3 TOP TIPS ON WHAT BRANDS LOOK FOR WHEN SELECTING INTERIOR DESIGNERS

by Leslie Carothers

Have you ever wanted to work with brands as an influencer - and get paid for it?

If you answered “Yes!”, this post is for you. 

For the past 16 years as the owner of Savour Partnership, a digital marketing and PR agency for brands and designers within home related industries, I’ve worked with many types of brand side stakeholders to develop influencer marketing programs to help them generate national publicity at the consumer level and develop meaningful connections with their potential clients, you, the interior designer.

On the flip side, I’ve also worked with dozens of individual designers to raise their national visibility so they are positioned to be selected for these exciting opportunities - opportunities that also increase their credibility which, when marketed properly, powerfully increases their ability to attract more affluent clients and/or charge more for their services.

Here’s what you need to know about what brands are seeking.

At the heart of any influencer marketing program is the need for the brand to collect data that proves their investment was worthwhile.

Depending on the brand, this data will include metrics that show increased visibility with their target audience, more positive online mentions, increased shares of brand generated content, increased engagement with brand generated content, more user generated content during the length of the program, more emails collected, more leads generated, more specifications of product.

So, now that you know what possible ROI parameters the brand could be seeking, here are the 3 key factors brands [ or the agencies that represent them ] consider when selecting designers for an influencer marketing program:

A HIGHLY ENGAGED AUDIENCE
The #1 factor a brand considers in working with a designer is: “Do they have a genuinely engaged audience?

Highly engaged audiences, where an obvious and genuine relationship has been built between the audience and the designer, signifies the possibility for conversion at a significantly higher rate for the brand than any other factor.

The audience does not have to be large and it does not have to be on IG. For instance, designers who have a large number of blog or newsletter subscribers, who own a Facebook Group where conversations are continuously happening, who have a membership community, or who produce a widely downloaded podcast, are highly desirable for brands.

Podcasts and blogs are also SEO friendly for the brand and can make a huge difference for the brand in terms of getting found by people searching for what the brand sells, long after the influencer marketing program is over. 

THE ABILITY TO CREATE BEAUTIFUL AND ENGAGING CONTENT AND CROSS MARKET IT WELL.

The second factor smart brands look for when selecting a designer for an influencer marketing program is the ability of the designer to create beautiful and engaging content that supports the brand’s objectives.

Beautiful and engaging content gets seen, liked, commented on and shared more often, and that’s important for the brand’s objectives. 

A POSITIVE, TEAM PLAYER ATTITUDE

This is harder to quantify, but smart brands are looking for positive people with a team player attitude who will represent them well, offline as well as online - people who have a *collaboration vs. competition* mindset.