Small but crucial mistakes can derail your partnership in a hurry. Make sure you eliminate these errors at the outset:
Mistake: You ignore the little details
Your initial correspondence will set the tone for the rest of the interactions you have with a potential partner. Egregious errors like misspelling names, using a handle instead of an actual first name or not familiarizing yourself with brands the expert has worked with in the past could set you up for failure.
Not knowing anything about your partner’s audience will get you in trouble too, especially if followers are a highly engaged bunch. A dedicated audience will notice branded content and call out anything that feels inauthentic.
How to avoid it: Become a fan
Do some research on the people that you’re hoping to work with. Follow their accounts, watch their videos and check out their Snapchats or Instagram stories to get a feel for what their day is like. Get to know their audience by becoming a part of it. You’ll learn what their followers want to see, helping you determine how the product or service you’re hoping to promote will be received.
Mistake: You don’t disclose your partnership
Fans can easily sniff out and then call out artifice and gimmicky sales tactics. This is especially true when working with creators whose followers are small in number but engaged in a big way.
Bloggers and other social media stars work for years to grow loyal, dedicated and engaged followings on social media. The purchasing power of their audience is based on trust and a belief that your partners use and love your product. Not disclosing that experts have been compensated to promote your product isn’t just harmful to the relationship they’ve built with their audience, it can also do damage to your organization.
How to avoid it: Be honest and demand the same of your collaborators
The Federal Trade Commission requires that brands and influencers clearly disclose their partnerships, so make a point of requiring that the social media figures you work with clearly state that their blog post, video or Instagram post is sponsored. This can be as simple as adding the hashtags #sponsored or #ad. You can even develop your own sponsored hashtag for this very purpose. Beauty brand Maybelline New York’s brand ambassadors use #MNYPartner when sharing on Instagram.
Scripting a brief message about your partnership that influencers can use in videos is another great tactic for this disclosure. Use something as simple as, “I’m excited to share these products by XYZ Brand with you. I was very excited when they offered to sponsor today’s video.”
Mistake: You ignore the concerns of your partners
You should view partners as customers with bigger platforms than most for sharing their opinions. Receiving their feedback about your products is like getting a free focus group to share its thoughts.
Recently Evie Blender, an organization that sells makeup application tools, was called out by well-known beauty expert Leesha, known as xsparkage online. Although she wasn’t an ambassador for the brand and purchased the product with her own money, Leesha’s position as a YouTube beauty veteran makes her opinion especially powerful.
She tried the product out on camera, didn’t like it and shared her thoughts with her following. Once the brand got wind of this negative review, major drama ensued. This could have been an opportunity for the brand to improve its product, but instead it ended up damaging its reputation.
How to avoid it: Accept feedback and be willing to make changes
You don’t have to address every bad review or negative comment. If someone doesn’t like your product, don’t treat it like the end of the world. However, social media feedback can be a great learning opportunity for your brand. Take advantage of chances to improve and grow. Instead of blacklisting people who disagree with you, look for opportunities to make your products or services better for everyone.
PR Daily’s 2017 Content Marketing Awards is looking for impressive influencer content partnerships along with lots of other great content marketing work from brands like yours. Think you have what it takes to win? Enter today.(Image via)
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