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Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat are more than just fun places to hang out online – they are money-making opportunities. If you have a sizeable following on Twitter and Facebook or you post quality content on Snapchat and Instagram, you can seek a social sponsorship with brands or companies. For those who have never heard the term before, a social sponsorship is merely a relationship between you – the influencer – and the marketer of the brand you intend to promote.
How Does Social Sponsorship Work?
In a social sponsorship relationship, the influencer – you – are paid by the marketer to post or engage in a certain way on social media in order to bring attention to a specific product, brand name, or service. Typically, advertisers seek out social influencers with audiences who fit the profile for potential customers of their brand.
The first step in acquiring social sponsorships involves growing a niche following. Your social media following should have specific interests. A mommy blogger, for example, would have a following of mothers. So, a brand name selling children’s products or products for mothers would reach out to you, as the chances of your followers using their products are better. If you do not have a focused following with specific interests, you will not appeal to as many brand names.
The Benefits of Social Sponsorship
Arguably, the largest benefit of social sponsorship is monetary. You already use your social media platform all the time. Why not use it to make a little money if the opportunity presents itself? There are also several other benefits as well.
Campaign Funding: Giveaways are one of the fastest ways to increase a social media following. People love free stuff and will gladly follow you on Facebook, subscribe to you on YouTube, or follow you on Twitter for a chance to win a giveaway. The problem is that you may not have the money necessary to buy items to give away for free. Fortunately, with social sponsorship, you do not have to have the funding. You can get your sponsor to send you an item or service for free, and you can give the service or product away. The sponsor wins because the content increases its exposure, and you win because it increases your following without taking a hit to your wallet.
Credibility: Some social influencers fear their followers will leave them over a few sponsored posts. As long as your sponsored posts are of interest to your followers, you have nothing to worry about. Common household names or services your following would use will make you more credible as a social influencer.
Social sponsorship is also good for your following. It will increase your exposure and grow your following.
How to Start Building Social Sponsorships
While all social media platforms work a little differently, the idea across all platforms is basically the same. If you learn how to gain sponsorship on a few of them, you will learn how to do it on all of them.
Instagram is arguably one of social influencers’ favorite social media platforms, as it is all about aesthetics. This platform is basically a photo blog, and you should treat it as such. On Instagram, you need to grow a specific following with specific interests. Then, you need to focus on posting high-quality content. Once you have a few thousand followers and stick to posting high-quality content, reach out to potential sponsors on your own. Look for companies and services your following would have an interest in. Reach out to the companies and pitch the offer to develop a sponsorship relationship. Any business worth its salt understands the value of social media advertising and will consider your offer.
YouTube
With YouTube, the starting process is the same as any other social media platform – build and identify your target audience. What kind of people like watching your videos? Then, you can expand to what kind of services, brands, and companies your following would enjoy. Again, high-quality content is key.
Identifying your target audience (or following), growing your following, and sharing high-quality content are the three steps you should take with any social media platform to move toward social media sponsorships. In time, the brands, companies, and advertisers will start coming to you with offers for sponsorship.
