Are IG “influencers” worth it? How to deny the ask?

[jlvansuch]

@aviso I believe there is an apple app for this where you can make preset messages and send them as one touch responses to emails etc. I forgot the name though. (No help, I know)

 

[godbewithus]

@jlvansuch You could maybe modify the auto correct feature so it replaces some weird word that you can remember, but never use, with the message, which is agree should just be a simple, polite no thank you. Maybe say they need to work more on their portfolio for you to consider doing a collaboration. If you're on a computer, just keep the message in a txt file on your desktop or just keep it on the clipboard so you can paste it when needed

 

[buildersent]

@jlvansuch "Quick text past" works with windows (and maybe Apple). You can hot key loads of phrases of your choice and by pressing two buttons past them. It's free as well. Very useful if you find yourself typing the same thing over and over.

 

[dreambernie]

@theredraven So, anyone who has been to r/choosingbeggars knows that this is kind of a cesspool when it comes to handling influencers. Most of the time influencers are fraught with spam accounts and obnoxious entitlement behavior.

To that end, set your own standard for what sort of promotion should beget free merchandise and what sort of profile you're looking for with that. I believe most social media platforms have external sites where you can vet how many followers are authentic versus bot/spam accounts. https://fatfrogmedia.com/social-media-fake-follower-check/ gives you plenty of the ones out there (SocialBlade is a great one, used it when I worked in a nonprofit).

The polite way to decline the ask is "I'm sorry but I'm not in a position to offer free merchandise." If they continue to push you simply say "I believe that the price is fair and reasonable and my customer base agrees. I wish you all the best."

 

[queso]

@theredraven I've been sending a generic "We are not looking to work with any new influencers at the moment" message, but adding in "the best we can offer is a discount code and feature you if you tag us with the product." Some of them will not even respond back, but I've engaged with a few people and kept in touch. Good for getting likes on our posts. I've even turned a couple of them into customers by doing this.

 

[altailji]

@theredraven I think the key with influencers is marrying up.

If they have to PM you, it's likely they're not worth the cost.

What I usually do is PM people who seem large enough to be useful but not so large they're out of my league and then send them something small to see what they can do. If I like their style and it gets me sales I'll start sending them stuff regularly.

If you want to do this formally you give them a code or some way to track their leads and a commission on their sales.

For example I had a few people do unboxing videos and I included a generic looking code that was unique to each of them like TAKEOFF10, SAVEME10, 10OFF, etc... This way it's not super overt that it's their code but you can spot their sales.

 

[613jono]

@altailji I think this approach is the best one. I might do it a bit differently though. I would offer them a discount and then give them a code. Sell it to them at cost, or maybe slightly below. If they successfully "Influence" then give them a commission. Have some set terms for the commission, so it doesn't last forever. Though the product I am making costs a few hundred to make and another hundred to ship. Commissions are likely to be more than a couple dollars a piece.

 

[bishopoflyons]

@theredraven Just ignore them. My wife is on the other side: she has about 12,000 followers but random businesses occasionally offer her free stuff to promote. They usually don't follow up after sending it, so I assume they're just spamming people who have more than a certain amount of followers and it's cheap advertising for them. Spend $2 mailing an item that probably cost you pennies to buy/make in China and you get in front of a few thousand people.

 

[theredraven]

@bishopoflyons Brands reaching out to influencers is a different story though. Unfortunately, it costs me $12ish to ship my products so I’m not gonna take the risk of sending freebies just to anyone.

 

[acadianflycatcher]

@theredraven One possible solution might be to have your lawyer draft a small sponsorship agreement. If you present a contract to an ‘influencer’, especially if there is clear identification to you of their personal details and what kind of actions you expect from them in exchange for valuable goods, that will probably scare off the fakes who are just looking for free stuff, and make the legit folks who are honestly trying to make a business of it feel like they’re getting some real recognition. You could even have them pay the shipping.

 

[godbewithus]

@acadianflycatcher Ooo. This is good. Great way to weed out the fakes, while giving the reals some professionalism, which I'm sure is lacking in that industry

 

[huddie]

@godbewithus I can tell you the good ones won’t agree to it as it’s too onerous for a free job. The best marketers know the influencers that reach the target audience before reaching out to them. Having a lawyer write up something will cost more than a lot of free product.

 

[godbewithus]

@huddie True, this is where that having a lawyer as a friend could come in handy lol

 

[jessicafig14]

@theredraven If I see a stereotypical influencer advertising a product I generally trust that product less and skip.

 

[theredraven]

@jessicafig14 Great insights. Thank you

 

[613jono]

@theredraven Someone asked this the other day

You will eventually learn the difference between authentic people who truly love your product and want to promote it, and those who just want free things.

I have my own clothing company about living authentically, and I reached out to two people (5K & 38K Instagram followers) who I thought truly represented my brand well. Turns out they were both amazing to work with and even though it didn’t really get me any sales, it felt good knowing that these people saw the value in my company.

I’ve also gotten messages from people just blatantly asking if I needed sponsors, models, “help with promoting”, etc. These are the people I tend to avoid, and typically just reply with “Hey were not interested in that right now, thanks for reading out though!” And I usually just leave it at that. If they get pissy and annoyed just ignore them and/or block them.

I would look up some YouTube videos about influencers, and I also recommend finding people who would represent your brand well and are nice people!

 

[fodare]

@theredraven 2000 followers can be more valuable than 2M, it just depends on the product / audience fit. Cheap products are perfect to give away.

 

[jasp77]

@fodare Yes I’m here to say this too. Check engagement before followers. I gave my product to one account with 3000 followers, the engagement and the content were awesome, videos, photos posted on multiple platforms. As for turning down requests, I first ask them for their targeted demographic, their engagement, what content they deliver (most of the time they beat around the bush on their demographic cuz they don’t know it themselves) then I say thank you and I tell them I’ll keep them in mind next time I’m considering collab.

 

[jane3322]

@fodare Exactly. 2,000 highly engaged followers easily beats out 2 million low quality followers.

 

[sonialynne3]

@fodare I've heard the lower threshold is 1,000 followers for a niche market if they have an active profile. It really doesn't take much to have a good return if you find the right person.