5 Tips For Forming A Good Relationship With Your Dream Brand
Ah, brand deals. The beautiful income-providing, schedule-filling, coveted ads that help you do what you love for a living. Love them or hate them, influencers largely rely on brand deals, and we all know the best brand deals are the ones that feel authentic. While a good pitch is certainly important to landing a brand deal, having consistent brand deals for regular income is really all about what you do after the pitch— forming relationships.
Here are 5 tips for forming a good relationship with your dream brand:
Create great content for free first.
It’s easy to prioritize paid content over gifted/free content, but if you want to form a great relationship, deliver the same quality on your free trades that you would on a paid deal. A lot of brands like to do a test run with the influencer to see if a paid deal will pay off, and if you don’t deliver on the gifted deals, they’re unlikely to work with you again when they do have the budget.
Create content for the brand’s use even if it’s not required.
A quick post for a brand is nice when you have a large audience, but it’s kind of one and done. If you create photos and videos (or even written reviews!) that the brand is allowed to use in their own marketing, it gives them a chance to think of you for longer and remember you for next time. It’s also just a really nice favor to do for them, not to mention the fact that you’re creating a great portfolio for you to use when you pitch to more brands.
Complete your deliverables on time.
It means a lot to brands when you complete your deliverables on time or early. Typically someone in the company is gathering all of the info from their many influencer posts at the same time and then reporting to someone else on a deadline. Your posts being late delays their entire report, so being on time is really helpful!
Follow up each brand deal with a thank you email.
After each brand deal, follow up with a thank you email letting them know what a wonderful experience you had working with them. You can also use this time to leave the door open for future opportunities by saying “It was truly so wonderful working with you. Please keep me in mind fo future opportunities. I’d love to work with you again. In fact, I have x project coming up, and would love to feature you again. Let me know if you’re interested at all.”
These emails are a big way your manager can help facilitate a great relationship. If you don’t have a manager or don’t think your manager is helping in this area, send us a message! We’d love to have you at MPS.
Maintain the relationship on social media.
Both before and after a brand deal with a brand you love, engage with their social media. Comment on their posts, reply to their stories and treat them just like a friend! The best brand deals are those that are authentic, and brands know that. Keeping a relationship on social media helps the brand see that you really are a fan, and you’d be a great fit for future partnerships.