How to Become #Sponsored on Insta

By Sydney Suttles

You’ve found your content, your audience, and you have a consistent schedule. It may seem like a lot work and no reward so far. This can be a huge hurdle for those who post for fun and not a company selling products. But, wait! You can sell products for companies through your own brand. According to Google Trends, “Instagram sponsors” is a breakout search which means the trend is picking up. Plus, Instagram’s rapid growth shows sponsors don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Sponsorships themselves are pretty simple. You post a picture flaunting a brand or product that you truly adore and encourage your audience to perform an action. That can be visiting the brand’s page, website, or purchasing a product. First, let’s go over the differences between sponsored posts and ads you see on the platform.

 Sponsored vs #Ad

A sponsored post is what you see naturally integrated into your feed which was paid to be shown to you from a page you may or may not follow. It will read “Sponsored” below the account name at the top of the post. I personally follow a lot of instafamous dogs, so I got a sponsored post from @Wag to create an emoji for my dog (left). Stay tuned in, the next blog will talk about promoting your own posts through this means. Next, #ad. This is a post from an account you already follow that features a brand or product who paid the account to post about it. Generally, the post will say “#ad #sponsorship.” For example, you can see @JoslynDavis promoting @Fender speakers using #ad below. But, @Cristiano [Ronaldo] promotes @NikeFootball using the new format “Paid partnership with *inert brand* so they aren’t required to use a hashtag. These are important indicators to audience so they are aware that the poster is receiving compensation for the promotion.

Not All About the $$

Why else should you care about partnering with brands? It’s not all about the money! A sponsorship is a great way to create awareness about your own brand and not just the product you’re promoting. Assuming the company you’re partnering with is a great match, your audience will connect with that. Plus, if you can give your audience a promo code to a product, they’ll love you even more. Just make sure you genuinely believe in what you’re promoting. Nothing will turn off audiences off more than a fake promotion just for attention or money. Wait until the right fit comes along.

Tips to Get Started

Companies will be attracted to brands (AKA your account) if they are aesthetically pleasing, consistently on-brand, and have a loyal following. Although a loyal- and large- following is what a company will see first, a consistent brand may be the most important thing. This goes back to knowing your audience. A company won’t want to waste their money to promote their product to an irrelevant audience. Be sure to use hashtags, add locations, and tag companies to catch their attention. But, if a company doesn’t contact you, don’t be afraid to reach out! Let them know you’re willing to work with them via email, direct message, or comments. Start with smaller, local brands. Remember you’re not Selena Gomez who gets about $500k per sponsored post. See her latest post with Coach to the left.