It’s fairly frequent for businesses to receive numerous brand proposals in their social inbox from creators and influencers. Sprout’s Influencer Marketing Report revealed that 93% of influencers believe that the quality of a brand’s current content affects their decision to collaborate.
So, what distinguishes an exceptional brand pitch from a poor one? How can you discern which influencers to engage based on their outreach?
We’ve detailed all the elements to consider in influencer brand pitches, from metrics and enhanced account bios to a distinctive POV, enabling you to start identifying the right influencers for your brand.
What constitutes a brand pitch?
A brand pitch is a communication, typically via emails or social DMs, where an influencer (or an agency acting on behalf of influencers) approaches a brand to collaborate. They may also include extensive documents like a pitch deck.
Influencers formulate brand pitches to persuade companies to partner with them for upcoming content campaigns. Typically, such pitches encompass details about who the influencer is, their latest metrics and achievements, and a suggested campaign idea.
What differentiates a quality influencer brand pitch from others?
Not all influencer brand pitches hold the same weight. These outreach communications can assist you in determining whether an influencer is worth collaborating with or if they don’t quite align with your brand.
However, to achieve this, you must understand what differentiates a top-notch brand pitch from an inferior one. We’ve identified the key factors brands should focus on when reviewing brand pitches.
Seek notable metrics
The most effective way to ascertain if an influencer’s content is likely to thrive in the future is to evaluate their past successes. Metrics illustrate their audience size, the level of engagement from their following, the type of results garnered from their posts, and more.
Check if an influencer has provided any metrics in their correspondence. They should include data such as follower count, engagement percentage, and typical post reach. Ideally, they’ll also present specific metrics for individual posts or campaigns.
Pay attention to network-specific metrics, particularly for platforms your brand prioritizes. A detailed performance breakdown indicates their preferred networks, reach across social channels, and whether their audience aligns with yours.
Performance data should be presented well; this shows an influencer’s dedication to preparing their pitches and maintaining their brand. Nevertheless, the actual metrics are more significant than their presentation.
Contrast performance across all your brand pitch messages to identify which influencers stand out.
Ensure they pass the brand safety test
For this next evaluation phase, scroll through the influencer’s profiles. Examine their content, and conduct a quick check for brand safety.
Ensure the influencer’s content and comments section are free from nudity, offensive language, or discrimination. It’s prudent to conduct these checks across different social networks and traditional Google searches. This may uncover controversies that are not evident on the influencer’s profile but could significantly impact their reputation externally.
An ideal brand pitch might incorporate an influencer’s self-assessment of their content to illustrate their reliability as a collaborator. While this can be a positive indicator, it’s always wise to verify independently before proceeding. Skipping this step risks severe reputation damage in the future if you engage with an influencer who shares insensitive or harmful content.
Cheapholidayexpert is a recognized UK influencer frequently featured on UK television and radio; owing to her trustworthy reputation, she collaborated with South Korea’s Tourism Organization on a travel-themed campaign.
Look for optimized bios and profiles
After your brand safety assessment, delve deeper into the influencer’s profile. Pay attention to their posting frequency, any brand partnerships, and affiliations with special interest groups or causes.
A bio is the first impression a user gets before following an influencer, so it should succinctly summarize the type of creator they are and the values they advocate.
Don’t forget to check their bio link, as these reveal an influencer’s reach beyond their main profile. Comedian and positivity advocate Troy Hawke has an extensive bio link featuring his comedy tour, YouTube channel, merchandise store, and more, all accompanied by a humorous heading that reflects his brand.
Lastly, consider how users might discover their profile. Examine any keywords in their headers to ensure they align with your brand’s audience.
Cite their previous collaborations
A compelling brand pitch should present multiple examples of an influencer’s past partnerships. Showcasing two or three varied completed campaigns indicates that an influencer has collaborated with a wide array of companies. These case studies should all feature success metrics and direct links to the content created during these efforts.
This aspect may be the most crucial part of an influencer brand pitch, as it provides a transparent view of an influencer’s experience, efficacy, and content styles.
These examples illustrate the types of brands an influencer has previously collaborated with. Verify whether these companies align with your values or target audiences. Ideally, an influencer should customize these examples to connect specifically with your company.
Queer-friendly YouTube creator SuperButterBuns frequently produces videos about Atlus videogames. Although not previously affiliated, these videos demonstrated their expertise and enthusiasm. In support of the Metaphor ReFantazio launch, Atlus and Sega collaborated with them on an exclusive video, which already garnered 120,000 views from an audience keenly interested in their games.
Evaluate the content created in these past collaborations alongside the typical material a creator produces for themselves. Consider any success metrics as well as the creative methodologies employed to see if they align with your vision for influencer partnerships.
If you need a benchmark for comparison, refer to Sprout’s examples of influencer marketing campaigns.
Assess whether they bring value to your brand
Influencer-brand dynamics are invariably a mutually beneficial endeavor. An influencer is making this brand pitch to partner with you, but they should also recognize how you would benefit from the collaboration.
Ideally, an influencer should include a value proposition. This outlines the benefits of collaborating with them. Verify if they’ve connected this value proposition to specific success metrics, as it reflects their understanding of the reach they can offer.
The Costco Guys and The Rizzler, both prominent internet figures due to their extensive social followings, recently collaborated with the wrestling organization AEW. They developed a unique value proposition driven by Big Boom AJ’s (of The Costco Guys) wrestling expertise and coordinated a collaboration match during a recent AEW event.
A value proposition can also detail a specific campaign idea. If an influencer includes this, utilize it to evaluate how inventive their content concepts are and if they align with your existing content strategy.
Don’t treat this as a deal-breaker; even if you think a concept doesn’t fit your brand, use it to determine if the influencer has researched your brand and its messaging. Typically, an influencer will be willing to cooperate closely with you to create an alternative campaign or adhere to your initial creative direction.
Evaluate whether they can provide a distinct POV for your brand
Influencers represent a unique and essential component of today’s social media landscape. They each cultivate audiences based on their distinct content and persona.
A key advantage of collaborating with influencers is the opportunity to engage with, and leverage, this unique perspective. When assessing an influencer’s POV, ensure that it’s authentic.
Influencer authenticity can be complicated to assess, but it involves examining whether an influencer has a genuine connection with their established community. You can gauge this through sentiment analysis of their comments and how they engage with their audience both on and off their profile. Additionally, check if they uphold the values they advocate, such as activism or inclusiveness.
An influencer’s POV is also reflected in the content they create. How original is the content they’re producing at present? Are they adapting to influencer industry trends, or are they trendsetters themselves? While your influencer partner doesn’t need to be entirely unique, possessing this quality can help your brand collaboration stand out amidst today’s rapidly saturating social media platforms.
Katelyn Ohashi boasts a unique POV and following due to her history as a professional gymnast. This enabled her to travel to the Paris Olympics, where GetYourGuide partnered with her to engage this niche audience through her distinctive viewpoint.
This POV should be evident in an influencer’s brand pitch. Assess how effectively an influencer presents themselves and their grasp of their audience.
Proactively initiate the scaling of your influencer marketing program
While it’s beneficial to know what to seek when receiving influencer brand pitches, don’t merely wait for the ideal influencer to approach you. Apply these same principles to seek out influencers and creators to begin, expand, or enhance your influencer marketing program.
Lastly, don’t dismiss an influencer simply because they don’t meet every criterion. Micro and mid-tier influencers with less experience can still be valuable partners, as they often maintain highly engaged audiences.
Once you’re prepared to start identifying influencers for your partnerships, follow Sprout’s 7-week influencer marketing strategy. Our methodology outlines the steps to take each week, along with the tools available to begin planning, launching, and monitoring your next significant influencer campaign.
The post What constitutes a great influencer brand pitch: How brands can enhance collaborations with influencers appeared first on Sprout Social.
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