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- Hey guys, I'm Nina Zadeh,
and I'm Director of Partnerships at SidewalkerDaily.com,
and today, I wanna talk to you about a hidden topic
I don't think a lot of people talk about in our industry.
And it's how not to get taken advantage by brands.
Okay so, let me start from the beginning,
super quick, to give you the backstory.
I work with brands.
I also have an influencer community on Instagram.
So I'm kind of in both spaces.
And when I say I work with brands,
I actually am the one who decides
which influencers get chosen for campaigns.
For tourism boards, hotels, different travel brands,
and I'm on the client side.
So I'm here to show you,
and give you some perspective,
on things you should kind of be wary of.
Because at the end of the day,
brands, they're not like living things.
They're run by humans.
And just like in the influencer space,
and every part of this world,
there are good humans and there are shady humans.
So you're gonna wanna make sure
that you are staying clear of people
who may not have your best interest,
and they're just trying to squeeze you and use you and,
you know, really just take advantage.
So I'm gonna get into some ways and some things
that you should be thinking about,
to make sure that you're not getting
taken advantage by brands.
Okay, so let's jump in.
Some brands, like I said, may have shady
or not your best interest at heart.
They're just trying to get the bottom line,
they're trying to show their bosses
like why this influencer opportunity was good,
this, that and the other.
This isn't obviously for all.
There are so many visionaries in our space
that are paving the way,
working with influencers,
and doing it the right way,
and to those, thank you!
But there's others that are just like,
really getting it wrong.
They know they need influencer marketing,
they're really not sure how to do it.
They're almost treating influencers
like spokespersons people,
like back in the day when celebrities would like,
have these like crazy endorsements,
and they were considered,
is the word spokesperson?
I really don't know.
I'll look it up after.
But they were seen, they have scripts.
And back in the day,
it was very like, "This is what you're going to say."
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Rule number one, if a brand is telling you
exactly what to say,
whether it's in a caption or a post,
erg, I don't know how I feel about that.
And I've seen it happen.
I've seen it happen a lot,
with like major global brands.
So like, okay here's the caption,
go ahead and post.
And to me it's like,
these influencers, you guys,
your client at the end of the day,
is your audience.
They are like who gets you these jobs.
They know you, you know them,
and it makes me kind of annoyed
when brands are trying to control everything
and the people on the PR team
or the advertising team are not giving
the influencers the creative freedom they need.
There's so much that goes into the vetting process
and when I look at influencers that I work with
I look at the good, the bad and the ugly.
I research the hell out of them
and when I book people, I'm like,
you know what, I have to trust them
I have to trust that they're gonna make the right decision
that they are professionals
I've looked at the content they've done
and if that's not enough then
I don't know what to tell you
but the advice to you as an influencer
is if a brand is trying to control you
and you know what that means,
whether it's caption, content,
of course they should have like a say,
in the content video development process
and what I mean by that is
I had an example where an influencer
was doing something that the tourism word
was like not done with, and it was an easy fix,
they just edited that one scene out of their video
and it was an amazing experience, it was so easy.
We didn't tell them how to shoot the video,
what to do, they just sent it to us before they published
'cause this was like a pretty big campaign,
and they were willing to make those adjustments.
So there may be instances where the brand is like
hey, do you think you could like maybe not,
you know maybe just change this little part
but they shouldn't be telling you
exactly how to do.
That's one big red flag,
so make sure that you keep that in mind
if the brand that you're working with
wants to control you.
(computer keys tap)
The second way that I've seen brands
try to take advantage of influencers
is with exclusivity.
So if you're on a press trip
chances are you're going to be asked to sign
a photo waver
because they're gonna want the rights
to reuse your image, photos of you,
your photos, all that jazz.
Now I am down with brands being able to use
more than what you know
you came into the partnership offering
so like just say they'd have their own photographer
on set and they want to use those photos,
that's a great idea.
What I feel weird about is when
it's like a social media campaign
and then they wanna use the photos or the video
you know the photos for print campaigns
and use the video at like big marketing conferences
I'm okay with that, as long as you know that
as long as you know where your content's going
and it's in your letter of agreement, cool.
But that's why it's really important for you guys
to always double check your letters of agreements
your waver, just check out that exclusivity, like
I had a press trip where the girls were posting
and in the photo waver it was like
we can use these photos in print,
and the girls were like, no,
this is a social media campaign,
you can use my photos on your social media
but if you're gonna use them in print,
like who knows what they can do with them
what if they like printed an ad
and ran it in all these magazines across the world
and you just went on the press trip?
I mean there's something weird about that
so make sure you find out exactly
how your photos are going to be used
and again if it's part of the photos that are in,
if you're okay with print
because you're like, you know what,
this is part of the agreement, the trip costs a lot
I'm down, I just want you guys to know.
I want you to feel good about it
and not have any surprises.
(computer keys tap)
Another thing you should consider about brands that,
it's not really even taking advantage,
but when you should maybe say no,
is when they're not a fit with your long-term vision.
So for example let's just say
you're all about sustainability
and you're really into living, you know,
a more sustainable life, a more eco-friendly life
and that's like how you feel, those are your values, right.
And then comes along a brand that does not fit that at all
that's like using maybe plastic left and right
that has no vibe, that doesn't fit your vibe
if your long-term goal, let's just say was
to be an ambassador for the U.N. for like
sustainable efforts, or something that you know
you wanted to write a book
on how to live a more sustainable lifestyle,
but then you're partnering with companies
that don't fit that long-term goal
you may want to consider that,
because it could potentially hurt you in the long run
and it's just not worth it
just to say yes because it's a brand.
I know it's exciting when you get those
partnership opportunities,
you're like, "Yes, I made it, I'm getting
brands that are interested in me"
but if the brand is like, I don't know,
does it feel good?
That's something that you may want to consider
saying no to because you have to trust your gut
and things that are on the internet
stay on the internet, and it's kind of embarrassing
if it's a brand that just rubs you the wrong way.
(computer keys tap)
Another way that I find that brands
try to take advantage of influencers
I call it "the one night stand theory"
where they're just trying to like,
bang bang, bang, bang, bang,
with a hundred different people
and they're not really trying to date you
or make relationships with you.
And that goes for influencers too, by the way.
I find that you guys a lot,
are just trying to get as many brands
to work with you as possible
and in the marketing world we call that
acquisition versus retention
and retention is more like,
okay I'm gonna work with a few brands
but I'm gonna work with them a lot.
If you find that brands are just kind of like
hit it and quit it type of brands
they come to you, they may not be willing to pay you
for the first one,
they're like, oh, yeah, budget isn't there
but we'll leep you in mind...
If you don't, I don't know,
it just feels like they're just trying to use you.
Again you're using them, and it's a brand that
you're like, oh this is a great logo for my media kit
this is a great brand to get me
where I need to be in the future.
I've done things for free because they're like
yeah, everyone has, and don't let anyone tell you
that they haven't, 'cause they have,
and they still are, okay.
Even the biggest influencers that you know
are doing lots of free things,
because it benefits them, because they want to.
So with the money cinch
when it comes to brands taking advantage
I feel like a lot of them may just have like
a hit list of bloggers and they're just going down it.
And if you get the vibe that they're really
not trying to build a long-term with you,
they're just trying to like get you to post
and be out, or include a link in your first paragraph
how many other people are they reaching out to
and does that even really make you feel special?
Again, it's up to you to decide
if it's a brand that you want to work with
but if not, I don't know,
pull the plug.
So yeah, I hope you guys enjoyed this video
on some signs, some warnings, some,
I don't know, topics to be aware of
to make sure brands and companies
aren't taking advantage of you
'cause remember there are shady people everywhere
and you just have to be on the lookout
and make good decisions.
Hopefully you guys like this video,
if you think, if you're interested in more
on the brand side, and kind of,
things to be careful of,
things to, you know, watch out for,
then let me know in the comments below,
I'll make more videos on this topic.
And don't forget to subscribe.
I will see you guys in the next video.
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