It’s no question that Instagram is one of the most effective social media platforms to promote your brand nowadays But Instagram’s popularity might make you feel the platform is already too crowded for you to stand out. Here’s the thing, brands are quickly realizing the power of normal people to promote their products.
With more advertisers going on board and ad space stagnating, brands are looking into alternative ways to grow their audience. Sponsored posts on Instagram are a huge, new channel for brands. In this post, we share with you how to get sponsors on Instagram from day one.
So what is a sponsored Instagram and how to get sponsors on Instagram?
Instagram sponsored posts (which are sometimes used to refer to “promoted” posts) are organic posts on-platform that you then pay to promote. When you do this, you aren’t creating an entirely new ad with the same creative but actually having that exact post– engagement and all– to be shown to more users.
You can get paid on Instagram in the following ways: Creating sponsored posts for brands that want to get in front of your audience. Becoming an affiliate and making a commission selling other brands’ products. Creating and selling a physical or digital product or offering a paid service
If you want to crack the code for how to get sponsored on Instagram, start by thoroughly defining your personal brand, what it is, and what it is not. That said, don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of content, like different types of images, videos, Instagram carousels/gallery posts, and stories. It’s also considered ideal to post your own “branded” content, while also sourcing curated content from other related accounts (with permission and proper attribution).
The key takeaway here is that Instagram sponsorships are possible for anyone, regardless of your following size, if you follow these steps. There’s always a brand looking to spread messaging on their products and services, and are open to influencers or Instagrammers with strong personal brands for Instagram sponsorships.
How to Get Sponsors on Instagram
Brands consider many factors when researching Instagram sponsorship. Follow these tips to stand out to companies looking to partner with influencers and micro-influencers.
1. Define your brand.
Besides the type of content you post, branding has a lot to do with your overall aesthetic.
Your brand is the sum of people’s perception of your products, vision, and content. Everything from your voice on social media to your packaging design influences the perception that others have of your brand. Branding can be the difference between customers buying from you or buying from your competitors.
Specificity is key. A good influencer’s posts are distinguishable and unique — when users are flipping through their feed, they’ll be able to pause and recognize every time she sees a post from that influencer. As they continue to see similar content, they 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 aesthetics 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.
The more you understand your audience, the more powerful your SEO and marketing efforts will become.
You should know your demographics, it will help you pitch partnerships with brands. Brands want to know who they can reach if they work with you. First, you should know 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?
3. Post consistently.
Are you wondering how else to get a sponsored post on Instagram? Consistency is key!
Consistency is key in social media marketing. For your audience to recognize your brand, you must be consistent. Being consistent in your brand allows you to grow in audience engagement and reach.
Posting once a day will increase your chances of getting brand deals and getting more followers!
If you plan to post multiple times per day, try to keep them spaced throughout the day so your posts don’t have to compete with each other for engagement.
If you’re not routinely posting, people may forget about you or unfollow – definitely not something potential sponsors want to see!
Plus, the Instagram algorithm likes brand new, fresh, high-quality content. Your posts will be more likely to be featured if you keep them frequent and consistent.
Use your Instagram analytics to figure out when the best days and times are to post and work it into your posting schedule.
4. Use hashtags, geotags, and Brand tags
All three types of tags are the tools you need to use to make your content discoverable. That’s how you get sponsored on Instagram with 1000 followers, or 10,000!
The best hashtags for Instagram are relevant to your brand and relate directly to what you’re posting. You can use up to 30 hashtags at once, but the sweet spot is around 10 or so per post.
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.
The best hashtags for Instagram are relevant to your brand and relate directly to what you’re posting. You can use up to 30 hashtags at once, but the sweet spot is around 10 or so per post.
The overly broad hashtags used millions of times will have much more competition.
Using a generic hashtag like #instagood or #photoftheday will make it a lot harder to get noticed.
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.
Tagging brands in your posts is the perfect stepping stone to getting brand deals. Not only will the brand receive a notification and see your post, but people who are interested in the product or service can also inquire in the comments.
Start by using smaller brands that are less inundated with tags to gain attention. You can always level up to more prominent brands later!
6. Include contact information in your bio.
How do you get sponsored on Instagram? By having the best Instagram profile and complete bio as possible.
Be sure also to clearly define your purpose and explain who you are in your bio. People want to know who they are following. They also need to understand why they should follow you in the first place!
Include an email or website so they can reach you, and include a press kit if possible. You can also use a website or blog as your chance to expand on your brand and demonstrate your versatility.
These steps are only the start of optimizing your brand. You will also be needing these two (2) steps to really build your account.
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Prepare a Media Kit
What is an Influencer Media Kit & How to make it?
An influencer media kit is a digital portfolio that tells your clients everything they need to know about you. It is an opportunity to highlight your achievements and showcase your USP (unique selling proposition).
Think of your influencer media kit as your business card, CV, and portfolio of work all in one document.
Influencer kits are a nice, tidy way to showcase your work, highlight your achievements, and impress people who are interested in collaborating with you. If you’re serious about earning money as an influencer, you need an influencer media kit.
Actually, you will need a media kit for just about any business proposition, whether it’s a brand reaching out to you or you reaching out to a brand. Your media kit is going to be the most concise and organized way to highlight how AWESOME you are
How to create/make a kit?
There are many free media kit templates available. All you need to do is enter your information into the template.
But these templates are not as effective as custom media kits because they don’t allow you to add your personal touch. Even if it takes some more time, you should design your own influencer media kit.
The following information should be on your kit to make it more attractive and of course an effective one.
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Important details about yourself
Brands who are looking to collaborate with you will want to know a little about you. Marketers have only seen you on screen through your profile. But before they collaborate with you, they would like to know more about you.
Don’t go into every little detail of your life, however. Summarize yourself in a few sentences, emphasizing your expertise in whatever niche is the focus of your blog and/or social activity.
It helps brands to understand the type of person they could potentially work alongside.
For instance, if you’re a food influencer, write about why you’re passionate about your niche. Are you a professional chef or a nutritionist? Do you share food content because you like to experiment? Or because you believe in clean eating?
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Your Contact Details
Obviously inputting your contact details is important because the purpose of creating an influencer media kit is to get people to connect with you.
You need accurate and up-to-date contact information. At a minimum include your email address, website, and social handles. Ideally, you should add your phone number and postal address as well.
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Follower Numbers on Your Important Social Network
The number of followers you have on social media is the first thing that brands will want to know. Of course, there is a lot more to social media than just getting followers. But it’s still an important metric for brands.
While follower count is important, brands are more interested in your Instagram engagement rate.
Because when a brand invests in influencer marketing, they want to make sure that your audience is active, engaged, and likely to respond positively with what you’ll be posting about on their behalf.
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Audience Demographics
Brands and marketers are looking for influencers who have a group of followers that closely match their own target market. So it is important to provide details about your audience and their demographics. In your influencer media kit, you should try to show your typical audience persona.
- Past Work and Current Partnerships
Talk about your previous successful campaigns. Highlight some of the brands you’ve worked with, as well as some of the paid content you’ve created. It would be helpful to show some examples of particularly engaging conversations that have started as a result of your sponsored posts
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Design
Your media kit is an extension of your personal brand. Make it visually appealing and make sure that it matches your overall style.
You need to keep your media kit brief; ideally, limit it to three pages. Include a headshot of yourself and key imagery from your social channels. You can use Photoshop or InDesign or even Canva to create a professional-looking document.
The last thing that you should include on your kit is the
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Pricing
A blogger rate sheet is like an ad rate sheet. If a company was charging advertising space on their website, tv channel, or magazine they would have to tell the person looking to advertise how much it would cost for them to do so.
Be upfront about it. It gives marketers a better idea if a collaboration suits their budget .Once you’re comfortable with the idea of charging for your sponsored posts, you will find it easier to charge brands money for work you do on their behalf.
Another way to let brands know you’re interested in working with them is to directly pitch your services for the partnership.
You can simply send them a direct message (DM) saying that you love their brand, have some ideas for a collaboration, and specifically call out why you think it would be a good partnership for them. Ask for their email or contact number to talk more about it, as communicating purely through DM can seem unprofessional.
Here are a few tips on how to get brand deals on Instagram.
Explain who you are and what you do. Let the brand know what your specific niche or industry is and why you would be a beneficial asset to them.
Include relevant data, such as follower count, engagement rate, and other vital insights. These help show why you’d be a great choice to promote the brand. Your stats also show you know what you need to do it successfully!
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