Influencers who ask for freebies in exchange for social media post will always be a hot topic. The most recent case that sparked debate on Twitter was an influencer asking a travel agency to facilitate flight tickets and hotels for 20 people to New York and Los Angeles for two weeks for free.

In exchange, the said-influencer will post a video to their YouTube and Instagram accounts. The travel agency turned down the offer, considering the cost of giving out free travel for 20 people could amount to Rp1 billion in total.

While the travel agent didn’t mention any names, commenters were quick on speculating the influencer’s identity. Some commenters on Twitter then evaluated the offering based on the influencer’s engagement rate, followers’ characteristics and campaign effectiveness.

The calculation from a Twitter user showed that the exposure is pale in comparison to the cost of the trip. Factoring in the demographic and affordability of the trip, it is unlikely that all the influencer’s followers will book the trip.

Travel content creator and social media consultant Jonathan End gave his thoughts regarding this issue on his Instagram account. According to Jonathan, exchanging exposure for freebies has to be mutually beneficial to both parties. Both have to be professional and present proposal for official partnership.

Content creators, as he put it, have to be selective with brands they work with. The brands have to be in line with the creators’ personalities, and creators need to bring significant impacts to the brands. Furthermore, creators have to be more open to feedbacks as well as create added value and make comprehensive report to clients.

In the content creator industry, exchanging exposure with freebies is fine as long as both parties agree to the terms. What needs to be emphasised in this issue is that exposure itself doesn’t stop at likes and comments. It stretches to whether it converts to follower numbers or revenues.

Aside from conversion, influencer’s attitude and proposals have to be taken into consideration.

1. E-mail attitude

Just like college students asking companies for sponsorship of an event, influencers have to write a professional e-mail. Professionally written e-mail doesn’t have to be long. In fact, keep it simple and concise, so that the brand can have a quick review. Write a short profile with a few details of the account insight followed by a summary of the proposed exchange.

Pro-tip: Don’t be abrupt or pushy. For the subject, influencer should give a clear headline and be provocative to attract the brand to open your email.

2. Direct messages

Starting with ‘hi’ and ‘I’d like to ask for your products in exchange for a post’ is a red flag. Influencers need to greet the brand and write a short bio for introduction.

Pro-tip: Don’t text a long proposal before getting a reply from the brand. Start with greetings, introduction and the purpose of texting.

3. Proposals

To make the exchange happen, influencers have to be able to sell their profile and create a proposition that benefits both sides. There are five sections that brands need from influencers:

• Audience demographic

Add a screenshot or a short overview of audience demographic. Age and characteristics of audience will determine whether a brand will sponsor an influencer or not.

• Interest

Tell the brand about your audience’s interest. That way, brands can set expectations on the kind of content and feedback they’ll receive.

• Insights

Brands also need to know the insights. Share screenshots of the average reach, impressions, link clicks and engagement rate of your post.

• Rate card

There are controversies regarding rate card. Digital marketers appreciate influencers that invest their time and effort to meet up with the brand and learn more about the brand instead of sending rate card instantly.

It is highly recommended to tailor rate card according to the client’s capacity. Indie brands might not be able to pay as much as corporate clients. In this case, influencers have to see beyond the price tag. Sometimes, indie brands add a nice touch to a portfolio. There’s a depth of personality that mass-produced products cannot give.

Corporate clients, meanwhile, have bigger reach. A feedback from influencer could boost their revenues. Therefore, it is sensible to charge higher.

• Content deliverables

Other offering influencers can come up with is package deals. Total marketing output from a brand seems more cost effective when there’s a bundling package including an insight report after the content is up for a month.

For example, you are an influencer is proposing an exchange of exposure for a 3D2N trip to Bali for one person.

Your rate card is:

·       1 IG Story: Rp1.5 million (Add-on Rp500,000 for a swipe-up post or a hard sell)

·       1 Photo Post: Rp3 million

·       1 Video Post: Rp6 million (including videographer fee)

The value that you can offer to a brand is as follows:

·       3 Photo Post (worth over Rp9 million) that will be posted for up to one month (soft sell).

·       15 IG Story (worth over Rp20 million) mentioning the brand during the trip.

·       1 Video Post (worth Rp6 million) which covers the whole trip.

·       A final post report one month after all content are posted.

Note: You can offer a higher value by including tips on how to book flights, hotels and a full review of the service. The story doesn’t have to be posted continuously; it can be scattered during the trip.