With Instagram’s more than 1 billion monthly active users, it’s not surprising why it’s the favorite platform for plenty of brands and marketers. In the modern age, it’s the coolest method of increasing their reach and social media following. In the process, they are more than willing to offer Instagram-sponsored posts to worthy influencers.
In this post, we’re going to discuss how to get sponsored on Instagram.
What is an Instagram Sponsored Post?
The Instagram-sponsored post is content generated and published by the influencer under their own accounts in consideration for some form of compensation. This is where “Instagram influencers” come into play in the marketing world and how they can use their Instagram page for a lucrative career.
As influencer marketing has grown in importance over the last few years, there have been some questions about transparency. Instagram has rolled out its branded marketing capabilities to account for this, allowing Instagram influencers to build branded partnerships with businesses and to tag the brand in the content they are sponsored with.
How to Get Sponsored on Instagram
1. Define Your Brand
If you are able to identify your niche, you’ll have the best engagement. The secret is specificity. A good influencer’s posts are recognizable and unique—when a user scrolls through his feed, he will be able to pause and remember each time he sees a post from that influencer. When she starts to see similar material, she will learn to trust the brand as an authority in the field.
In addition, you might want to link your Instagram brand to an online presence. Creating a website with similar aesthetics and branding is a smart way to achieve this—the more you unify your social media pages, the better it would be for advertisers to see if you can support them.
2. Know Your Audience
Knowing your audience is important if you wish to persuade a brand to partner with you. It’s mutually advantageous for you, too—if you understand your audience, you will correctly identify which marketers would be more effective in having you as a supporter.
Start by collecting the basics—-What is the gender, age, and geographic position of your demographic? Which of your posts do they like best? What times of day do they react best to the content, and what do you infer from that?
Demographic details that you collect will help you establish relationships with brands. Brands like to see who they would impress while they’re working for you.
3. Post Regularly
You must post at least once a day to grow your following. Instagram’s algorithm prefers new and fresh posts, and you don’t want your audience to follow you or forget about you due to a lack of consistency.
So you’re going to need to find out what fits best for you and your audience. Your audience may feel bombed when you post three times a day, or maybe they prefer it. Perhaps your crowd will engage most of your posts at noon. It’s going to take some trial and error, as well as Instagram metrics tools, to find this out.
4. Use Hashtags and Geotags
Hashtags make your content more discoverable, so they’re necessary for growing your following. You’ll want to use hashtags as relevant to your content as possible. You’ll also need to check to make sure the hashtags you use aren’t broken or banned.
Geotags are equally important, but for a different reason. Geotags can help people find you if they’re interested in a certain location. This helps you gain more followers, and it also helps you appeal to brands that are interested in reaching a certain demographic. For instance, maybe a boutique sees you often post fashion tips from the California area, and they’re looking to appeal to people in that region — it’s a win, win.
5. Tag Brands in Your Posts
Okay, now you’re officially ready to start reaching out to the labels. You have established your brand and audience and produced some quality, authentic posts. Now, you’re expected to have a pretty decent idea of what kind of company will benefit from a collaboration with you.
It’s important to start little. If you’re interested in skincare, don’t head straight for Estee Lauder—instead tag small skincare start-ups that you’ve already seen across Instagram.
Start with the small brands and tag them in your descriptions. Engage with your audience by listening to questions like “Where can I get one?” or “How much?” and the brand will quickly see that you have proved yourself to be an acceptable sales partner.
6. Include Contact Information in Your Bio
Consider your bio a chance to signal your interest in being an influencer to brands. Include an email or webpage so that they can contact you and, if possible, include a press kit.
In addition, you can use a website or blog as a means of expanding your brand and demonstrating your versatility. Try adding a Press Page to the website so that brands can take a peek at your offerings. When you start endorsing brands, you should add them to this website so that brands can see that you have influencer experience.
7. Pitch Paid Sponsorships
There is nothing wrong with reaching out to brands and offering your services. You could be able to land some gigs with the right pitch without waiting for the brands to find you.
Look for brands that obviously spend time and money on their Instagram presence. You could start by looking at what similar influencers in your industry are now sponsoring. Remember, it’s all right to start small. Working with smaller labels would make it easier to develop a portfolio.
When you have compiled a list of brands who may like to work with you, give them an email. In your pitch, simply and briefly outline who you are, what you are doing, and any successes you have in the field that make you an expert. Then explain why you are a good match for the brand and include details such as follower count and overall interaction levels. Alternatively, you might consider sending a brand a DM.
8. Know Your Worth
Make sure you know how much you’re going to charge before the brands reach you. The industry norm is $10 for 1,000 followers, but it may also differ based on how many likes you receive per post. You’ll be able to charge more as you grow.
Although you’re going to want a minimum set, you can bargain to allow brands to pay more. Perhaps for $300, you’re going to publish five Instagram Story posts and add in your bio a link to their website for 24 hours.
In the end, getting sponsored on Instagram isn’t easy—it requires time, determination, and perseverance. But if you work tirelessly to distinguish yourself in the business and communicate with your followers on a personal level, it can be rewarding.