How to get big influencers to post about your brand
“We can’t have anyone sign a contract, and there can’t be any required posts. But trust me. If we get all these guys together with no pressure, they’ll post dozens of times.” This is what I told a brand manager, pitching her on an influencer trip for my client, Jeremiah Davis, and his friends. The brand manager had just sent me an email explaining how she had to get everyone on the trip to sign a contract guaranteeing deliverables. I told her to trust me.
This was the summer of 2019. They glory days for young brands and hot influencers. And this trip was set to to be the pinnacle of both. The Yacht Week invited Jeremiah Davis to join them for a week. We asked them for a private boat, free food and alcohol, and if Sam Kolder, Jacob Riglin, Emmett Sparling, Blake Pinsker from MVMT, and Mark Nechi from Red Bull could come. They said yes.
So how did these guys deliver the biggest boost on social The Yacht Week had ever seen? How did they post dozens of daily stories, and multiple in-feed posts each? It happened because The Yacht Week gave these guys an experience they’ll never forget, and didn’t get transactional. They got relational.
The Yacht Week’s brand manager, Saskia Campbell, was able to get her bosses to forego the contracts and required posts. She got the cleanest catamaran she could find, booked us the lead chef, and a seasoned captain, and was on standby to make sure everyone had a great time. She got these guys to the front of the line a sponsored parties, gave them exclusive access to fast charters, and arranged whatever activities they asked for.
A few days in, everyone on the boat knew they were having a week they would remember forever. Saskia and her crew were so kind and relational, all the guys on the boat started wanting to post. Because they wanted to help a friend’s brand succeed. And if their new friend was giving them a lifetime memory, it was a no-brainer to post.
The lesson here is this: be relational, not transactional. I understand that most brands will have to get contracts signed with required posts. But that doesn’t negate the lesson here. If you want to get big influencers to post about you brand, become their friend. Give them an experience they’ll remember forever. Make them look as cool as you can. I see far too many brands trying to squeeze posts out of influencers, getting them to say a specific thing that’s approved by the PR team. Forget this. Give your influencers an amazing time, and treat them like humans. Become their friends. And they’ll sing your praises no matter what.
