Are you looking for fresh ideas to promote your brand on Instagram? Have you tried brand collaborations yet? This emerging promotional trend is becoming popular with small businesses to widen their reach. 

Brand collaborations or influencer collaborations?

Brand collaborations and influencers play different roles in marketing and promotion. Here’s a super quick overview of the difference between a brand collaboration and influencer.  Influencer collaborations are about using an influencer to endorse, use or mention a product. Brand collaborations involve two or more companies coming together for a common marketing goal. Such partnerships typically focus on mutual benefits and may release joint products, run joint campaigns, and give each other shout-outs. 

What are the benefits of brand collaborations?

So, is it really worth engaging with another brand to work together on Instagram? We certainly think so. The two stand out reasons your business stands to gain by collaborating with brands on Instagram are:

1. Brand collaborations are cheaper than advertising.

Collaborating with brands on Instagram is a cost-effective avenue that can save you up to twenty-five times the money of a single digital advertising campaign. For the best ROI, it’s recommended small businesses establish at least three collaborations annually. 

1. You will reach more potential customers.

Partnering with the right brands will extend your customer reach and high-quality leads. You will have access to your collaborators’ audience with a recommendation from a trusted source. As a result, new potential customers will know your product or service as a trusted brand every time your collaborator gives you a shout-out on their Instagram page. 

What do brand collaborations look like?

Brand collaborations engage audiences and can attract publicity, build a buzz. Think posts, giveaways, awards, and cross-promotions. Content that typically engages an audience into action. The aim of a content strategy: More people will interact with your account and will familiarize themselves with the type of products you offer, which will, in turn, boost your sales. Cha-ching! Launching a collaboration that enhances the experience of product or service users can attract pr from industry media too. Watch this PR 101 interview with Sophia Aiano of Sling & Stone: 10:11

Brand collaborations can build trust

Brand collaborations built trust faster than any other means of social media marketing Partnering with the right brand gives you access to your ideal client or customer with a recommendation from their trusted source! Word of Mouth gold. Successful brand collaborations will also open the doors to partnerships with other brands, further maximizing your reach. 

Brand x brand collaborations do well on Instagram. Being one of the most popular social media platforms globally, doing everything right guarantees your business a boost. Understanding how to promote your brand on Instagram is one thing, and forming collaborations is another. Here is what you need to know. 

Identify the goal of the collaboration.

Do not collaborate for the sake of it! Before promoting your brand on Instagram, ask yourself why. What is the reason (problem you want to solve) for this partnering? Understanding ‘your why’ gives you the base to work from.  Your why does not have to be rock star big. It could be:

• I want to grow your email list.
• I want to boost my sales.
• I want to engage your audience more.

Get the right collaborator. You might do everything else right, but partnering with the right brand is the backbone of everything. Use the goals you set in the first step to compare between brands. You can even use the numerous match-making tools online if you need further help.  Reach out and let your partner understand what you bring to the table. The best way to approach a prospective partner is by being precise, friendly, personalized, and straight to the point. Begin by letting them understand how their brand will benefit from the collaboration. This will establish a strong relationship right from the beginning.  Here’s a quick interview with marketing guru Simon Sinek on why brand and leadership relationships are all about cooperation. p.s – he’s the guy all about ‘the why’.

Negotiate and close your deal

Negotiating what you want out of the collaboration might seem daunting but getting your agreement in writing is crucial to a successful partnership.  Be cool and maintain an open-to-negotiation attitude. Your collaboration needs to be a win-win. Staying solid with what you really need and being flexible with the rest is the key to successful negotiations.  This step might take time, but do not rush it. Once you have a common ground with a clear picture of how the partnership will work, you can draft a simple contract. 

Building hype around brand collaboration on Instagram

What is the point of your collaboration if you don’t shout it to the (target audiences in your) world? Now that you have joined forces, use every marketing channel available to let the public know who you have partnered with and why.  Tell the story of why you make a great partnership and how it will benefit your followers. Use Instagram’s countdown stickers, shopping tags, and hashtags to broaden your reach and create excitement for the posts, reels, and Instagram stories. Now go forth and good luck! And please, do not hesitate to get in touch with our team if you need further help with Instagram or brand collaborations on social media.