How to Collaborate on Social Media in 2022 to Drive Business Growth
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It’s safe to say that collaboration can be a powerful tool, and often leads to success in any industry. Whether it’s working with other businesses in your industry or collaborating with customers and clients, networking and teaming up with others can help you achieve great things.
Collaboration is essential in the online world. When you take advantage of the social aspect of social media through collaborating with others in innovative ways, you can reap a handful of benefits in the long run. By engaging in relevant collaborations on social media, you can create a powerful online presence that will help your brand grow to new levels. Below, we’ll talk about why you should include social media collaboration in your marketing strategy, along with advice on how to do so effectively.
What Does Social Media Collaboration Mean?
Social media collaboration, also known as co-marketing, involves combining forces with other brands or organizations and coming up with a mutually beneficial campaign to reach new audiences, drive revenue and build brand awareness. In general, the collaborating companies usually share similar audiences or work within the same industry. As a result, they share equal responsibilities when it comes to the campaign’s legwork as well as the promotional efforts involved. The most popular types of these joint campaigns include:
Cross-promotion
This is where both brands agree to promote each other to their social media followers. For example, one brand can include a link to the other’s website on their blog, while the other can share the first brand’s social media post with their followers.
Content placement
Here, both brands collaborate on creating a piece of content, such as an infographic or blog post, which is then published on both websites.
Profile Takeovers
As the name suggests, this type of social media collaboration involves one brand taking over another’s social media profile for a day or longer. This is usually done to promote an upcoming event or product launch.
Joint Giveaways
These are social media contests or sweepstakes that require participants to follow both brands on social media and complete other actions, such as using a specific hashtag, to enter.
Shoutouts and Endorsements
A shout-out is when one brand mentions another on social media, often with a link to their website or profile. An endorsement is when a brand recommends another’s product or service on social media.
7 Reasons to Collaborate with Other Businesses on Social Media
Now that you know what social media collaboration is, let’s take a look at some of the reasons why it can be beneficial for businesses:
1. It Helps You Reach New Audiences
When you team up with another business, you essentially gain access to their audience, who might also be interested in your product or service. This is especially useful if you’re trying to break into a new market or reach a new demographic. Collaboration lets you tap into an existing customer base without needing to start from scratch. It’s essentially a give-and-take situation when working with other brands or accounts in which both parties will benefit. Because of this, social media collaboration can be an effective way to boost leads and sales. If you collaborate with the right partners, you can reach new heights in no time.
2. It Strengthens Relationships With Other Businesses
Collaborating with other businesses, especially those in the same industry as you, can help forge strong relationships. These relationships can be beneficial down the line, whether you need help promoting a new product or simply want to bounce ideas off someone. Strong relationships with other businesses can also lead to future collaborations, which can only mean good things for your business. Furthermore, building relationships with other businesses can help you better understand your industry as a whole and stay up-to-date with the latest trends.
3. It Allows You To Save Time And Resources
Creating a social media campaign from scratch can be time-consuming and expensive. When you collaborate with another business, you can split the cost and workload, saving you time and money. Collaborating also allows you to tap into the other business’s resources, such as their design team or social media following, which can further reduce your costs. In other words, social media collaboration is a cost-effective way to produce high-quality content and reach new audiences.
4. It Boosts Your Credibility And Authority
Collaborating with other businesses, especially ones that are well-established, can help boost your credibility and authority. This is because people will see that you’re associated with a reputable brand and be more likely to trust you as a result. In addition, collaborating with other businesses can help you build up a positive reputation within your industry. As your reputation grows, your authority will too, which can only mean good things for business.
5. It Fosters Creativity And Innovation
Collaborating with other businesses can help foster creativity and innovation. This is because you’ll be working with people from different backgrounds and industries, which can lead to developing new ideas. In addition, when you collaborate, you’ll also have access to different resources, which can further spur creativity. Furthermore, collaborating with other businesses can challenge you to think outside the box and come up with new ways to promote your product or service.
6. It Provides New Opportunities For Learning
When you collaborate with other businesses, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from them. This is especially beneficial if you’re collaborating with a business that’s more experienced or well-established than you. You can learn about their processes, what works for them, and what doesn’t. In addition, working with other businesses can help you develop new skills and knowledge. This, in turn, can make you more well-rounded and better equipped to handle the challenges of running a business. Collaborative campaigns can also help you learn more about your followers and target audience. Overall, there is so much to be gained from collaborating and very little to be lost, as long as you choose to partner with the right people or businesses.
7. It’s fun!
Last but not least, collaborating with other businesses can be a lot of fun. This is because you’ll get to meet new people and work with them to create something great. When you’re having fun, audiences can sense it, making them more likely to engage with your content. In addition, collaborating can help build team morale and make your workplace more enjoyable.
Step-by-Step Guide on Planning a Social Media Collaboration
So, how do you start collaborating on social media? Here are the steps you should take:
Start with a Clear Goal
The first step is to start with a clear goal. What do you hope to achieve through collaboration? Do you want to reach a new audience, promote a new product, or simply boost your online presence? Once you know what your goal is, you can start planning your collaboration accordingly.
Find the Right Partner or Partners
The next step is to find the right partner or partners. To do this, you’ll need to consider a few factors, such as your budget, goals, and available resources. Once you’ve considered all of these factors, you can start reaching out to potential partners.
Think About What Value You Can Provide to Your Shared Audiences
When you’re planning a collaboration, it’s important to think about what value you can provide to your shared audiences. What can you offer that your partner or partners can’t? This is an important question to answer because it will help you determine the focus of your collaborative efforts.
Determine the Best Type of Collaborative Campaign
There are many different types of collaborative campaigns, so it’s important to determine which one is best for your goal. For example, a joint giveaway might be the best option if you’re looking to promote a new product. On the other hand, a cross-promotional campaign might be more effective if you’re trying to reach a new audience.
Create a Plan and Set a Timeline
Once you’ve determined the type of collaboration you want to pursue, it’s time to create a plan and set a timeline. This will help ensure that both you and your partner are on the same page and that everyone knows what needs to be done and when.
Create High-Quality Content
Once you’ve determined the concept and focus of your collaboration, it’s time to start creating high-quality content. This is important because, at the end of the day, the content will determine whether or not your collaboration is successful. Ensure you’re putting in the time and effort to create something your audiences will love.
Tips For Promoting Your Collaborative Campaign
If you want to make the most out of your brand partnerships, you need to be able to promote them effectively on social media. Here are a few tips to help you do just that:
- Create teasers and announcement posts to hype up your joint project. Get creative with your content and experiment with different formats, such as video or infographics. Here’s a simple Tweet example from Taco Bell from their collaboration with Doritos:
- Post behind-the-scenes content leading up to the launch of your collaboration. This will create a sense of anticipation and excitement that will encourage people to follow along. Also, make sure to post regular updates during your collaboration. This will keep people engaged and ensure that they don’t forget about your campaign.
- You can also use paid ads to promote your collaborative campaign on social media. This is a great way to reach a larger audience and ensure that your content is seen by people who are interested in what you’re doing.
- Be sure to use relevant hashtags so your target audiences can easily find your content. In addition, use branded hashtags to promote your partnership and make it easy for people to follow along.
- If applicable, use compelling CTA’s to funnel social traffic to a specific branded landing page.
Ideas for Collaborative Campaigns on Social Media
1. Get Behind a Shared Advocacy: Buzzfeed x Best Friends Animal Society
An advocacy-based campaign will appeal to your audiences who share the same values as you. In this example, Buzzfeed created cute and entertaining content to help the Best Friends Animal Society encourage more people to adopt shelter animals as pets.
2. Create a Valuable Resource Material: DataReportal x We Are Social x Hootsuite
Providing valuable insights to audiences can be much more effective when you team up with other brands in the industry. DataReportal did just that with We Are Social and Hootsuite to create an 8,000-word report that outlines useful data on everything digital.
3. Let Other Brands Use Your Products as Giveaway Prizes: Sally Beauty x Manic Panic
Sally Beauty hosted a giveaway on their Instagram, giving away Manic Panic hair dyes to lucky followers. The giveaway helped Manic Panic effectively get the word out and build buzz for their products.
Conclusion
Social media collaboration can be a great way to reach new audiences, promote your products or services, and create valuable content. However, it’s not right for every brand. Before you commit to a collaborative campaign, make sure that it makes sense for your business goals and that you have the time and resources necessary to execute it successfully.
If you decide to go ahead with a social media collaboration, following the tips in this post will help you set your campaign up for success. Just remember to have fun and be creative! When done right, collaborating with other brands can be a rewarding experience that helps you achieve your business goals.
You can download our free social media marketing e-book to learn more about leveraging social media for business success.
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