If you have been able to garner a sizable following on social media or curate a community, then it is likely that you would have been approached by brands for partnership opportunities. Or maybe you intend to approach brands yourself for this purpose. Either way, more people than ever are making money through partnering with brands on social media. One of these people is Yanis Bargoin, a French model and influencer. He has his own blog www.yanisbargoin.com and is the founder of a media company www.freshmagparis.com.
He has also teamed up with brands such as Lacoste and Pyntech Europe. Needless to say, Bargoin knows all about partnering with brands and offers helpful tips on those who wish to do so.
The first tip he offers is to know your brand and what you stand for from the get-go. Many who set out to partner with brands merely accept every possible offer and while this might fetch you money in the short-term, it cheapens your brand. If you are known to endorse any and every product, you appear inauthentic and your followers will lose interest. Instead, Bargoin suggests, decide what type of brand you want to build and only go for products that are in line with it. For example, Bargoin’s brand is heavily skewed towards fashion and style and as such, he has partnered with a number of fragrance brands as this in line with his brand.
If your brand is beauty, it would be odd if you began endorsing sports products that do not tie into your brand at all. Also, when approaching or being approached by a brand, conduct research into them, and find out just what type of brand they are. Are they well-liked? Are their products known to be of good quality? Have they been involved in any scandals? The brands you choose to partner with are ultimately a reflection of your own values and can affect your image positively or negatively.
Before you partner with a brand, look into their previous collaborations with other influencers to get an idea of what their ‘tone’ is and what kind of content will be expected from you. Ensure it is a type of content that you are comfortable taking part in and make sure that the brand has a history of working with multiple influencers. If you are a part of an influencer group or network, you may decide to ask about them and find out if anyone has experience working with them. Some brands have a negative reputation among influencers of not paying on time, being difficult to work with, and so on. It is best to be aware of these ahead of time.
To make things more organized, create a spreadsheet and make a list of brands in your niche that you would like to work with. Send them a message either to their marketing team or a direct message on social media. As you get in contact in more brands, expand this spreadsheet and note your experiences with each, including the type of content created, the responses to the content, your pay rate and so on.
After you do reach out and have a successful collaboration with a brand, make sure to consistently expand your network and reach out to other brands and make sure you are not limited to a single one. In Yanis’ experience, working with a number of different brands allows you to expand upon your creativity and improve upon your options.
Finding the right brands to work with can often be a tricky task for influencers but it can be done. Follow Yanis Bargoin’s advice to choosing the best brands to partner with.
