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You’re aimlessly scrolling through social media when you see someone post a product that catches your eye. You click the link they shared and purchase the exact item they were featuring in their post. Hashtag: influenced. We’ve all been there.
Whether you realized it or not, you’ve been exposed to influencer marketing at some point. It’s an industry that is estimated to reach nearly $17B in 2022, with more content creators and influencers entering the market every day. In case you’ve been living under a rock, influencers— those who have a significant following on social media— are paid by brands to share a review or photos of their products on their personal accounts to increase the brand’s exposure. And it’s extremely lucrative. Companies of all shapes and sizes, from clothing brands to cleaning products, have dabbled in influencer marketing in an effort to scale their business.
As an influencer, you are constantly having to pitch yourself and your personal brand to companies in order to land a mutually-beneficial partnership. A lot of times that will involve media kits, rate sheets, analytics and statistics all bundled into a thoughtfully crafted one-sheet or presentation deck. Influencers have to prove their worth to partners much like a new entrepreneur has to pitch their idea to investors. Unfortunately there’s no one-size-fits-all handbook to creating an effective influencer marketing kit and a lot of content creators don’t know where to start. But as the industry continues to grow, more templates and tips are surfacing to help influencers get started.
Keep these tips in mind to build a killer influencer media kit and land the partnership.
Create a deck
Most influencers will create a simple one-sheet to showcase examples of past work, include relevant statistics, and list out their deliverable packages and rates. And while a one-sheet can be effective, sometimes it’s not enough. Using a presentation deck as your influencer media kit gives you more room to sell yourself, and your personal brand, in an effort to land the partnership. It doesn’t need to be a 20-slide deck, but using a presentation instead of a one-sheet makes for a cleaner, more professional media kit.
Match your aesthetic
Influencers can all agree that a cohesive aesthetic is the backbone of a strong social media presence. Between your niche content, editing style, and voice and tone, your brand is unique to you. Your media kit should be an extension of that and should match the aesthetic of your social media feeds. When a company is reviewing your presentation, they should be able to recognize your branding almost immediately. You can achieve this through selecting certain fonts, colors, and images that feel true to you.
Use plenty of visuals
You’re a social media rockstar, which means you have plenty of beautiful visuals whether that be photos, videos, or both. Use visuals to introduce yourself and your platform, or to showcase previous partnerships you’re proud of. It’s important to include examples of past work and content to give brands an idea of what they’ll get if they choose to work with you. To keep things professional, make sure the visuals match your brand and tell a cohesive story.
Include data visualization to tell a story
Your influencer media kit will include a bunch of data like your follower demographics, post reach, and engagement rates. But that doesn’t mean it needs to be number heavy slide after slide. Use creative data visualization and infographics to make your statistics more digestible and visually appealing. Brands will appreciate the fact that they don’t have to search blocks of text to find your follower count, clicks and views. After all, your numbers are what will prove their return on investment (ROI)— which means money— and that’s what they care about most.
Put your money where your mouth is
Prove your worth by sharing past partnerships and how you helped brands make money by sharing their product with your followers. Don’t be afraid to include wins from recent sponsorships such as selling out a product, or making an item go viral on TikTok. You’re your own biggest cheerleader, so your influencer media kit is a place where you can brag and celebrate your successes. In fact, shameless plugs are encouraged.
Add relevant links
Don’t forget to add relevant links to your slides showcasing past projects. If you have a blog, or are especially proud of a certain Instagram post, drop the link in your presentation. This tells the brand exactly what you want them to know— or see— about your work. If you don’t direct them to specific posts, they may browse your account on their own and miss important photos or videos altogether. You can customize your links to specific industries so the posts are relevant to the brand you’re pitching. (For example, if you’re pitching a hotel collaboration the links in your deck might feature past travel posts or partnerships).
Leave them with your rates and contact information
Of course, your deck is all for naught if you don’t leave them with your deliverable packages, rates, and the best way(s) to contact you. Your contact slide should include your email address, phone number, and any social media handles so that they know exactly where to find you if they’re interested in moving forward. This is beneficial because if they don’t have any current opportunities available, they can reference your deck down the line and keep you in mind for future partnerships.
