Two heads are higher than one, proper? That’s the concept behind social media collaborations. When manufacturers team up with other brands and influencers to achieve new audiences, it may be a win for everybody.
However to make sure your collaboration is a hit, it is best to take into account some key issues earlier than leaping in. Beneath is a step-by-step information that can assist you pull off the right social media collaboration.
Bonus: Get the influencer marketing strategy template to easily plan your next campaign and choose the best social media influencer to work with.
Social media collaboration is when two or more brands team up to create content shared on their respective social media channels. This could include sponsored posts, giveaways, or other content that leverages each partner’s audience.
Social media collaborations can grow your reach and engagement, build brand awareness, create valuable partnerships, and drive sales. They are also a great way to foster relationships with other brands and expand your customer base.
If you want to capitalize on the benefits of social media collaboration, here are some tips to keep in mind.
1. Choose the collaboration type
Before you start planning your social media collaboration, deciding what kind of partnership you want is essential. Do you want a permanent alliance or a one-off event? Will the partnership involve product giveaways, joint content creation, or something else entirely?
Setting expectations helps ensure you and the other party are on the same page. Plus, it will help you clarify who’s responsible for what tasks throughout the collaboration.
We recommend building out clear contracts at the start of your collaboration. Your social media collaboration contracts should, at minimum, include the following:
- A detailed list of deliverables from both parties
- Deadlines for each task that must be met
- Responsibilities from each side (what are you committing to?)
- Compensation package and terms of payment
- Ownership of intellectual property and content
- Contingency plans in case the project falls through
- Accessibility and language necessities
2. Associate with related creators
A social media collaboration goals to develop your attain and purchase new clients. That’s why it’s essential to companion with a model that can expose you to a brand new viewers, however one who will care about your services or products.
Finding the right influencer on your social media marketing campaign is vital. Search for somebody who speaks to the target market you wish to attain and has the credibility essential to influence them.
The influencer also needs to have a following that’s massive sufficient to make a distinction in your attain however not so huge that you simply’ll be misplaced within the crowd.
Good collaborations would possibly embody:
- A shoe model collaborating with a vogue blogger
- A well being meals firm partnering with a nutritionist or dietician
- An athletic attire model teaming up with an athlete or health fanatic
- A online game firm partnering with a well-liked YouTuber or Twitch streamer
The bottom line is to search out artistic methods to collaborate that can get your model seen and provides followers one thing actually priceless—like unique low cost codes, content material, or a uniquely entertaining expertise.
@jamworth Cheese Puffer Jacket 😜 #cheetos #fashion #funny #flaminhot #teashirt
3. Agree on a major purpose
Targets are important to any social media technique, however they’re much more essential for collaborations.
Earlier than you and your collaborator begin brainstorming concepts and creating content material, you could agree on a major purpose that may be tracked and measured. It ought to be one thing tangible—like driving visitors to a particular product web page or rising gross sales of the product featured in your collaboration.
Attempt to keep away from much less quantifiable targets like “get extra followers.” It’s simple to mistake elevated follower rely for fulfillment, however there’s no option to measure how a lot worth these further followers add.
Use social media collaboration instruments to make sure you meet your targets. Social media and on-line collaboration instruments are invaluable for preserving tasks on monitor, staying organized, and monitoring progress. With the fitting device, you may hold all of your property in a single place for straightforward reference, create metrics-driven stories about how your collaborations have carried out, and share your progress and outcomes together with your collaborators.
@meghantrainor A particular @elfyeah radiance report: It’s an E.L.F.ING GLOW STORM! Please train ✨excessive iridescence!✨ (and thanks @weatherchannel for uplifting the glowcast!)🤍 #elfpartner
4. Develop a framework for working collectively
Setting agency deadlines, clear expectations, and specific targets ought to be prioritized when pursuing social media collaborations. The extra direct and detailed you might be, the simpler and profitable your collaboration will probably be. That is particularly necessary when working with a number of companions or over longer intervals of time.
To keep up the success of collaborations, checking in commonly and sustaining good communication is important. Schedule common conferences with each side to debate progress and targets, resolve any issues that come up and set new targets.
5. Select social media collaboration instruments
On prime of a stable contract, it is best to take into account investing in social media collaboration instruments to make the method easy for all concerned events.
These instruments simplify the administration of your marketing campaign by permitting a number of social media group members to entry and contribute at any time. It additionally helps streamline communication between all stakeholders (together with influencers and companions) for a seamless workflow.
Instruments like Hootsuite for social media scheduling, Trello or Monday for venture administration, and Asana for process administration could make collaboration amongst group members a lot simpler. Additionally they present a centralized platform to watch progress and retailer all the mandatory property in an accessible place.
As effectively, take into account how you intend to trace the success of your social media collaboration. Utilizing UTM tracking codes and hashtags for campaigns or occasions and sharing analytics and insights might help you see what’s working in your collaboration. Instruments like Hootsuite Analytics might help you to trace the success of every component of your collaboration campaigns.
Lastly, be sure that everybody concerned within the collaboration understands their roles and tasks. Utilizing instruments like Slack or Microsoft Groups can streamline communication and guarantee everyone seems to be on the identical web page.
6. Share your social media type information
Your social media style guide is the essence of your model. Not solely does it clarify the way you need your model represented in its interactions, nevertheless it additionally units the stage for how your collaboration will probably be executed.
Earlier than your marketing campaign begins, share and clarify your type information to any model collaborators and companions. You wish to be sure that any new content material you produce collectively is in keeping with your model’s requirements.
Understand that your collaborator will even have their very own type information and expectations for the content material produced. Evaluation these collectively and devise a unified strategy for a way the 2 manufacturers will work collectively concerning visuals, content material, and the like.
The very best social media collaborations mix the very best of each manufacturers, so don’t be afraid to make changes and compromises to create a cohesive appear and feel.
7. Take into account the emotional angle of your marketing campaign
When you and your collaborator have agreed on the phrases, it’s time to get artistic. Consider methods to make use of your social collaboration to create an emotional connection together with your viewers.
This might embody donating some portion of the earnings to a charity, highlighting a trigger that you simply each care about, or just creating content material that can make individuals smile and join with it on a deeper degree.
For those who’re working with an influencer, ask them to create content material that speaks to their values and resonates with their viewers. Equally, if the collaboration entails making a services or products collectively, give attention to the way it can resolve an issue on your clients in a singular approach.
Keep in mind, social media collaborations will be extra than simply advertising and marketing. They’re additionally a good way to do one thing significant whereas strengthening the connections you make together with your clients. With the fitting mixture of content material, creativity, and collaboration instruments, you may flip this into a wonderful alternative for everybody concerned.
@spotify #SpotifyEQUAL artist #SilvanaEstrada values the corporate of fellow ladies musicians and is impressed by her friends and predecessors 💚 Take heed to her music on the EQUAL playlist #womeninmusic
8. Decide when, the place, and what you’ll submit
Timing is all the pieces in the case of social media content material. Not solely do it’s essential to resolve on a platform and content material sort, however it’s essential to time your posts appropriately.
Take into account any holidays, trending subjects, or particular occasions that would coincide together with your submit. Additionally, decide a time when your followers are most certainly to see your content material–and optimize this per platform.
It’s also possible to use platform insights to determine what content material your viewers is excited about proper now and the way they need you to speak with them. Your followers could also be extra excited about Instagram tales than static photos. Or they’re extra lively on TikTok nowadays. Your analysis will assist create a content material calendar that resonates together with your viewers.
It’s additionally a good suggestion to ask your collaborator for his or her enter. You’re not simply chatting with your viewers but in addition theirs. Evaluate your insights and discover a center floor that advantages each events equally.
9. Disclose all partnerships
Disclosure of partnerships is a should, particularly in the case of social media collaborations. Your audiences ought to all the time know when a submit has been sponsored or created in collaboration with another person.
Not solely is that this legally required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and different regulating entities worldwide, nevertheless it additionally helps construct belief between you, your collaborator, and your viewers. Customers have a tendency to understand when firms are clear about their collaborations.
Be sure you label all sponsored posts precisely in order that customers know {that a} collaboration has taken place. Use hashtags similar to #advert and #sponsored, or if you happen to’re on Instagram or TikTok, use the “Paid Partnership” tag within the submit header. And ensure to incorporate each written and verbal disclosure of the partnership throughout the video itself—not simply the outline.
@khaby.lame Who desires to ⚡️go⚡️to McDonald’s with me after the sport right now? #ad @mcdonalds
10. Cross-promote your content material
One of many greatest advantages of social media collaborations is the flexibility to faucet into current audiences. However remember you’ll each want to advertise the content material by yourself channels to achieve success.
This implies you’ll want an efficient plan for cross-promotion. Coordinate with the opposite companions to find out who will submit what content material and when every submit ought to go dwell. Don’t overlook to add hyperlinks to one another’s social media profiles, web sites, and different content material you’ve created for the collaboration.
It’s additionally sensible to announce your collaboration beforehand, so your audiences can get enthusiastic about what’s to return.
Questioning the best way to announce a social media collaboration?
Social media customers typically admire a private contact. You probably have a number of influencers and types concerned, take into account having them submit on their accounts to announce their partnership.
It’s also possible to create a singular hashtag that includes the names of each events concerned. This may assist make your collaboration extra seen.
11. Share outcomes together with your collaborator
Lastly, share the outcomes of your collaboration with any collaborators or companions concerned. The information you acquire will be invaluable to each your digital advertising and marketing efforts and people of your collaborators. It would additionally assist inform future social media collaborations and techniques.
One of the best ways to share this info is thru a complete report that outlines how the collaboration carried out, what key metrics had been achieved, and the way the content material resonated with audiences. Metrics like attain, engagement, conversion charges, and sentiment can all be tracked and reported to offer a extra holistic view of the collaboration’s success.
Social media collaboration instruments might help you create detailed stories, monitor efficiency, and establish key insights.
Let these social media collaboration examples encourage you to create and launch your individual collab campaigns.
Charli D’amelio x Takis
Charli D’amelio is without doubt one of the greatest names on TikTok, with over 149 million followers. For this social media advertising and marketing collaboration, she teamed up with snack firm Takis to create a brief TikTok video of how she spends her film nights. The video noticed greater than 2.6 million views and 10.5k shares.
@charlidamelio film evening @Takis #takispartner
Bella Poarch x Hugo Boss
Generally model partnerships occur offline, too (loopy, we all know). When TikTok influencer Bella Poarch was requested to stroll within the Hugo Boss vogue present, each manufacturers knew it was the right alternative to create buzz on TikTok. This social media collaboration is the right instance of how on-line and offline techniques can work collectively.
@bellapoarch I don’t assume I met the peak requirement😅 @BOSS #BeYourOwnBOSS #ad
Shaq x Papa Johns
Artistic hashtags are a good way to extend the attain of collaborative posts organically.
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and pizza chain Papa John’s created the #Shaqaroni problem on TikTok, which requested customers to video themselves dancing to the track “Shaq-a-Roni” by Shaq, and use the #Shaqaroni hashtag. Shaq then responded to entries in a collection of TikTok duets which are humorous and heartwarming.
This marketing campaign is a superb instance of how humor and creativity can go a great distance in increasing the attain of your message.
@shaq #duet with @karaleighcannella #shaqaroni Ayyye #🍕ole woman was hittin that #shaqaroni dance. i acquired $$ for the very best duet
Yeti x Traeger Grills
Social collaboration occurs between manufacturers, too. This 12 months, the out of doors manufacturers Yeti and Traeger Grills partnered to launch a singular giveaway. The 2 firms requested followers to share photos of their barbeque setup with the hashtag #YETIxTraegerBBQ to win a collaborative prize package deal. This partnership was a hit, and the competition had over 1,000 entries.
Able to get began? Discover ways to use social media platforms for collaboration and engagement.
1. Hootsuite Analytics
Hootsuite Analytics is a superb device for managing and analyzing social media collaboration efforts. It provides detailed insights into the efficiency of campaigns, together with impressions, engagement, and attain. You possibly can even benchmark your efficiency towards business requirements.
You’ll even have entry to a full suite of reporting instruments, which will be shared with influencers all through your marketing campaign. Use it to trace conversations, monitor engagement in your and your influencers’ posts, and optimize your campaigns for optimum success.
2. Instagram collab posts
Instagram collab posts can help you attain a good wider viewers by combining the facility of two accounts. One consumer creates the submit and invitations one other to be listed as a collaborator. As soon as accepted, the submit seems below each customers’ accounts.
This characteristic might help you achieve extra publicity on your model or marketing campaign by showing in two locations concurrently. As a bonus, each accounts will obtain the identical feedback, likes, and variety of shares. Social media collab posts are a good way to spice up your attain, engagement, and followers.
3. Fb Model Collabs Supervisor
Facebook Brand Collabs Manager is a device that makes it simple for manufacturers to attach with the fitting creators on Fb and Instagram. This platform permits firms to seek for customers with probably the most related followers, pursuits, and content material. Manufacturers can then attain out on to these they consider can be an excellent match for his or her campaigns.
The device additionally helps be sure that any messages despatched from the manufacturers to creators don’t get misplaced or ignored. Model Collabs Supervisor offers a straightforward approach for manufacturers and creators to return collectively, eliminating the necessity to spend hours trying to find collaborations one after the other.
Make social media collaborations simpler with Hootsuite. Schedule posts, analysis and interact with influencers in your business, and measure the success of your campaigns. Strive it free right now.
All of your social media analytics in a single place. Use Hootsuite to see what’s working and the place to enhance efficiency.