Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Early Access, Black Friday Warm Up, is there a line and can we draw it please? This time of year can be overwhelming for anyone, and for some creators, there is another element to consider. Should I get involved, and if so how?
There’s no shying away from the fact that creators have their part to play in the consumer behaviours we see today, but with overconsumption rife and brand teams relying on influencers to push their sales messaging, it’s important for content creators to consider the wider impact and take time to be intentional about how or if they get involved.
Being a person with influence means you can use your platform to showcase the things you really care about, and work with brands you believe in. Whilst you should absolutely say yes to opportunities that feel right for you and your audience, every partnership should be carefully considered.
An important part of growing and thriving in the creator space is working in a way where you not only build trust amongst your audience with the content you share, but also future proof your path to success by making sure that your digital space positively showcases your previous brand work.
If you want to be more strategic when approached by brands during times like this, I’ve pulled together a list of five things to consider when a collaboration is feeding into a super sales focused campaign.
At what point do you sit on the sales funnel? There’s a difference between making your audience aware of a great offering or investment that you have or would make yourself and pushing your audience through to a large amount of links to make a quick commission.
Be mindful of the language you are using. Discuss messaging with the brand before agreeing to a collab, avoid words and phrases that emphasise urgency and instead use softer, more advisory language that welcomes choice.
Is the brand and its offering ethical? An obvious one that goes for every collab. 99% off? Always a no.
Would this content be valuable to your audience? Are you offering up useful info that you would find helpful yourself? If yes, it’s more than likely your audience would love to hear about it.
Would this collab seamlessly align with your day to day content? Does it feel natural for you to talk about this kind of thing. Non-authentic content will be far less engaged with by your audience and consequently wouldn’t showcase your true reach or potential to other brands interested in working with you.
Like any job, it’s hard to not get caught up on what others in your industry are doing.
Navigating tough conversations, knowing what’s best for you and saying no to opportunities is difficult, especially when you’re consuming this type of content personally from your favourite creators and maybe even your peers, and the fear of missing out might start to creep in.
Remember that every creators’ space is individual and unique to them. Being careful and conscious when it comes to creating content will always set you up for success and career longevity.
Izzy x