How To Find Brand Deals For YouTube Influencers

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In today’s digitally versed world, technology is a powerful tool that can be leveraged for a lot of things. There’re numerous ways to create, connect and share, and given how integrated technology is with our daily lives, getting involved in what there is to do online is more accessible than ever.

Social media is a great example of this, as it provides platforms for people to communicate, share and collaborate with one another on a variety of interests and causes. Over the years, it’s evolved to become a multifaceted tool, which most recently has been capitalized upon by companies looking to create marketing that speaks to the digital age.

Influencer marketing through social media platforms like YouTube is something that while not necessarily have existed two decades ago, now hones a major piece of an overall marketing strategy. It’s become a major boon for brands and users alike, as they build presences and relationships online that can result in sponsorships, partnerships and a variety of other business opportunities.

Summary:

The Scope of Influencer Marketing

Reviewing The Basics

The Importance of The Right Knowledge

Top Tips For Getting Brand Deals As A YouTube Influencer

Influencer marketing is a growing practice that’s gained traction over the years. It’s the practice of leveraging online popularity and establishment to promote and sell products on behalf of a brand. Becoming its own form of marketing, it focuses on identifying and leveraging individuals with a strong social presence online in favor of connecting with their specific audiences and demographics.

By identifying and targeting key individuals who have the ability to influence others, brands can create powerful word-of-mouth campaigns that can generate impressive results.

 Influencer marketing is growing in prevalence, with an estimated 93% of marketers have used influencer marketing in their campaigns. See detailed analysis  here.

It’s furthermore something that’s holding promise for those prospective to get involved, with global sales on social commerce platforms estimated to reach a massive $1.2 trillion by 2025.

When it comes to choosing an influencer to work with, a brand has to consider a few things. The most well known factor is reach – how many people does the influencer reach on a regular basis? This can be determined by looking at an influencer’s follower size on various social media platforms.

Based on these numbers, you can then categorize an influencer’s status and overall establishment by classifying them as:

Nano influencer:

A Nano influencer is considered to be someone with anywhere between 1,000 to 10,000 followers on a social media platform. Their audiences are relatively small, and will often focus on a specific niche.

Micro influencer:

Anyone with follower counts from the low thousands to 100,000 can be considered a micro influencer. These users are best defined as individuals that have enough of a reach to be more prominent online than the average person, however fall short of the widespread popularity of an actual celebrity.

Macro influencer:

Macro influencers are generally regarded as individuals with accounts that have a following of 100,000 or greater. They’ll usually be popular enough to have some level of impact on a wide range of people, and be seen as authorities or thought leaders in their respective industries.

Mega influencer:

A mega influencer is someone with one million followers or more on their social media accounts. These individuals will usually consist of celebrities, artists and public figures.

The great thing about influencer marketing is that despite these tiers, there are ways for everyone to take advantage of it. While there may be a misconception otherwise, even influencers on the micro level are able to thrive off of their online presence with the right strategy.

Almost anyone can be an influencer, as all it really takes to start is social media and something to share. However, this doesn’t mean instant success. It takes time and effort to grow an audience that’s engaged and interested in your content, as well as to build roots that allow you to effectively profit from it. With this in mind, what does it take to be a successful influencer, as in one that scores brand deals?

Whatever level of reach you may have over your respective audience, you won’t make it far as an influencer without the right skills and knowledge to source and grow opportunities for monetization. In order to be fruitful in your efforts, you’ll need a good understanding of the scope of the game, as well as what is necessary to effectively connect with brands and score deals.

With that in mind, we’ve compiled a few essential tips for finding and getting brand deals as a YouTube influencer.

Quality content is the centerpiece to finding success as an online personality. It’s at the basis of establishing yourself as a reputable creator and likewise setting yourself up for growth. Regardless of audience size, what is really of value to brands at the end of the day is quality content. Companies are always on the lookout for materials that match their energy and are easy to integrate into their existing online presence.

It’s not uncommon to see creators of all statuses, even amateurs, approached by companies asking to repurpose some of their content. They’re really in need of what they can tangibly work with, and emulating this through your content is the best way to show this potential. But how?

When looking to appeal to brands as an influencer, you’ll want to compare your content to the existing materials they have online.

Consider, is what you’re doing something that would fit in and match the brand in question? Would it fit in? Is it of the same quality?

There are lots of ways to improve your content, from face value right down to the technical stuff. It all requires strategy, dedication, and a concept of what’s essential to your specific needs and objectives.

Potential areas of focus include:

• Well edited videos
• Quality visuals
• Quality audio
• Engaging topics
• Actionable posts
• Valuable takeaways

Take a broad consideration of the content you produce and how it pertains to the brand relationships you’d like to form. Reassess your strategy accordingly, keeping in mind that by showing brands you can be a valuable resource for their overall marketing efforts, you’ll be one step ahead in landing deals.

Being on the theme is essential to acquiring the relevance and audience you need to acquire brand deals. It’s not simply enough to create content but to be focused on what you produce and do it well. This effort should always be reflected in your social media bios, posts, and the general tone of your channel.

When starting off as an influencer, many creators make the common mistake of casting a wide net and trying to appeal to as many people as possible. It’s important to remember that this isn’t really feasible and can often water down your content’s value and marketing effectiveness in the process.

Remember, when companies are looking for influencers to work with they’re looking for someone who can sell what they have to offer. They need someone who embodies and exudes the essence of their brand as much as possible. In this regard, it’s super important to consider not just what your specific market is, but how you’re emulating it through your social presence. It’s essential to have what you share be reflective of what you want to attract, as it is by doing so that you’ll best be able to appeal to companies looking for brand representation.

Furthermore, you’ll want to make sure that the topics you cover and niches you focus on are ones you can speak to. Being knowledgeable and passionate about the areas you cover will only work in your favor. It makes it easier for you to produce content as well as communicate with companies on a more personal level. They want to feel that you’re someone they can trust, and being knowledgeable goes a long way in establishing this rapport.

There’s a common misconception out there that one’s value on social media platforms like YouTube is equated to their subscriber count only. This is untrue, especially when it comes to influencer marketing.

This is what brands are looking for when it comes to working with influencers- somebody who can produce something of worth that can be tangibly marketed to their target audience. And as an influencer, it’s important to know that your engagement metrics are a far better barometer of your worth in this way.

In order to properly value your engagement, it’s important to track the following:

• Comments
• Likes
• Dislikes
• Subscribers

From these values, you can even calculate an engagement rate.

To calculate your channel’s engagement rate, add up the total number of likes, dislikes, and comments (in a selected time range) for all of the channel’s videos, divide by the total number of subscribers and multiply by 100. This will leave you with a value percentage that can be used to discern your content’s appeal.

Generally, influencers aim to get an engagement rate of anywhere between 2 to 3 percent. Ratios of 4 to 6 percent are considered excellent, and rates in the high teens and twenties are considered ‘viral’.

This is where you’ll want to focus your attention if you’re looking to form deals with brands. The engagement you get on your posts is a good indicator of how well you’re performing. It’ll also help you better understand what specific posts are doing well and why. Additionally, by tracking these metrics you can start to develop an idea of what content works well for your specific audience and what holds the most promise in your strategy going forward.

At the end of the day, what drives sales is engagement, not followers. Brands want influencers who have an actionable base that

Sometimes, all getting some good brand relationships takes is some initiative on behalf of an influencer. It’s not always about waiting for the brands to come to you. So, how do you go about reaching out?

The first step is identifying the brands that you want to work with. This can be done through a variety of methods such as social media searches, using Google or other search engines, or even signing up for services that offer brand contact lists.

Once you’ve identified the brands, it’s important to do your research on them. Learn about their values, what they offer, and who their target audience is. This will help you determine if you’re a good fit to represent them and give you an idea of what sort of content to produce.

Once you have a good idea of what you want to create, it’s time to reach out! This can be done through a variety of channels such as email, social media, or even LinkedIn.

When reaching out, be sure to introduce yourself and your channel, provide links to some of your best content, and explain why you think you’d be a good fit to work with them. If you can, provide some ideas for collaborations that you think would be mutually beneficial.

Don’t be discouraged if brands don’t respond the first time- keep trying! The key is to be professional, personal, and persistent. And always remember to follow up!

There are lots of things to keep in mind when trying to be a successful influencer on YouTube. It’s all about taking the right approach, with the most successful efforts being ones that involve planning and strategy. In this regard, consider how you can assess your current circumstances and rewire them accordingly.

Are there things you could be doing better quality wise? Are you targeting the right concepts? Are you measuring your success appropriately? Are you putting in the time, effort and work needed to succeed? The answers to these questions will help you in discerning what the present state of your channel is and how you can take it further.

YouTube is a platform prolific with opportunity, and with the right mindset and execution, you can position yourself to make the most of it and influencer marketing.