Initial Influencers Talk Sponsorship: Working with Brands in the Industry
How do I become a Sponsored Athlete?
By becoming a brand of authority yourself!
The world is encompassed with millions of brands, and you are one of them. When you log onto social media and post pictures or any kind of content, you are branding yourself, so take note of some of our top tips below!
We have all seen the perks of having sponsorship in the fitness industry. It might be a supplement brand, bikini suits, KOMPAK shoes and jewellery, but how do you go about getting to that point?
First things first - VALUE
When you show up on Instagram full stop ideally you want to be providing value. Value is providing your audience with something they can benefit from.
This can actually fall into more categories than you think. Your value might be that you share your workouts from time to time which your audience can save and refer back to. Your value also might be sharing your journey to the stage which your audience are interested in and some of them may be following to take tips and gain more understanding of how it all works.
Value can also fall into just lightening up someones day. This might be that you’re sharing motivational quotes now and again, you provide some sort of realness or comedy or you’re adding some sort of educational content.
These are all things that are going to build your following and build a loyal community within your profile, which potential sponsorships will benefit from and be keen to work with!
Did you know that even showing up on your story can make a difference? Brands watching you will want to see your personality, especially in a team scenario!
So show them that!
Now we have to talk about value from a BRANDS perspective…
You need to be adding value to a brand regardless of what industry they are in to be working with them or have a sponsorship with them. You need to understand what you can bring to the table and keep that in mind when you’re wanting to get sponsorship.
Many brands in the bodybuilding industry are small businesses who will not have the budget that bigger corporate brands have. This means that investing in athletes is a very difficult decision to make. KOMPAK as an example, will take note of the people who are already showing up for the brand and showcasing what they can offer. It is really important to show that you are supporting the small business for example by using their products already, it means a lot and genuinely shows you are behind the brand and not just in it to be “sponsored”.
Be Social!
One of our favourite tips when it comes to collaborating with brands full stop (no matter what industry!) is to make sure you’ve already got content on your page which resonates with that company and you’re making yourself known. That may be reposting, commenting on their posts, tagging them, sharing products you already have, really just putting yourself in front of that brand and making your name recognisable.
Take note of the content you’re putting out too, as it reflects the relationship you may have with a brand. For example, if you’re wanting to work with a gym wear brand but all you have on your page is posing videos and stage photos then the brand can’t see what you have to offer in terms of content and value.
Do the followers matter?
People are always surprised when we say YOU DO NOT NEED TONNES OF FOLLOWERS!
We have secured brand collaborations with big companies for girls with 1000 followers. You do not need 10K to work with brands or bag yourself a sponsorship!!
It is very easy it is to fake your comments, fake your likes and fake your followers. Brands would much rather work with someone with say 2,000 followers, who averages 200-300 likes a post in comparison to someone with 15,000 followers with the same ratio of likes. WHY? because the person with 2000 followers might have more engaged followers, and more importantly, the right followers i.e. people who also compete! This is why going back to value and building that community is so important!
Every company regardless of size if after the same thing, exposure, awareness and profit. They all want to work with people to aid their position within their respective market and the person doesn’t need tens of thousands of followers to do this.
Content MATTERS!
Every brand or business is after high quality content that showcases their products well that they could potentially repost on their social pages.
Look at their social profiles and see what they repost. Do they have a colour theme?for example everything quite neutral etc? What kind of content are they reposting? This is where you can stand out and showcase your best content in line with them!
Choose wisely who you already accept to work with…
We see this a lot and unfortunately it can be very off putting if it’s coming across that someone is accepting every opportunity under the sun for the sake of it even if it doesn’t resonate with their profile.
Brands want athletes who mirror their ethos, and reflect their brand values.
Profiles who are sponsored by loads of companies, or have done a tonne of collaborations with different brands just doesn't show loyalty, and can give off the vibe that you are just in it for the freebies and just to show people that you are 'sponsored' by companies.
Take note of other “Athletes”
It’s important to note we want you to be yourself. Don’t be a clone and always be true to you, but there is benefit that can come from taking inspiration from what others are doing.
Is there anyone you follow who is already working with a brand you’d love to be sponsored by? What are they doing? What does their content look like? What does their content consist of? What do they talk about on their profile? Don’t copy but do pay attention!
But what will the brand ask of me?
Typically brands in the bodybuilding industry will offer sponsorship in the form of supporting you in your competitive journey. This usually will mean taking away the stress of costs for the things you need to compete, in return for social exposure.
At the bare minimal they will usually ask for:
Social posts
To be tagged in your posts
Links in your social profiles
9 times out of 10 you will have a contract in place which will outline what the brand expects from you. This usually will be something along the lines of X amount of posts per month in return for X amount of spending on the website or in return for your competition bikini for the season etc etc.
It is your job to read this carefully to ensure you are happy with every component before signing anything so that you don’t let the business down and potentially tar your reputation. Remember brands in every industry talk too so you really want to paint a good name for yourself!
You are much more likely to be successful in being sponsored by a brand that is authentic to you, rather than just going after a brand because you want to be sponsored!
A lot of brands in the bodybuilding industry will prefer to come to you rather than the other way round. So stick at it, get that content spot on and make yourself known!
If you are struggling to get to grips with Instagram, grow your following or understanding how to work with brands get in touch with us on Instagram @initialinfluencers
We have build such a community of fitness and bodybuilder content creators on our influencer programme which will teach you exactly how to use Instagram and grow!