Who you gonna call? Partnerships rule more than ever in the age of social media

Harnessing the power of social media for your brand isn’t what it used to be.

Back in 2010, posting a photo on a Facebook page of a new product with a caption, “share or comment on this photo if you like it” is enough to drive engagement.

The novelty has worn off since, and nowadays, you have to go beyond soliciting likes or shares. Social media users have turned into canny content curators and expert spam dodgers who moved on quickly from one content to another especially if they find no value in what you’re offering them.

The fact that there are active 200 social networking sites around doesn’t help too and makes engaging the right target audience like finding needle in a haystack. In spite of all these though, there’s one thing that social media marketers can do that can make all the difference: forging partnerships.

Michael Price, author of “What Next? The Millennial’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the Real World,” believes partnerships are severely underutilized at a time when it’s expected to be on every marketer’s to-do list. According to Price, establishing a partnership with a non-competing brand is a surefire way to mutually widen your audience at a fraction of the cost. One only needs to look at YouTubers, who have been doing it for years with success, to understand the impact of these partnerships.

“It’s a commonly-known fact that leveraging what someone else has for your benefit is a proven tactic in business, ie: networking, social networking, joint ventures, investing (OPM), etc. In 2015, if you want to take your social media following to the next level across all platforms, you need to identify non-competing brands in your space that you can partner with,” he wrote in his Huffington Post column in January.

The key to the YouTubers’ success, he said, was that they were early adopters of the platform and that they collaborate with others. Everyone in the YouTube environment did their videos DIY style (way back then before premium content partnerships and HD capabilities were introduced by the platform)—and they did so openly, with their collaborators, and encouraged fans to participate in the content creation process as well and join conversations. But apart from those, perhaps the thing most worthy of note is that these YouTubers believed in the power of partnerships, at a time, when they’re still building their online clout and don’t have the marketing arsenal that bigger brands can readily use.

For brands that are keen on growing their following and generating leads, Price recommends partnering up with businesses or individuals with a social following that’s the same size as theirs. This partnership entails an ongoing collaboration between you and the other brand; whether it involves coming out with a new product line you’ve developed together or coming up with useful content on how to use each others’ products.

YouTube remains one of the most indispensable platforms to inspire “organic” engagement within a specific community through partnerships. But platforms such as MobioINsider are also a fast rising star in the space. The platform, which is centered on partnering with influencers and rewarding them with ad revenues, is a Twitter and Reddit-reminiscent platform where marketers can collaborate in real-time with likeminded individuals.

MobioINsider is a social media platform that uses targeted advertising.

MobioINsider is also a great place to scout for influencers to partner with to boost your online brand visibility. According to a Medium.com report, Coastal.com was able to receive 111 orders after reality star and partner Audrina Patridge, posted a photo of herself wearing “new awesome glasses” from the eyewear retailer.

(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4)

—

This article may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “become,” “plan,” “will,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks as well as uncertainties, including those discussed in the following cautionary statements and elsewhere in this article and on this site. Although the Company may believe that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the actual results that the Company may achieve may differ materially from any forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of the management of the Company only as of the date hereof. Additionally, please make sure to read these important disclosures.