Could Your Small Business Benefit From Brand Reps?

Big national brands use influencers, ambassadors, and other brand reps to connect with audiences. Your small company can tap into these programs too.

By Wynne Kontos, LMSW

You’re making all the right moves on your social platforms. You have lots of interesting content and high-quality photos, plus you’ve set up a regular posting schedule. Still, your engagement numbers are barely showing a pulse. Don’t give up hope! It takes a while to grow your brand on social media. The good news? Working with brand reps can help speed things up.

These influencers post about your products or services on their social media sites. In exchange, they get free stuff and often a discount code to share with followers. You’ll use this promo code to track when customers buy your products as a direct result of their efforts. In exchange, you pay the rep a small percentage of your profits.

Building Consumer Trust

Brand reps are not sales reps or promoters hired to advertise your brand. They are members of your target audience who share information about your product with their peers in real time. Reps can help build your brand’s personality and build trust between the brand and consumers.?

At least 92% of consumers say they trust an influencer’s recommendations more than messages they hear in advertisements. It’s kind of like a celebrity endorsement on a smaller scale. By sharing discount codes and personalized recommendations, brand reps build online traffic and boost sales.

Through increased brand awareness and trust, small business owners can benefit from an influencer’s ability to humanize their brand. Working with brand reps is also an affordable option for small businesses with limited advertising budgets. Rather than be paid a flat rate, brand reps and small businesses have an opportunity to trade exposure for product, experiences, and sales percentages.?

Not sure where to source the best brand reps? Here’s how to get started:

• Check out the top forms of social media. TikTok, Facebook (Meta), and Instagram influencers reach the biggest audiences. Which of these do your customers engage with the most? Consider sourcing brand reps from one or more of these social networking sites.?
• Look for quality content. Choose brand reps who post engaging, high quality content. Think of crisp, clear photos, and quality videos. The idea is to hit the ground running, not teach a digital SEO course.
• Pull from your target audience. An influencer’s personality and values should match your brand’s. Don’t get distracted by large follower accounts or online popularity. You should pick a rep who best aligns with your brand. Better yet, find if they’re already one of your customers.?
• Start a social media rep search. Reach out to influencers you might want to hire through direct messages on popular social media platforms. Be clear about expectations and compensation. If your online audience is a little larger, put out a call for Instagram brand reps.?
• Try recruiting openly. Share a post outlining your goals and your reps’ compensation. Ask followers to share a post explaining why they’d make a great brand rep and tag you. This is a great way to see what kind of content they’ll create as well as spread the word about your brand.

You’ve done your research and hired an influencer. You’ve sent them free samples of your product. Now, it’s time to clearly communicate your agreement. You will likely need a contract to keep both parties on the same page.

• Set expectations at the start. It’s critical your brand reps understand what type of content you need and how often. Do you want them to focus on reels? Post three pictures a week? Use a certain hashtag? Test a product online? Which platform do you want them to focus on? Share your goals and listen to their ideas.?
• Be clear about compensation. Be sure to discuss how your rep will be paid for their sponsored posts and how often.??
• Keep an eye on engagement. Throughout your campaign, keep an eye on the numbers. Which posts boost engagement? Are there weeks or months where engagement is higher? Make sure brand reps respond to comments and engage with consumers.?

Above all, communicate constantly. This isn’t a set it and forget it situation. It’s more like starting a business, where slow and steady wins the race. Engagement won’t explode overnight. It’ll take time to develop an effective marketing strategy. That can only happen if you’re in regular communication with your team.