How To Successfully Collaborate With Like-Minded Brands
A rising tide lifts all boats. This is the vibe all brands should embrace when working on social media since it’s all about community, right? Collaboration is one of the best ways to build brand awareness and grow your following. If you haven’t collaborated with other brands on social media, this guide will explain why you should and how to get started!
Why collaborate?
First things first, you may be wondering why you should collaborate with another brand. The number one reason for collaboration on social media is for better brand awareness. Brands are always looking for new ways to reach new customers and followers, and collaborating is a great way to do it! We recommend working with brands with audience sizes bigger and smaller than your current following; both can get you in front of your ideal customer.
Another reason for collaborating is the opportunity to create more content. If you have a small marketing budget, collaboration makes it easier to share resources. For example:
If you're a product-based brand and don't have an extensive library of lifestyle photography, consider collaborating with a photographer with a smaller following that wants to build their social media portfolio.
If you're planning a photoshoot for your brand, reach out to a property management company to inquire about any properties with low bookings and see if they'll collaborate with you by offering a free/discounted rental rate if you share photography with them.
Look for a complimentary product brand, and you could collaborate on a lifestyle product shoot and share the cost of photography and share the asset library.
Another positive outcome is building buzz about your brand. Think about approaching brands both bigger and smaller than your following. When you do a co-branded giveaway with bigger and smaller brands, they'll likely be sharing the giveaway on all of their channels, and people will take note. Product collaborations are great for garnering buzz on social media and magazines. For example, if you're a graphic designer, maybe you could work towards a partnership with a product-based company where your designs could be printed and sold.
Identify the goal and the perfect partner
Typically, brand partnerships aim to help each other gain more awareness and grow their social media audience. One of the best ways to do this is through a co-branded giveaway. Instagram is an excellent place for a co-branded giveaway because they’re simple to set up. These can also give your account a big engagement boost and increase your audience size.
When choosing the right collaborator, it's essential to pick a brand(s) that share values, ideal customers, etc. Audience size can vary, especially if you are doing a multi-brand giveaway. Don't be intimidated by a brand that has a more significant following than you. There's no harm in reaching out! We've put together numerous co-branded giveaways for clients featuring accounts with a wide range in follower numbers. The most important thing is to remember when looking for collaborators is to think about how your brand aligns with theirs and how the collaboration can be beneficial to all parties.
Pitch tips
When you find a brand you want to work with, check their social media account and see if they have a preferred communication method. A lot of the communication can often be done through DMs, but it’s worth checking their bio to see if they prefer email. Once you determine how you’re going to contact them, go for it!
Let them know you like what they are doing, their product (maybe even call out a specific one), and ask if they would be interested in collaborating. Make sure you think about what kind of collaboration you want to work on so you can reference it in your initial pitch, whether it be a giveaway, recipe, photoshoot, etc. If you know details like dates or other brands involved, share that too.
More often than not, people will say yes. Timing is the most common struggle people have when setting these up, so be open-minded and try to find a launch date that works for everyone so you can ensure enthusiasm from everyone involved. If you don’t already follow the brand, go ahead and give them a follow to start sharing the love.
Define objectives and expectations
Sharing resources is a big bonus to brand collaborations. If you’re a strong photographer, you can offer to shoot the content for your collaboration which may lower entry barriers for potential collaborators. If you’re a great writer, offer to write any copy that is needed. If you’re planning a lifestyle photoshoot, maybe you have a beautiful home that can be used as the set, and another brand can provide a photographer. Get creative and pool your resources to ensure the best results.
It’s important for all parties involved to agree to the same level of engagement and or promotion. For example, make sure everyone will be monitoring comments/questions on the shared content. If the collaboration is a giveaway, make sure the publishing approach is agreed upon by everyone. If boosting the post is part of the collaboration post, ensure everyone has settled on the budget.
Collaboration launch
Once the post goes live, get to engaging! Don’t forget to share your collaborations too. Instagram Stories are a great place to share what you’ve been working on and don’t forget to tag the participating brands. Go on the pages of the brands you’re working with and engage with their posts, and share. If you feel comfortable, share the collaboration on your personal feeds too. Many brands forget to keep their personal networks updated with what’s going on with their business. Let people know what you’re up to! You never know who will enjoy it and share.
Measuring success
Success looks different to every brand, but you can revisit your objectives laid out at the beginning of the process and see if you accomplished what you set out to achieve. We typically look for spikes in growth and engagements during the time of the collaboration. If you run a co-branded giveaway, look for mentions from the person who won the giveaway. They may share a photo or story and tag the brands after they receive the prize. If more content is the goal, you can see how much new photography the collaboration created. If you participated in a product collaboration, compare the product sales with the previous year. You should also look for mentions about the partnership on social media and in the press.
Bottom line
It’s always a good idea to work with like-minded brands and people, especially on social media. It’s also good to mix it up! The more fun you have with your profiles, the more engaged your audience will be too.