Avoid Posting This on Your Instagram if You Want to Work with Brands
As a digital marketer with over four years of experience running social media accounts for brands, I’ve gathered some knowledge about what they’d like to see from us, as well as what we should totally be avoiding on our Instagram feeds if we want to work with brands. Keep reading to find out what this is!
Ad/Sponsored Post Ratio
Have you ever ended up on someone’s Instagram, but left shortly after because their feed was littered with #ads and #sponsoredposts? I think we’ve all been there. Now, don’t get me wrong. There is a difference between tagging the brands you’re wearing in the photo and caption to increase your brand exposure. However, if every other post is a sponsored post, how do you expect people to trust you?
For instance, this is just one opinion on how people feel towards ads on Instagram:
Like Malik, I almost quit Instagram because of all the ads. But instead of leaving the land of beautiful photos (and lots of dumb memes — someone please stop all of the brain-cell-killing low-res memes!), I started “hiding” the ads.
It didn’t matter how big or small the advertiser was. If a post had “Sponsored” below its username, I hid it and then reported it.
Besides the fact that your audience will not appreciate tons of ads on your page, a brand wants to know that people will actually pay attention when you post their brand. There’s a ton of competition out there for space on a blogger/influencer’s page, so take your time building your brand and only working with the brands that you truly love. It will pay off! (wink, wink).
When a brand is looking for a blogger or influencer to work with, he or she in charge of the collaboration is searching your profile to see if you would be a good fit for the brand. BUT, on the other hand, you should also profile that brand to ensure the brand is a good fit for your personal brand as well. It’s a two-way street. You should not accept every offer that comes your way, but if you are getting noticed by tons of brands, ensure that you are spacing out your sponsored post content. Here are some tips:
Aim to spread sponsored posts out across your feed. Example: one sponsored post for every four regular posts
Showcase who you really are and connect with your amazing audience in between sponsored posts or ads.
Tip: serve, serve, serve, sell. Your audience does not want to feel taken advantage of by just getting bombarded with ads every single day from you! Give them some tips or inspiration to reconnect with them.
What You SHOULD Incorporate #1.
Work With Brands: Show Your Personality
In order to work with brands, you must first showcase who you are online. Building your own personal brand starts with putting your personality out there for others to connect with. For example, can someone tell just by looking at a few of your photos who you are as a person?
The brand that comes across your account will be checking to see if your personality is a fit for their target market’s personality. Therefore, you should avoid posting too many sponsored posts and ads because they take away from your personality and the opportunities you have to show them who you really are.
With this being said, make sure you’re also showing YOURSELF. I always see people wondering why brands don’t want to work with them; however, their Instagram feed consists of the food they ate and random quotes. Post yourself!!!
If you’re shy in front of the camera and need some posing tips, here you go.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Creative Direction
Brands also want to see that you have some sort of creative direction. As someone who has worked as both the brand AND the influencer on campaigns, I know that this is one of the largest factors in deciding on a blogger/influencer. The brand wants to ensure that they will be able to utilize your content, so get creative!
Have fun experimenting with different photography styles, angles, and photo editing. However, always remember to operate like a brand yourself, keeping everything as cohesive as possible.
Remember, you don’t need to have a large follower number to get creative on Instagram. In fact, you don’t need any followers at all. Show the world what you got and let your visuals speak for themselves. You will be contacted by brands wanting to use your content for themselves in no time.
If you need some photo editing inspiration, check this out!
Conclusion
In today’s overly saturated influencer world, anyone can work with brands if the right steps are taken in building your own personal brand first.
It may be super tempting to accept every brand deal or offer you get at first, but always keep your audience in mind and stay focused. Don’t lose sight and turn off both your audience and brands by becoming a hub for ads. Instead, stay true to yourself and your brand; you will be surprised at how far you can go
Good luck in your brand collaboration journey! Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks so much for reading! Check out some other Instagram tips and trends here: http://torinucci.com/2018/10/03/instagram-trends/
