Our director of Talent, Janie Saunders, works closely with Influencers and Brands to perfect the art of partnerships and promotions. We picked her brain on how to find your niche in the Influencer World and how to streamline your brand to connect with your following and book. that. partnership!
Q: If someone is starting out in the Influencer space, how would you suggest they go about finding their niche – one that works for them and allows them to stay true to who they are?
Be intentional with what you put out there and stay true to YOU. We are consuming more content on a daily basis than ever before and the only way to stand out within your corner of the internet is to be yourself and create content that adds value. Don’t worry so much about identifying your ‘niche’, that will come naturally if you’re sharing what truly feels authentic and inspires you.
Q: How important is staying authentic to yourself or your personal brand to securing brand partnerships?
It is everything! Authenticity trickles down into every part of this business – it builds trust with your audience, which directly affects your engagement rate, and when your engagement is strong it gets the attention of brands + agencies. Being selective with your brand partnerships is equally important – if a product is authentic to you the partnership will perform better and the brand is more likely to rebook you!
Q: Do Brands look to management teams to recommend Influencers within their desired niche and how does that work during the booking process?
Yes, all the time! Since we know the people we represent so well we’re able to explain to a brand what’s going to perform well for certain people and what won’t. Oftentimes a brand will come to us with their budget/partnership requirements and we’ll help them cast for the campaign based on our recommendations.
Q: Is it more important to narrow your ‘niche’ to just one focus or really knock 2 or 3 topics out of the park – while maintaining integrity?
Not necessarily! As an agency we tend to look for people who are well rounded and can take on partnerships in multiple categories (home, family, lifestyle, etc) vs those that are ‘too niche’.
Q: How would you recommend micro Influencers focus more on finding what makes them unique to enhance engagement and growth?
First establish what it is you love to share and how it can add value to others. From there be consistent, put yourself out there, engage with other accounts, be patient, and the rest will follow.
