As a social media influencer, one of the most effective ways to grow your brand and monetize your content is through collaborations with brands. In particular, restaurants and hospitality brands can be a great fit for many types of influencers.

Pitching brands for marketing collaborations can be intimidating, especially if you're not sure what to include in your pitch. Wise Assistant takes the complicated work out of pitching brands, especially when pitching restaurants and hospitality brands.

This article outlines the benefits of Pitch Assist, the brand pitching feature on Wise Assistant.

Pitch Assist: Benefits

If you're serious about landing 1-2 collaborations each month, you're likely pitching multiple brands at once. Keeping up with each brand and where you're at in the process can be a headache. That's exactly where Pitch Assist can help!

Our platform centralizes and streamlines the process of pitching brands for marketing collaborations. We help influencers keep track of where you're at in the process and we even intervene to ensure we get a response from the brand. Here are a few things to keep in mind when pitching brands with Wise Assistant.

Tailor your pitch:

The first step in pitching a brand is to research and tailor your pitch to their specific business. Show them how you can help to promote their brand in an authentic and relevant way to your audience. For example, if a restaurant has a strong focus on vegan cuisine, highlight how you can showcase the restaurant's menu offerings and atmosphere to your followers who are interested in vegan food.

It's always good to open your pitch with a couple of sentences about the brand to show them that you're familiar and that you actually care. Sentences like "I'm already a big fan" or "I've been meaning to stop by and check it out. Your menu looks amazing" will stand out in to the owner or their social media team. Brands want to think of you as an ambassador, rather than just a "one-and-done" partner.

Provide statistics:

When pitching a brand, it's important to provide statistics about your following, engagement rate, and demographics. This will give the restaurant an idea of the reach and impact of your content. Be sure to include information such as your total number of followers, average engagement rate, and a breakdown of your audience demographics.

Include examples:

Providing examples of other sponsored content that you have created, and the results that it generated can be a great way to demonstrate your ability to create high-quality content that resonates with your audience. Include a few links to posts, and be sure to highlight any notable results, such as increased engagement, website traffic, or increased sales.

Outline compensation:

Brands typically compensate influencers in one of two ways: in-kind trade collaborations or sponsored "paid" posts. In-kind trade collaborations involve receiving a product or service from the brand in exchange for creating content. These might also be referred to as "gifted collaborations". While there is no money trading hands, it's important to keep in my that the brand is still eating a cost to provide the service to you for free. These can range between $50 to $200!

On the other hand, sponsored posts involve receiving monetary compensation for creating content. The compensation can be in the form of a flat fee, a commission on sales (also known as affiliate marketing), or a combination of both. In sponsored posts, the influencer is compensated directly by the brand and they have to disclose it to their followers as per the FTC guidelines. You can do this by including #ad or #paid in your post caption.

Both in-kind trade collaborations and sponsored posts can be effective ways for creators to monetize their content and grow their reach, but it's important to choose the right type of collaboration that aligns with your content, audience, and values while also keeping in mind the budget of the brand you're working with.

The general rule of thumb is that smaller brands might not have a large budget allocated for marketing. Therefore, if you're pitching a single-unit restaurant, they most likely won't have a budget to pay you. Multiple-unit restaurants or businesses represented by PR or marketing agencies might have some budget to allocate. If getting paid for the collaboration is a requirement for you, it's best to ask if they have a budget rather than offering up your rates!

Be careful when outlining your preferred compensation. If the brand passes on your pitch request, they will have the opportunity to provide critical feedback. Influencers that continue to receive negative feedback may have limitations imposed on who and when they can pitch.

Be professional:

Your pitch should be professional and well-written. Use proper grammar, punctuation, and formatting. This will show the brand that you are serious about working with them and that you can be trusted to create professional content.

Be flexible:

Be open to negotiation and be willing to work with the restaurant to create a partnership that works for both parties. This can include discussing different collaboration options, such as sponsored posts, Instagram takeovers, or hosting events with the brand.

Be responsive:

If a brand expresses interest, you'll receive an email directly from the marketing manager in charge of making the final decision. It's important to be responsive and follow up promptly. This will show the brand that you are excited about the opportunity and that you are dedicated to making the collaboration a success.

Pitch Assist: Conclusion

In conclusion, pitching a brand for a social media marketing collaboration can be an effective way to monetize your content and grow your reach. By tailoring your pitch, providing statistics, showing examples, and being professional, flexible, and responsive, you can increase your chances of landing a successful collaboration.

Please keep in mind that the Pitch Assistant feature is still in beta. We'll be improving the functionality and making it easier for you to pitch more brands and secure more collaborations each month. Please don't ever hesitate to reach out to michael@gogetwise.com with any questions you have regarding active pitches or brands in the Campaigns tab.