Negotiating influencer payment has been one of the toughest asks for brand marketers across the globe, as there are no fixed rates for collaborating with the creators. As a result, brands are often in a dilemma – what if we pay more, or what we are offering is below the market standards? What if the offers we are making put off the influencers? The most critical element in negotiating the influencer payment is that it should be mutually beneficial for all the stakeholders and create value for all. This blog will discuss the top tips to help you negotiate better with your influencers and get the best value for your investment.
Make your offer first
Being the first to offer compensation as a brand when approaching an influencer for your influencer marketing campaign is always advisable. This technique ensures that further conversation regarding the fees is centered around that number. However, when making the offer, you should clearly understand the prevalent compensation standards and adhere to those norms. For example, nano and micro-influencers can collaborate in return for a gift or a few hundred dollars for a post, but the macro and mega-influencers will charge upwards of a few thousand dollars for the same. So, your offer should be compelling and well thought out rather than random numbers, which the content creator will refuse at the first look. With iConnect’s influencer management tool, brands can determine the fair compensation of the influencer based on their followers, past performance, audience demographics, content type, and social media platform.
Adjust deliverables to fit the budget
After making the offer, if you still find that the influencer is going over budget, you should try to work around the deliverables to make things happen. There are two ways to come to a settlement. First, if the influencer is asking for more money than your offer, negotiate for more content deliverables for the asking price than the previous offer. Secondly, if you cannot stretch your budget, reduce the content deliverable for the influencer and ask him to collaborate at lower fees. For example, if you are offering the influencer $100 and they are asking for $150 for a single Instagram feed post, you can either pay them $150 and ask them to post an additional Instagram story, or you can negotiate to 2 Instagram stories instead of a feed post for $100. Since stories don’t take much effort, the negotiation technique should work.
Combination of different payment modes
If you are on a very restrictive budget which you cannot increase by any measure, there is still a chance to get the influencer you want to work with onboard. As there is no set or standard payment structure in influencer marketing, brands can negotiate the compensation by providing additional benefits to the creators over the monetary settlement, like products, exclusive partnership status, or other perks you can afford. This collaboration works well when the influencer is already a fan of your products and would not mind being compensated partly through them. For brands, sending their products will not be as tricky as increasing the budget.
Also Read: Top 4 ways to compensate your influencers effectively
Long-term partnership
Long-term collaborations with content creators are cost-effective and come with many other benefits. Most influencers these days are looking for long-term partnerships with the brands as it offers them a consistent source of income, allowing them to lower their compensation. Partnership over a more extended period also shows in the quality of the content. Also, when an influencer promotes a product over an extended period, their audience is likelier to become brand loyal. Another benefit of a long-term partnership is that the influencer and brand can help both leverages the popularity of each other to its full potential.
Create a rapport with influencers
One way to bring better negotiation to the table is to create a personal bond with the influencers. Brands should show the influencers that they genuinely care about them and value their opinion. For example, brands can send personalized e-mails to the influencers they have worked with or are working with, sending regular updates about the new campaigns they plan to execute. Also, brands can periodically ask for feedback from the influencers about their products and services and how they have liked working with them. These efforts go a long way in strengthening the relationship between the brand and the influencers, and the results are encouraging. And for the brands that care about the opinions of the influencers, content creators are ready to negotiate their fees.
Listen to the influencer’s offer
Once you have made an offer that is lower than what the influencer quoted, it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the road for this collaboration. Listen to what the influencer has to offer at the price you quoted. For example, if you quoted $100 for a YouTube video for which that influencer is asking $250 but is ready to post an Instagram feed post for your price, then brands can consider the offer. It is not that brands should always settle for less, but this is an option that can be looked at while negotiating, and if it works, then there is no harm in taking the collaboration ahead.
While these are some of the best practices that should be followed while approaching the influencers and getting the best value out of the negotiation, certain things are a complete no-no that needs to be avoided at any cost. For example, brands should not be too pushy while negotiating influencer payments; they should never compare the prices of one influencer to the other and should never negotiate without having a clear understanding and expectation from the campaign. If the creator does not fit into the budget, thank them politely, and let them know that you will reach out to them for future collaborations.
