FAN MAIL FRIDAYS: Is it right for influencers to ask for sponsorship?

Hey TBJ Beshies! Ready for some tea?

Just kidding! I don't want to shade a specific person, but rather, I'd like to educate, discuss, and offer solutions to pressing matters; in this case, let's talk about influencers asking for sponsorship, which has been a hot topic lately most especially in this time of pandemic. If you haven't been online a lot lately, influencers asking for free stuff from various brands and businesses during a hard time were subjects of blind items much to the amazement of the online audience.

Today's Fan Mail Fridays is from Leira and she asks:

Hi Ms. Martha,

I am an avid follower of various influencers (especially you!) and lately, influencers were being criticized for asking free stuff from companies. As one of the veterans in the industry, I just want to know what you think of this? Is it right or is their timing just off? I just want to know what your thoughts are. Thank you for answering!

Leira

Hi Leira!

Thank you for this thought provoking question. I believe this is something that we should be discussing in the open to inform and manage expectations of followers, and to educate influencers as well. Open communication and continuous learning will preserve the integrity and keep on elevating the industry of content creators.

Let me start by saying that sponsorship is not evil per se. It's not only influencers who do it; a lot of companies, organizations, newspapers, magazines, TV shows, films, and institutions ask and provide sponsorship as well; it's just that influencers are in the petri dish right now because we are public personalities and much closer to the audience that's why we are getting all the heat.

Sponsorship, whether through cash or in kind, is a means to help a company/event thrive; this is a mutual agreement between two parties (B2B partnership, in corporate terms) wherein they meet halfway to exchange values that both parties need. Without sponsorship, there wouldn't be giveaways that you guys enjoy on The Beauty Junkee and I won't be able to sustain this blog.

The part where it becomes disastrous is when influencers ask for it without understanding what it entails. As someone who's been on the client side and influencer side, let me tell you why it's just right and why it can be wrong sometimes.

FROM A CLIENT'S PERSPECTIVE:

Influencers are a huge part of a marketing plan and oftentimes, the marketing department is working on a limited budget (but this one depends on the size of the brand and business). Sponsorship is one of the ways for brands to get their products out there through influencers without having to shell out cash; sometimes, it's a way to tap high tier influencers such as celebrities if they themselves approach the brand for a sponsorship ask so this marketing activity is very much welcome to brands. That said, sponsorship requests are just right.

Sponsorship requests become nothing more than a self- entitled ask when influencers approach brands and ask for a huge amount of products right away without building rapport, offering to match the value of their ask with published content (read: value-for-value exchange), without enough followers, content, and online identity yet, and not bothering to write a formal letter; Influencers, you are asking a business to become a partner; you're not asking your mom for cash so you can buy a take out. This is when it becomes wrong and how to get rejected in your first try.

FROM AN INFLUENCER'S PERSPECTIVE:

To let followers and the general online audience know, aside from the reasons of client, sponsorship is also a way for influencers to sustain their platforms without having to shell out money. Guys, it takes a lot of time as well as money to maintain social media pages, websites, and channels; sponsorships help us create new content for you; this content, we spend hours or even days conceptualizing, shooting, and curating, and you only consume it in a few minutes; that said, sponsorship is an incentive that helps us not only maintain our platforms, but keeps us motivated as well. So yes, sponsorship is just right.

Asking for sponsorship becomes wrong when you come from a mindset that it's only a way to get free stuff. Yes, they will give their stuff for free--but there has to be an exchange. Sponsorships are not totally free-you have to pay it back with time and content that you have to publish on the agreed platforms. Another reason it becomes wrong is when you do it at the wrong time (like in this pandemic), when you don't keep your word, and you take advantage of the naiveté of micro entrepreneurs and start- ups.

So what's our resolution?

I know it's their decision, but I hope that clients would be more open and willing to work with micro and nano influencers because trust me, a lot are waiting to be discovered and to be honest, they can be more professional than some seasoned influencers. With your help, we can keep on encouraging professionalism when we reward those who are professional and those who deserve it.

For influencers, you have to understand that a sponsorship is a legal, binding partnership; it's not a free pass to get free stuff. When you ask for a certain amount of sponsorship, be ready to return the equivalent value through the quality and quantity of the content that you will produce: don't ask for P100,000 worth of sponsorship if you can't produce content worth that amount (there are ways to measure the value of content based on your number of followers and authority in your niche. In advertising terms, it's called Ad and PR Values). Be realistic with your ask: if you have 5,000 followers, don't ask for P100,000 worth of sponsorship right away. Don't treat marketing managers as walking bags of free stuff. Time your sponsorship request-don't do it in the midst of a pandemic when businesses are closing left and right.

Finally, PLEASE. WRITE. A. FORMAL. SPONSORSHIP. REQUEST. LETTER.

That's all and I hope you have learned something new today, whether you are a brand person, an influencer, or an entrepreneur.

**Got a burning question on beauty, makeup, skin care, blogging, career, relationships, marriage, fitness, or anything under the sun? Message me via contact form, email me at martha.stabarbara@yahoo.com, or shoot me a message at THE BEAUTY JUNKEE OFFICIAL FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.