A clothing brand has reached out to you for an influencer marketing campaign? Yaayy! Congratulations. But what to do now? Do you immediately say yes to them? Of course, not.
You might have spent weeks, months, or maybe a year building up your audience as an influencer via blog, Instagram, or YouTube channel. When a brand finally approaches you or when you see a possible collaboration with clothing brands, you feel like you are being recognized for your work. Doesn’t matter whether the clothing brand is a multi-national company or a local boutique, there are a few things that you need to do when a brand reaches out to you first.
- Ask the clothing brand what they are expecting in the collaboration
Whenever a brand reaches out to you via Instagram, blog, or email, the very first thing you need to do is ask them what they are specifically looking for in this collaboration. As an influencer, you need to understand what the brand wants and needs from you. What type of content is the brand expecting from you? Is it a blog post or an Instagram story? Ask as many questions as you can so that you get a glimpse of their expectations.
- Ask the brand the goals they want to achieve via this collaboration
Different brands have different goals that they want to achieve via influencer marketing campaigns. Some brands want to drive more traffic to their website, while some want to enhance their followers’ numbers. So when a brand reaches out to you for an influencer campaign, you have to understand their goals so that you can create a strategy that will help them in achieving their goals. For instance, if a brand wants to drive more engagement to their social media page, think about what you can offer to your followers to send them over to the brand’s Instagram page. Maybe, along with the brand, you can plan a giveaway for your followers.
- Ask the brand about the delivery timeline
For some, being an influencer might not be a full-time job. Some struggle with managing their school/college life, a full-time job, and blogging; all in 24 hours. So if a brand reaches out a week earlier and expects you to deliver everything in less than 10 days, then you may have to negotiate the timeline part with them. Whether it’s a photoshoot, blog spot, or Instagram stories, based on your current work, give them a reasonable timeline as to when you will be able to deliver the work.
- Discuss the payment terms
When a brand approaches you for an influencer marketing campaign, that means they see value in you and your work. They wouldn’t have approached you if they didn’t think you are good enough to endorse their brand. So don’t undermine yourself thinking that it’s the first brand that approached you so you shouldn’t ask them about the payment or discuss the payment terms. If you have less than 10k followers on Instagram and your post engagement rate is above 5-10%, then you should consider discussing the compensation part, even if it’s just $25.
Let’s say the brand refuses to pay or says that they don’t have enough budget to pay you then it’s up to you to decide whether you want to pass up the opportunity or ask what they can do as a brand to promote each other on social media platforms. You can consider the collaboration if the brand agrees to repost you on their Instagram page or stories or other social media platforms. One more way is if you absolutely love their brand and products and personally recommend them to your followers and feel this collaboration is going to help you grow as an influencer.
- Ask the brand how they plan to do with your content
Some brands may ask for a photoshoot to repost it either on their social media pages or use it for print media. Depending on how the brand plans to use your content, you could adjust the rates and timeline of the delivery.
- Share your previous work with the brand
Not every brand that approaches you necessarily is familiar with your work. So always send them a few examples of your previous collaboration with clothing brands to give them a fair idea of what you did for your previous client and how you can help the current brand achieve their business goals.
For instance, if a brand is asking you to create content on Instagram for Mother’s day, then send them your previous work that you did for any brand, even if it’s not for mother’s day. Not to worry even if you don’t have any previous collaborations to show. You can always send them your original work.
Key takeaways
- Influencer marketing campaigns are effective when planned properly, implemented as planned, analyzed, and reported correctly.
- Influencers should always stay true to their creative personality while ensuring they understand the brand’s requirements and what they want to achieve via collaboration.
- In influencer marketing, content is what rules. So for brands, influencers are not just anyone on social media–they are brand ambassadors.
