In today’s article, we’re going to tell you how to get sponsors on Instagram. Fortunately, the steps you need to take aren’t huge ones, and many of you may already qualify!

What makes you appealing to sponsors is also…

First, let’s start with a hot trade secret.

The fact is, what makes you appealing to sponsors…is also what makes you appealing to your audience. When you’re asking how to get sponsors on Instagram, you’re really asking how to grow on Instagram! Sponsors, especially on Instagram, are looking for people popular enough to be considered “influencers”. An influencer is someone who…well, has a large amount of influence over a given community or industry. Since Instagram lacks traditional ad revenue, people make money on Instagram through promotions and sponsorship deals, which are both driven by influencer-focused marketing on the platform.

The key thing to remember about sponsorship is that they aren’t here to help you out. They’re here because they think you can help them, and the only way you can do that is if your content drives enough viewership and traffic for investing in you to be worth it!

So, to get backed by a sponsor, you need to make sure you’re what they’re looking for first. You need to become an influencer before you start hoping to make money off of Instagram.

Start by building a backlog of quality content

The first step you need to take is to build your backlog. Don’t pad it with poorly-made or cookie-cutter content: instead, fill it with meaningful, entertaining, and cool photos/videos. Even with your goal being to produce a lot of content, you obviously can’t have a backlog of amazing Instagram content overnight…it will pretty much always be a work in progress.

However, you want to ensure that whenever something of yours does take off with a bunch of likes and comments, people come to your profile to find dozens more photos/videos for them to enjoy. You don’t get a lot of chances to get a new follower, but this is just about the best way to go about it.

Find your genre and tag appropriately

While building your backlog, be sure to mind Instagram trends and tag your photos appropriately. By properly tagging your photos, you can take part in the latest Instagram trends and you can make sure that your photos and videos are being seen by the largest possible amount of people.

Tagging is a big deal on any platform. Even web content like this, where we’re just telling you how to get sponsors on Instagram, has to pay mind to it!

This is because of what’s called SEO. With most web content, that means optimizing web pages around certain “keywords” that are used in user searches to help them find the content they’re looking for. On platforms like YouTube and Instagram, your tags are what determine how people find you when they start searching, so be sure to tag your content intelligently!

Additionally, settle on a genre as early as possible. Exploration and experimentation are fine in the early days of your Instagram, but if you want to get sponsors, you’ll need to target an easily-identifiable demographic. Find something you’re passionate about, and make it the focus of your Instagram. Not only is this enjoyable as a follower, but it’s enjoyable to make content about things you like as well, and once a sponsor finds you, they’ll have an accurate picture of how they can integrate their product with your postings without being out of place.

Make sure your content is appropriate for sponsors

Another major concern is to make sure your content is actually appropriate for your sponsors. In general, you’ll want to avoid content that’s extremely sexual, extremely violent, or extremely controversial. Things that tackle these issues aren’t popular with brands, and brands won’t want to fund or associate with you if you espouse values that could hurt their bottom line.

If you’re posting porn and gore on Instagram, in other words, don’t go asking how to get sponsors on Instagram. They probably won’t want to work with you.

A major, recent example is what’s happened with PewDiePie. Due to PewDiePie making a number of recent videos with severe anti-Semitic humor, major brands and even YouTube themselves have chosen to cut ties with him, cutting off premium ad revenue to his channel and canceling his YouTube RED show. While this isn’t an Instagram example, it does go to show how important keeping the approval of your sponsors and advertisers can be, so watch out!

Establish good branding

Establishing solid branding is another great thing you can do. As a creator, you want to ensure that you are memorable and your content is easily identifiable. Non-intrusive watermarks, for instance, can be a great way to boost your personal branding, as well as a well-made avatar and Instagram bio.

Don’t wait for sponsors to approach you. Approach them!

Last but certainly not least, here’s how you get sponsors on Instagram once you’ve met all the other requirements.

Go talk to them! You can’t just sit around and ask how to get sponsors on Instagram without reaching out to them on your own. Find brands that would fit with your kind of content, then reach out through the appropriate channels to determine if you two can start working together. If you can open up a dialogue with a brand and have a significant following, chances are they’ll be interested in working with you.

That’s really all there is to it. Once you’ve built a strong presence on Instagram, you’ll be in a position where you can start reaching out to brands and working with them. There are also various influencer marketing platforms that you can use to connect with brands if you meet their requirements.

If you want to learn more about Instagram and influencer marketing, stick around with us here at GRIN.