How Many Sponsored Posts Should You Be Sharing?
Image via @kamilabondos
You are finally at the point in your career as an influencer that you are making steady income through paid partnerships with brands—congratulations! That is a huge step! But after working so long to turn your influence into a monetary source, you may find yourself asking a new question: is there such a thing as too many sponsored posts?
The answer to that question depends on who you ask. Some influencers say, “The more money, the better!” while others are more discerning about how many paid partnerships they schedule each month—and with whom they partner.
Often, that wariness about over-saturating a feed with sponsored content comes down to one thing: authenticity.
Authenticity is one of the key things influencers strive for, as that creates a sense of trust between them and their followers. The more followers trust an influencer, the more likely they are to trust their opinions on what to buy, and that means everything for brands. Ironically, then, the influencers who post fewer sponsored posts are more likely to convert clicks to sales, and will end up being more valuable for brands in the long term.
Here are some tips on how to make the most of sponsored content on your feed AND make it valuable for your followers, too:
1) Create a content calendar
This one is pretty straightforward: create a content calendar to map out all your posts and ensure that your sponsored content is spaced out.
You can use an app like Planoly or Unum to visually plan out your feed, or even just mark sponsored post go-live dates in your iCal app to give yourself a better understanding of how many paid partnerships you are posting in the near future.
A good rule of thumb: limit your sponsored posts to 2 or 3 per week, and be sure to schedule in organic (aka non-sponsored) content in between.
2) Work With the brands you truly love
While it can be tempting to accept all the sponsorship opportunities (and therefore all the money) that come your way, you should always take a step back and consider each and every paid partnership that you are offered.
Are you familiar with the brand? Do you like them? Does the brand or product fit your brand? Have you promoted a similar product recently? Does the company share the same ideals as you? How will your audience respond?
As mentioned before, building trust with your audience is everything; lose that trust and you lose your power as an influencer. Working with brands and products that you already use on a regular basis is a great way to keep that trust and your authenticity, while making some cash too!
3) Establish long-term partnerships
We always encourage our influencers and the brands we work with to establish long-term partnerships rather than one-off sponsorships. Sharing a series of posts over several months, or even a year, will create a sense of familiarity with followers and lead to an authentic feel, because you are establishing that this is a product or service you actually use on a regular basis, rather than an item you are posting about once and throwing away because someone paid you.
The bottom line: strive to work with the brands and products that you truly love, and be sure to space out your sponsored posts so you can remain an authentic influencer!