“Jess, Influencer X doesn’t want to do a hard sell.” It’s no secret that most content creators hate being told what to say by brands. As someone who has had countless meetings with brands and agency executives, I always preach the value of letting the creators create in their own voice. However, on the flip side, influencers and content creators must be aware that this is a two-sided relationship and there are things they do to turn off brands and ruin their chances at brand opportunities.
Many content creators, especially the younger/inexperienced creators or those without a talent manager, don’t quite understand what drives brands crazy.
Influencer marketing is built on relationships and if you (the creator) don’t treat it like a relationship, then it will be short lived.
From my experience, here are 3 things that brands (and agencies) hate when it comes to collaborating with content creators (and how you can stand out and get more deals).
Also read: How to Approach Influencer Marketing During a Recession
This is the number one gripe that brands have with content creators they work with. They are terrible when it comes to replying to the brief or late when it comes to submitting their content for approval. When a brand cannot get a hold of a content creator, it drives anxiety and erodes trust quickly. I’ve been in situations where the campaign launches the next day and a creator cannot be contacted. Even if a creator cannot fulfil their obligations for some reason (life happens) it’s always better to communicate with the brand so they can find a suitable replacement.
Brand and creator relationships are just that; relationships. As you would with a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse, you need to communicate. There are long-term consequences if you don’t communicate. Mainly, no more future jobs. Any content creator will tell you, finding brand deals isn’t easy. So alienating a brand is not good practice.
An audience can tell when a creator is phoning it in and doing the least amount of work for a branded post. Did they check all the boxes that were required of them in the brand brief? Yes. Did they create a quality piece of content? No. There was a reason why the brand chose you for their campaign. They liked your content! They want that same vibe for their sponsored post.
The happiest I have seen a client is when a creator took the client brief and ran with it. She blew everyone away with her creativity. There was no way any of us could have given her the creative direction to make this video. It was fantastic. The brand loved it and her. They wanted to continue working with her on a long-term basis. Which meant, she was going to get reliable income from this one brand for the next year.
This is hard for many, many content creators. Even those who have worked with brands in the past. You don’t want to undersell yourself, but pricing yourself out of work happens a lot. This especially happens to creators who don’t get a lot of consistent brand jobs. So they try to maximise the amount of money they can make in one job.
In my opinion, it’s better to undersell yourself until you have a better understanding of your value. Build your portfolio of brand partnerships. There is no bigger turn off for a brand when they see a creator with an unrealistic rate card. It signifies you don’t understand the business and are not a serious creator to work with.
There are a lot of factors that go into why a brand chooses to work with a particular content creator for a campaign. Some are based on data and logic. Sometimes, it’s just human nature and the poor impression/experience a brand has with a content creator. Don’t let poor communication, effort, or an unreasonable rate card deter brands from working with you.
If you’re a content creator and need some help with your rate card or want to work with more brands, sign up for a Slice creator account or contact Sherry on Whatsapp.
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