More and more influencers are working with game studios through sponsorships. Which is great! But working with sponsors comes with a lot of expectations. At Matchmade, we work with both sponsors and influencers all the time – and receive similar questions often. So, this post offers some practical advice for influencers on how to work with sponsors. Our goal is to make influencer marketing great for everyone involved. Tweet us your thoughts, or email us: [email protected]. So let’s get to business!
Psst, did you know that 7 out of 10 teenage Youtube subscribers relate better to their favorite Youtube creator than to traditional celebrities, according to a study by Google? Influencers, they got the power!
Remember to check out our blog post 5 Things to Know about Influencer Marketing as well.
1. Be clear on what you agree on
Call it expectations management or business negotiations but be clear on what you agree on with the sponsor of your video. This way you know exactly what’s expected of you and you can make the sponsor happy – and they will want to work with you again. You can set up a contract or agree on the campaign over email – just make sure you have the details in writing. (We can also do all of this for you on the Matchmade platform.)
Things that should be crystal clear before you make the video include:
- Are you making a shoutout or dedicated video?
- Can you mention other games in the video?
- Are there specific games your cannot mention in the video?
- What’s the call-to-action for your viewers? (Download, watch, something else?)
- Where is the game available for download?
- Will you also tweet / share on social about this video and game?
- Are you posting a link with the video?
- What’s the headline? And description? And tags?
- What is the DEADLINE for the final video?
- Who do you send the video to for feedback and approval?
- Can the sponsor ask for changes after you send the first version?
- How will you submit the video for approval (send mp4 over Dropbox? Post a private link on your channel? Agree in advance.)
- How much are they paying you? And when? And how?
2. Deliver on time
Typically the folks who sponsor your content are working with tight deadlines for game launches and updates – and your video is part of a bigger marketing orchestration. So, you need to deliver your video on time. Yes, life happens and sometimes we’re delayed but when you work with a sponsor you should do your very best to deliver on time.
Here’s some practical tips:
- Make sure the drop date for the video is doable for you. If you know you’ll be on trip and busy, don’t agree on a deadline you can’t keep.
- Set a 1-2 day buffer for yourself: have the video done 1 or 2 days in advance. Just in case something goes wrong, like the Internet dies, you will be able to deliver your video.
- Make sure you give yourself time for possible edits. Agree on the date you will send a first draft, and lock in the deadline for the final video.
- Set up a content calendar for yourself, so you can plan your video drop dates in advance.
- Ask for any and all assets, music and links before you start to work on the video. This way you have all final elements when you’re editing.
3. Let your fans know it’s #sponsored content
We strongly recommend you tell your subscribers if a video is sponsored. Actually, according to the FTC, you are required to do so. As a common courtesy, you should also let the sponsor know that’s what you’ll be doing. Few things to consider:
- Your subscribers will be happier if they know a certain video or clip is sponsored
- Legally, you need to let your viewers know you’re paid to talk about a game
- You’re also communicating to other game studios that you’re available for sponsorship
4. Don’t post until you have a clear GO from the sponsor
Okay, you have agreed on a sponsored video, you deliver it on time and you’re ready to post your #sponsored video. DO NOT PUSH THE BUTTON YET. Few things to make sure:
- Have you posted the tracking link in the video description?
- Have you sent the sponsor the link to the final video?
- Are you ready to tweet and share as well?
- MOST importantly: Has the sponsor said YES to publishing the video in writing? (Via email, slack, twitter, skype, whatsapp, fb messenger or the likes)?
If you can tick the above boxes, unleash your masterpiece to the world! 🙂
5. Understand your results
The work doesn’t quite end at publishing the video. You should make sure you understand the numbers so you know what to tell the sponsor… and future sponsors as well:
-
- Views within 24h, 3 days and 7 days of publishing
- You can even count averages if you do several sponsored videos!
- Compare views for sponsored vs. non-sponsored content to understand if your audience watches them
- Engagement
- How many people liked the video? Commented? Disliked?
- Compare to your non-sponsored videos too.
- Clicks:
- How many people clicked the link you included in the description.
- You can divide the number of clicks with the number of views to get a click-through-rate (CTR)
- Keep an eye on average CTRs for sponsored content, and you can tell the sponsor if their video performed better or worse than average
- Views within 24h, 3 days and 7 days of publishing
- Psst, we can help with the numbers – just email [email protected] for more 🙂
That’s it for now folks We hope you enjoyed these 5 tips! Send us your thoughts and feedback on twitter or email [email protected]!