end, always add the brand as a business partner when posting your content. In addition, switch on the “Allow Business Partner To Promote” button. This will enable brands to run your content piece as an ad, relieving them of the responsibility of creating an ad from scratch.
This feature will also allow brands to monitor real-time metrics, such as reach and impressions. And if the results are positive, they’d be even more excited to have you on board as a long-term partner. Additionally, the ad will send you many more new followers, so it’s a win-win!
6. Prepare a media kit
You could call an influencer media kit your digital portfolio or business card. Sending a media kit to your potential partners is a great way to let them know you’re open to working with them. The kit will help them decide if you’re the right choice for their brand without any back-and-forths. It’ll tell them who you are, your influencer status, and target demographics. This proactive action will signify your willingness and passion and showcase your professionalism.
To create a comprehensive media kit, you can use free platforms such as Canva. Apart from making the kit look aesthetically appealing, ensure it includes details about you, your website, results of the past successful campaigns, rates, and testimonials.
Top 5 Benefits Of Long-Term Partnerships For Influencers
- Stronger, more authentic relationships
Long-term partnerships will help you build lasting relationships with brands. This will give you more liberty to pitch your ideas rather than just follow what the brand says. And it’ll even motivate you to create content wholeheartedly. Since you’ll be promoting the brand for an extended period, you’ll understand the brand well and create authentic content — just like Dove’s long-term partner, Stacey Solomon, did for Dove’s Skin Unfiltered campaign.
- More robust planning and timelines
The scariest part of working with a hundred brands is keeping up with deadlines. Fortunately, this drawback is dealt with when you partner with one — or a few — trustworthy brands for a long time. Continuously working with them helps you understand their content marketing plan and eventually adjust to it. You’ll better know the content pieces’ frequency and deadlines. So, you won’t have any eleventh-hour content pieces to make due to a forgotten deadline!
- Clearly defined contracts
One-time influencer collabs are often not taken as seriously as long-term partnerships. Brands know that the one-time collabs may or may not have negative repercussions if things go downhill, but the long-term ones definitely do. Brands exploiting you in a long-term partnership will taint their reputation. Therefore, lasting collaborations have set rules for both parties to follow. This prevents miscommunication, and both the influencer and brand know their responsibilities, including deliverables and payments.
- Simplified budgeting and invoicing
Influencers often work with global brands. Therefore, payments often become challenging, and both parties must use international platforms for recurrent payments. However, when you’re involved with a brand for the long term, you can set up a convenient payment plan instead of sending weekly or daily invoices, as you would for one-time collabs. For instance, you can create a quarterly payment package for a fixed amount where you deliver specific services.
- Create freedom for all
Ample freedom is perhaps the best part of long-term partnerships. Over time, you deeply understand the brand and its voice. So they don’t have to babysit you. They know you can create engaging posts that represent them properly on social media. And you get the creative freedom to experiment with format, topics, frequency, and timings!
Start Reaching Out To Your Favorite Brands
Now that you know how to establish long-term relationships with reputable brands, it’s time to search for the ideal partners! And if you want this to be an easy-peasy task, registering at Atisfyre will help.
Atisfyre is an AI-based platform for influencers looking for the ideal brands to collaborate with. Our platform bridges the gap between influencers and brands by connecting the right content creator with the right brand. Once you sign-up with us, Atisfyre analyzes your interests and connects you with brands that match your niche. What then? Join their campaign and start earning!
Give it a try — sign-up now!
