When I started my Instagram Live series #AskingforMyself a year ago, it was with the goal of asking the right questions to help all of us do business better.
Today, our most urgent business priority is not just doing business better - but doing better business.
Back in March, I became Twitter friends with influencer strategist (and lovely human) Brittany Bright. But when we scheduled this Instagram Live back in April, neither of us had any idea just how much the world would change - and just how urgent the conversation around inclusion and income equality would become.
In June, Brittany joined me for an IG Live to unpack some of the most pressing questions in the evolving world of influencer marketing.
Below are some of our top tips from the chat, and you can tap here for the full convo.
Pitch straight to the source. Don’t send a blind DM straight to the brand or retailer you'd like to work with. Instead, use LinkedIn to find the social team or creative agency working with that brand. Do your homework, and they will notice.
Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. Never assume that the first rate offered is the bottom line. Pick your rate and stay firm. An easy hack is to charge 4% of your total following, making changes based on any additional content requested.
Hold brands accountable before working with them. Make it clear early on that you are only looking to work with brands that have or are actively working to implement diversity initiatives. Find a contact in a brand’s social team on LinkedIn and DM them to ask about their diversity and inclusion plan, what their influencer roster looks like, and what steps they are consistently taking to improve. If they have no response, they are not worth collaborating with.
Use your platform for good. Participate in the “share the mic” initiative by turning your page over to a Black influencer or influencer of color for the day. Share resources even when it isn’t trendy. Elevate POC voices, share links to petitions and donations and share educational resources.
Stay close to my Instagram for the next episode of Asking for Myself!
Interested in joining me for a chat? Send your topic idea to nicole@nataliezfat.com.
