333: Use LinkedIn to Connect with Brands

[00:00:00] We just had one of our expert chats inside of shift and I want to give you guys the highlights. Now shift is our coaching program and it provides you with weekly expert feedback on pricing, negotiations, content, strategy, monetization, business organization. I could go on and on and on. You also get live strategy calls twice a month to break through.

[00:00:24] Any obstacles that you're having, and if you need help refining strategies and scaling your income, we also gave you guys proven strategies that have helped members land four and five figure brand deals and grow their audience and create predictable income. So If that's something you're interested in, head to thrive together dot blog slash shift.

[00:00:44] We also bring in experts throughout the year to hone in on exclusive strategies for growth. So we just had Kristen from your social mate come and share how she's using LinkedIn to connect with brands. And I wanted to share some of those highlights with you because, oh my gosh, we were 10 minutes into the training and I was like game changer.

[00:01:05] Game changer. Oh my goodness. I am going to become a LinkedIn girly now. Give me the sticker. Sign me up. I'm, I'm there. And so there's three different things that I want to share with you that I felt like really stood out to me and that I want to make sure everybody knows. The first one is that connection is key.

[00:01:27] When you connect with the person or several people behind the brand who are in charge of influencer campaigns, you're going to set yourself apart. We've talked about this before. When you are able to remember that there is a person behind That brand, that it is someone like you, someone who is working a nine to five and just trying to impress their boss or move to the next rung of the ladder, or maybe just trying to get through the day.

[00:01:57] Your goal is to connect with them and to help make their lives and their jobs easier to give them a marketing win that they get to brag about. That's the ultimate goal. And so we're able to have those opportunities by connecting with people. The long term partnerships that we have here at Thrive are because I have connected with the people behind the brand.

[00:02:23] You guys hear me talk about Flodesk all the time. Not only am I obsessed with our program, And love how easy and simple and beautiful it is to use, but I've also connected with the people behind the brand. You guys have heard us talk with Martha and Rebecca, the founders here on the podcast. I've had phone conversations with Martha and other people behind the scenes on their team.

[00:02:47] They are lovely individuals, but I have done the work to prioritize those relationships. And so now they're a long term partner with us here. And that's what we want. It was so fascinating to me. I was recently at the tastemaker food blogger conference in Las Vegas back in January, and I was talking with one of the brands there and she was saying how she is looking for more content creators that want long term content partnerships and want to do a, have a longterm relationship with the brand.

[00:03:25] And she was saying how it was so hard for her to find, but that she kept getting these like content creators that wanted to just come in and do a one off thing. And I found that to be so fascinating with me. And I can, I think, proudly say that that is not the vibe of the Thrive community. I was so shocked when she told me that.

[00:03:47] Because I'm like, Oh my gosh, I haven't come across that. Whenever I am talking to you guys one on one or you're in my DMs or we're chatting on Facebook or you're in one of our coaching programs, I've never encountered someone that's like, yeah, I don't want to do a long term partnership. I just want a one off thing and want to keep going and having to search for that.

[00:04:05] Like, that's not the vibe here. So. It was so fascinating to me, but again, it's like, you know, that is why connection is so important is because you want those long term partnerships. So you have to start considering the other person on the other side of that brand. The second highlight is don't go in too hot.

[00:04:25] Don't find these people and immediately pitch. The goal is connection first. Number three is once you've connected and had a few touch points like liking and commenting their posts, for example, then reach out to take the relationship to the next level, hopping on a call to learn what they have going on with marketing for the next few months and see how your brand might be able to help their marketing efforts.

[00:04:51] Again, prioritizing connection, really showing that like, Hey, I'm not just like here to like. Hey, what's up? Here's who I am. Let's, let's work together. Right? Like, let's establish a little bit of a connection and a relationship first. And, you know, think about this too. Like it is a long term thing. You may not assign a brand deal within the first week, two weeks, month.

[00:05:14] It may take longer, but that's okay if it turns into a longterm partnership and you have this going year after year, it's going to keep stacking, it's going to keep spiraling and increase your income. Now if you want to make sure you're in on calls like this and learning strategies like this and making more money as a content creator without burning out and second guessing and doing it all alone, then head to thrive together.

[00:05:37] blogs. com slash shift to learn more and apply. It only takes a moment, but it could totally change the game for your business.