Influencer Tip: Three Communication Mishaps That’s Costing Your Business
Influencer Tip: Three Communication Mishaps That’s Costing Your Business
Over the past decade, I’ve had my fair share of seeing what works and what doesn’t work with influencers, especially how they not only communicate with brands their working with but also their team, both internal and external. “Bad” communication is the number one reason a brand won’t work with an influencer, but what does that exactly mean, and how can you ensure you’re not putting your business at risk because of it?
Here are three key things you need to ensure you’re doing:
Answer emails within 24 business hours - I sound like a broken record when I say this, but it’s absolutely astonishing how many partnerships influencers lose because they simply don’t respond on time. I’m talking six figure deals. WHen I consult and do influencer casting with top brands, the first question they ask me is, “Idalia, are they timely?” we honestly don’t have time to waste, especially when money is on the table. so if you’re over your head with the amount of emails coming in and you don’t know what to do, i strongly advise hiring an assistant that can help organize your emailing life and/or seek representation at a talent management agency that can handle those brand partnership deals from start to finish.
“Please and thank you” - always start and end with that. no one likes working with someone that feels entitled, much less rude. the most interesting part of this is that most of the times influencers don’t realize that they’re not doing this. They’re genuinely nice people that are so busy answering emails left and right that they forget etiquette. This happens so so often. so take a breather before pressing that “send” button and make sure you’re being polite.
get personal - are you following the brand rep on social media? do you know what’s going on in their lives? don’t be a stalker of course, but developing an authentic relationship with pr agents from your favorite brands will set you apart from the crowd. It will make you human. In today’s age where so much of the business is done via emailing, reminding people that you’re not a robot goes a long way.
Everything I wrote above may have you saying, “Duh, Idalia!”…
But I encourage you to go back to your emails with brands and see if you’re doing all three points. On a personal level, I would reckon to say that the majority of the incoming emails my company receives from influencers that want to work with us don’t even do 1 of the 3 points above… and that’s frightening. The ones that do however stand out significantly from the over-saturated crowd. And when I say “stand out” I mean STANDDDD OUTTTTT.
See what I mean here? Something so simple can go such a long way.
ps: Everything I wrote above is common email etiquette no matter what business you’re in ;)