Partnering with an individual can be a great way to help build brand awareness, especially if it’s around a service or product launch, as well as introducing a product or product to a new demographic or group. In working alongside brands, I see and field a lot of requests from individuals asking to do a partnered post, but I also do my fair share of reaching out to individuals to partner with clients.

And since there’s a growing shift in how brands and individuals are working together, it feels like it’s a good time to pull back the curtain on what brands should consider and do before working with individuals on a campaign.

First and foremost: know what kind of partnership you wish to have with an individual: Influencer, Ambassador, or Affiliate. Some of these may overlap, but it’s good to know what your brand needs, not just wants, while building these relationships.

I’ve worked as all 3 types when I first started my business in hopes it would help me get recognized ideally as a brand ambassador. Some of these projects were fun. Some felt like a slog. And there were several lessons learned and most definitely helped me better understand how to make it a great relationship for all involved - and I continue to use those experiences as I work on the brand side.

1. DO THE RESEARCH

When looking at individuals I’m considering to work alongside on a client’s behalf, here’s what I initially look for when reviewing an account:

• Content Quality: Is it creative? Does the photography look decent? Solid copy that doesn’t look tapped out on the fly, especially if it was a partnership with another brand? And most important: is the person creating and building an intentional community through their content? Does it look like they are gate-keepers, only partnering with brands that fit with their content organically; or is it willy-nilly and seems they only want “free stuff”?

• Audience Fit: When I tap into the followers list, randomly tap on 20 followers, will I see diversity among the followers with public profiles, or does it seem overly homogeneous? Would the brand’s product or service seem like an organic fit for them? Or could it be jarring for the individual’s followers? For example, if the individual constantly talks about being a parent of a twin toddlers, and my product is geared toward parents of older teenagers, it may not be the best fit for the current audience.

• Diversity of Comments: I could care less if there’s a mix of emojis, one-word answers, and folks who wrote a thesis statement. I’m checking if the exact same people are commenting on every post with similar sentiments. If there’s a pattern, it alerts me the individual might be part of comment pod, which means the engagement isn’t organic. In the contract, I include comment pod use is forbidden.

• Engagement Rate: while I’ll take a glance at how many followers an individual may have, I’m far more interested in the engagement rate. While general engagement is declining due to how folks have evolved their own user patterns and algorithms causing havoc, seeing if the individual’s engagement rate is slightly above the platform’s average is important. I’ll look at the last 9 most recent posts, or randomly select 9 within the past 3 months pending on how often they post, and figure out the engagement rate.

As a reminder, we have no way to see shares and saves, which count toward engagement - but we can see general front-end metrics, likes and comments, and base a general ER off those numbers. Ideally once connecting with the individual, ask for their overall (lifetime) engagement rate and one for the past 8-12 weeks.

Engagement Rate Formula: total engagements / total followers = engagement rate * 100 = ER%

2. Have a Plan & Budget

Before even thinking of reaching out to someone, have a campaign timeline, partnership goals, and a budget in place. Here’s why:

Time x (Content + Quality) + Mutual Respect = Successful Partnerships

If the plan is to just offer free product, or service, in exchange for a few posts, it’s high-risk and would be in your best interest to rethink that plan. By having a timeline with goals clearly stated, it’s much easier to discuss the campaign and possibly negotiate about the project.

And yes, paying someone for their time as well as their experience is crucial. If their rates are out of your budget, don’t scoff. Simply ask if there’s an option to negotiate; if not - thank them for their time and ideally let them know you hope to work them in the future on another project. Don’t burn the bridge; you never know what may happen down the road.

It’s important to remember this is their business, possibly how they pay the bills, afford childcare, and put food on the table. These individuals partner with brands they wish to share with their audiences; curating these relationships while also creating the content, takes not only skill but also trust.

3. Make the Ask in Email

If I’ve been contacted by an individual in DMs, basically laying out the case why they’d be a great partner, I’ll simply reply with a link to an online collaborator form; or ask them to email me, the brand’s PR rep, or internal marketing person I'm working alongside. Sending someone all the details via DM is like walking up to a random person on the sidewalk and suddenly blasting them with a CV - and it feels spammy.

If I’m interested in working with someone, I review their Instagram bio, look for an email for collaborations or possibly head to their site if they have one, to look for a collaboration info, and then reach out to them.

If I have to send a DM for initial contact, I make it brief and send it from the brand’s Instagram account: “Hi (name), I’d like to discuss the possibility of collaborating with your on a campaign with us. We love your aesthetic and feel there’s a great organic fit between our two audiences. Can you please let me know your email so I can forward the details to you? Many thanks - < name, brand name >”

Here’s why it’s important to lay it out in this manner - people are hit up often for collaborations, especially those with larger followings. Move it to email so it can be tracked and more importantly, if something goes wrong, there’s a clear history of communication, set expectations, and a written documentation, which leads us to…

4. Contract It

Once a verbal agreement is in place, create a simple but thoughtful contract that includes the following:

• Timeline, including content due dates;

• Types and amount of content agreed upon;

• Specific items that need to be included, like packaging, hashtags, and/or content themes;

• Compensation; if the individual is receiving product or service only, list out what will be given to the individual and its cash value;

• A blank W-9 for the individual to fill in and return with the contract.

5. Follow Up & Step Back

Once a signed contract and W-9 is returned, immediately send what is owed to the individual and forward any codes if needed to order product so they can start working on the project.

If a package is mailed, forward the tracking number to the individual so they know when they can expect it - and you can confirm it was received.

Then step back. The brand cannot act like a Creative Director, taking over content production. This takes away from the individual being able to create within their own aesthetic, follow their own branding guidelines, and/or produce content that will best serve their audience.

You know your brand best. They know their audience best.

bottom line:

Partnering with an individual can be a great way to create and further awareness of your brand, product(s), and/or service(s). However, there’s no guarantee of lightening in the bottle magic: these individuals cannot force audiences to move forward with a brand. It’s on the brand to ensure it’s ready to greet audiences throughout these partnered campaigns - and beyond - proving itself worthy of the audiences’ time, effort, and money.

Follow us on Instagram