My Instagram account started a long time ago as a personal photo album basically. I never had goals to grow my account or represent brands- I didn’t even know that was a thing! But now I’ve had the wonderful experience being an ambassador for many shops. I receive quite a few messages about brand repping so I flighted I should share some generic tips!
What is brand repping?
Typically it involves a partnership with a brand that provides you with goods or a steep discount in exchange for high-quality photos and content on your page. Some brands might pay you for posts, stories, etc. Some might have very specific requirements. The relationships can vary greatly.
This will probably shock you- my first brand rep gig was with a fitness glove brand! Here’s how our partnership developed: I bought the gloves and loved them so I posted about them and tagged the company every time. Then I started searching specific hashtags that related to needing fitness gloves and I started referring people to the company and tagging them. The company saw that I was helpful to their business, a loyal customer, and believed in the product so they started to send me free gear for myself and giveaways in exchange for the word-of-mouth advertising and photos.
After a period of time, I had my son and my account became more family/Disney-focused. A T-shirt company that I love had an ambassador program that I applied for and was accepted! An ears shop that I’d been a customer of did a rep search and the second time I applied, I was accepted! Since then, many partnerships have lasted (like those two) and others have come and gone but they all have been a great experience and taught me valuable things.
As a small shop owner, I’ve also seen the other side of having brand reps. They can do amazing things for your business and even the process of hosting a rep search can stir up a lot of traffic. I’ve had spectacular brand reps and I’ve had reps that didn’t totally hold up their end of the bargain. With all that being said, I feel like I have a well-rounded experience to share my tips.
1. When applying for rep positions, consider starting with very new shops. You can both learn together!
2. Be clear with shops that you are dedicated to helping them GROW.
3. Tag them every time you refer to them and share your promo code.
4. Share when they have a sale or launch.
5. Make sure your photos are HIGH QUALITY- the product should be the focus, great lighting, no filter or distortion of colors, minimal chaos in the background, great overall styling, composition, etc.
6. Try to get photos in a timely matter- within a couple of weeks. Send photos directly to the company so they can use them without waiting for you to post them.
7. Bonus points for sharing your magic mail when it arrives!
8. Try not to rep for direct-competitors. I only rep one ear shop. I rep a couple of tee shops but they’re pretty different in their audience. I’ve been asked to rep a tumbler shop, etc. but not two shops that are doing the same thing. If you are going to rep like that, be very clear about it with the shops so they don’t see it as a conflict.
9. Follow-through on your commitment.
As a shop owner, I know how much effort and investment it takes to maintain brand reps. It ain’t easy! Only pursue brand repping if you feel like you have the space on your platform for the number of partnerships you take on. You can be a huge asset to a shop so don’t underestimate your potential! Start small and slow, prove yourself, and watch as opportunities pop up. Sometimes a brand will reach out to YOU and that’s the biggest compliment. It’s not about receiving something for free (because you’re definitely earning it through other efforts) but it is about working together to grow each other’s brand!
I also want to add that because what you are doing for a brand is valuable by providing them with advertising, quality photos, etc. and it takes time, you should be cautious about “ambassadorships” that revolve around buying something regularly at a discount. Those purchases add up and in my opinion, those shops might be using you for business. A shop that respects your work won’t ask you to buy things constantly. That may be a great way to get started but not to maintain a partnership... in my humble opinion :)