7 Ways to Win- Tips for working with Brands

Whilst at BritMums Live 2015, I was restricted to room one by the awesome power that comes with being a room moderator. But I still got to attend some of the weekend’s best sessions from one of the best seats in the house. Also, they gave me a microphone.

One such session was Brands and Blogging, featuring Britmums’ founders Jen and Susanna, Jugglemum Nadine, Marianne from Mari’s World and Clare Candler, Head of Packaged Goods and Marketing to Mums with renowned PR Brand Hill and Knowlton. 

Ahead of the session she put out a questionnaire to bloggers and brands about working with the other and garnered some interesting results which she talked about but she went on to share 7 Ways to Win- Tips for working with Brands. Given that this is what she does for a living I thought the tips worth sharing as I know that not everyone could attend either the session or BritMums Live itself.

7 Ways You Can Win With Brands:

1. Proactivity: get in touch with brands. By all means introduce yourself and ask to be added to their mailing list, but you could go one step further and really look at what the firm does, their products, and come up with a creative and engaging way that you could both work together.

2. Engage the Power of Relationships: if you have an existing relationship with a brand, go back to them again. Brands are far more likely to work with you if they’ve had a positive experience with you in the past. Obviously this creates challenges if you are new to blogging or haven’t worked with a brand before, which is when Tip 1 comes into play!

3. Act like a Partner: Think in terms of business. How are you attractive to the brand? What can you offer? Can you support them in other ways- share their content without being asked/instagram that product you were sent a year ago and share again.

4. Transparency: make it clear when it comes to payment. If you are happy to do some things for free, say so, but make it clear what you would expect to be paid for. And make it clear early on so neither side is negotiating under false pretence.

5. Integrity: this is not just about your relationship with one brand but your presence online as a whole. Be honest. Be true to your voice. They want to work with the you that is out there. Be honest about what you can do for them. Be sincere.

6. Quality: it really isn’t always about volume. Sometimes a well-written blog that interacts regularly and sincerely will be a much better for for a brand that a blogger with a vast following on social media that has very little interaction. Consider the aesthetics of your blog too- make it clear, easy to read, appealing to brands. And balance Sponsored Content with Non- Sponsored. Apparently a blog with mostly sponsored content is a turn-off to Brands.

7. Don’t be a Princess. There may be some bloggers who can command £700 for a tweet but that is not true of the rest of us. Think of the bigger picture: doing something for a brand without kicking up a fuss now may lead to far larger opportunities down the line. Brand Blogger interactions, as with any relationship, are about give and take. And being polite is simple good manners.